The play Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare was filled with horrible mistakes caused my different characters. Is Romeo and Juliet a play that was filled by characters who did the wrong decision? Or was it fate? Where Romeo and Juliet really meant for each other? Or Just a coincidence? I believe it was just one wrong mistake after another that made this play such a tragedy. Many terrible mistakes made by certain people happened in the play that caused a tragic end. Some of these terrible mistakes where Friar Lawrence marrying Romeo and Juliet, his plan of faking Juliet’s death; Romeo slaying Tybalt; and the most crucial mistake of all: timing.
Friar Lawrence made many mistakes in the play which lead to a tragic end. One of the terrible mistakes was marrying Romeo and Juliet. The idea of marrying Romeo and Juliet was the root of this tragic end. If Romeo and Juliet were not married by Friar Lawrence, none of these tragedies would have happened. Friar Lawrence made a bad choice marrying the couple because it was without the consent of their parents, and caused the death of both Romeo and Juliet. “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life” (Prologue, Line 6) Capulets and Montagues where enemies that disliked each other; their parents would not have approved the marriage anyway. Friar Lawrence thought the marriage would help the families get a long. “For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your household’s rancor to pure love” (Act II Scene IV Line 91-92). It only caused the death of many people. Another tragic mistake that Friar Lawrence made was his whole plan. Friar Lawrence’s plan was terribly thought out; it gave people the wrong message thinking Juliet was really dead. Romeo had sent a messenger to Verona to check on Juliet, but she was already “dead”. Romeo got the wrong message thinking Juliet was dead, and decided to kill himself. As a result of Friar Lawrence’s terrible decisions, Romeo and Juliet had to pay the ultimate price; their lives.
Romeo made many terrible mistakes. Romeo killing Tybalt made it hard on him, his family, and Juliet. Romeo was banished from Verona because of the act of killing Tybalt. “Let Romeo hence in haste, else, when he is found, that hour is his last.” (Act III, Scene I, Line 190-191). Romeo was banished from Verona and went to Mantua, which made it hard for him to communicate with Juliet and Friar Lawrence to figure out the problem he was in at that time. Being banished from Verona made the letter that described the plan and how Romeo would come back arrived late. Romeo did not get mother died of grief from not being able to see her son. “Alas, my liege, my wife is dead tonight; grief of my son’s exile hath stopp’d her breath.” (Act VI, Scene III, Line 210-211). Many people suffered from Romeo’s actions and his banishment.
Another serious mistake in the story was timing. Timing played a critical role in the story. Timing changed the plot of the play completely. If Romeo had waited a couple more seconds before drinking the poison, Juliet would have woken up. Romeo even thinks Juliet is alive because of the redness in her cheeks and the warmth in her lips. “Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks” (Act VI Scene III Line 95). If the letter that Friar Lawrence sent to Romeo arrived in time, Romeo would have known of the plan and not have killed himself. Instead he would have waited in Capulet’s tomb for Juliet to awake. “The letter was not nice but full of charge, of dear import, and the neglecting it may do much danger.” (Act VI Scene III Line 17-20). Another instance when timing was a huge factor of the play was when Friar Lawrence did not come in time to Capulet’s tomb after he had known that his letter did not arrive to Romeo. If Friar Lawrence had arrived and made it in time, he would have stopped Romeo from drinking the poison, and told him to wait for Juliet to wake. “Within this three hours will fair Juliet wake. She will beshrew me much that Romeo hath had no notice of these accidents” (Act VI Scene III Line 25-28). Timing played a critical role in the play, only seconds mattered for the life and death of Romeo and Juliet.
Romeo and Juliet were filled with terrible choices made by many characters that ended the life of the “star cross’d lovers” (Prologue, Line 6). Friar Lawrence marrying Romeo and Juliet, his terrible thought out plan, Romeo murdering Tybalt, and the most important mistake of all; timing. These are the major mistakes made by several characters in the play that produced the end result of a tragic end to the play. Romeo and Juliet was a play filled with many wrong decisions made by many characters in the play. Were Romeo and Juliet really meant for each other? Or was it really just a coincidence?