Romeo and Juliet
By: William Shakespeare
Main Question:
Who is most at fault for the problems that happen in ¨Romeo and Juliet¨?
Romeo, the one really at fault.
I really do feel that Romeo of all characters is the one really at fault here. He went from loving Rosaline to loving Juliet in a split second and since I believe that there is no such thing as love a first sight, it is not possible for him to be that in love with Juliet. He also got Juliet at a bad time, a time where she didn't want to marry Paris who her parents wanted her to marry, so she desperately tried to avoid it, falling in love with Romeo in the process.
Explaination
Romeo proclaims, ¨She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste; For beauty, starved with her severity, Cuts beauty off from all posterity¨ (1.1.219-221). This quote shows Romeo's love for Rosaline. He says this literally the day that he meets Juliet for the first time. One simply does not go from loving a person that much to just switching to another without some suspicions arising.
Juliet explains, "Nay, he's a flower, in faith -- a very flower" (1.3.78). Here, Juliet and her mother are talking about her getting married to Paris. The nurse describes him as a "man of wax" while Juliet doesn't think so. This only further proves why it is Romeo's fault that the two of them die in the end. Juliet has people all around her saying how great Paris is and that she should marry him but she strongly disagrees and falls for Romeo in a time of desperation.
Romeo proclaims, "Then plainly know that my heart's dear love is set on the fair daughter of rich Capulet" (2.3.58-59). Here, Romeo is proclaiming his love for Juliet. Once again how can one show such true love for one that he just met a couple of days ago? He also knows that he is loving an enemy and doesn't think of the consequences that could follow in the wake of the marriage.
Opposing View Points
There are many answers to the question, "Who is at fault in Romeo and Juliet?" and I picked Romeo because that's who I feel is most a fault. But I can definitely see why one would pick somebody such as Friar to be at fault. Friar is the one who married Romeo and Juliet in the first place. He knew what he was doing and he even knew of Romeo's love for Rosaline just a few days earlier, but he did it anyways. Or Juliet, she didn't know what she was doing yet. She was in the process of being forced to marry Paris, who she did not want to marry, but instead she fell for Romeo, an enemy to the rest of her family.