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Jake Palazzo
Mr. King
English I Honors
December 8, 2014
Romeo and Juliet Argumentative Essay
For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo (Act V, scene 3,
lines 309 & 310). The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was one of the most unexpected and shocking
endings to a piece of literature in history. It is hard to place the blame on one character or thing,
as many factors led up to this breath taking twist. Even though the Friar and Romeo played a part
in the tragedy, Lord Capulet is mainly to blame for the death of Romeo and Juliet due to his
overpowering personality and poor decisions.
There were several minor influences that led to Romeo and Juliets death. Romeo is a
prime example of a minor influence as he said, This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand too smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. (Act
I, scene 5, lines 95-96). In this example, Romeo instantly fell for Juliet, after barely knowing her,
beginning the romance that lead to death. As this is a valid argument, Romeo would not have
ever met Juliet if Lord Capulet would have kicked Romeo out of the party as Tybalt wanted.
Another influence that played a small part in the tragedy was Friar Lawrence. He said,
Hold on, then. Go home, be cheerful, and tell them you agree to marry Paris. Tomorrow is
Wednesday. Tomorrow night make sure that you are alone (Act IV, scene 1, lines 89-120)
and continues to discuss a plan for Juliet. The plan that the Friar developed was very risky and
failed when the confusion resulted in Romeo taking his own life. However, Lord Capulet was the
one forcing Juliet to marry Paris, so if it was not for him, Juliet would not have gone to the Friar

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for help. Both Romeo and Friar Lawrence are acceptable arguments for causing the death of
Romeo and Juliet, but Lord Capulet has much better evidence.
Blaming Lord Capulet is the most logical scenario that is created based on evidence from
the text. He does several things to unintentionally aid the tragedy. He let Romeo stay at the party
when Tybalt wanted to kick him out, Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone. (Act I, scene 5,
line 65). If Lord Capulet would have forced Romeo to leave, Romeo would not have ever met
Juliet, completely avoiding the whole rest of the story. He also was going to force Juliet to marry
Paris, A Thursday let it be a Thursday, tell her, she shall be married to his noble earl. (Act
III, scene 4, lines 20 & 21). By doing this, Lord Capulet caused Juliet to take desperate measures
and fake her own death, which then led to the death of Romeo. Lastly, he was claiming to
disown Juliet, Graze where you will, you shall not house with me. (Act III, scene 5, line 190).
In Lord Capulets rant, he made Juliet want to escape and be with Romeo because her father did
not want her. All of these factors strongly contributed to the conclusion that Lord Capulet is to
blame.
Based on all of the prior arguments, Lord Capulet is the primary cause of Romeo and
Juliets death. His lack of love and his selfishness lead to many important things slipping under
his nose and causing disaster. Romeo and Friar Lawrence both played a big role in the story, but
did not have an immense impact of the tragedy. The entire piece of literature creates a mystery,
beautifully constructed by Shakespeare. There is no definite thing or person that can be clearly
distinguished as the primary cause of turmoil, however, Lord Capulet can easily be argued as a
lead impact.

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