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Romeo and Juliet - Chain of Human Actions

In the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, two teenagers are controlled by a chain of human actions. Act 4, scenes 1,3 and 5, are a good representation of the web of human actions that cause tragedy between the pair of “star crossed lovers” (prologue).

One example of human actions being dominant in those particular scenes is Friar Lawrence. His actions, while being in good intent, caused much of the pain for the other characters in the book. His first action was to offer his help to the depressed Juliet, thinking that maybe he could “spy a kind of hope” (Act 4, sc i, ll 68). His actions then led him to think of the fake death which he tells to her. “Hold then, go home, be merry” (Act 4, sc i, ll 89), he tells her, while he gives her the poison and plans to give Romeo a message describing the plan. He doesn’t however, make sure Romeo gets the message which is probably the most crucial human action in the play.

The other example of human actions controlling the plot is Juliet. In those scenes she acts in ways which seriously affect her life and the rest of the play. First, she comes to the Friar looking for help. “I long to die, if what thou speak’st speak not of remedy” (Act 4, sc i, ll 66-67) is her attitude towards her situation. She then accepts the friar’s solution and decides to take the poison. “Give me, give me! Oh tell me not of fear” (Act 4, sc 1, ll 121) are her words spoken to the friar. Her actions here are to be brave and to rush into the plan. Her actions are more important than the friars in this scene because she has all the control. The friars actions are mostly suggestions and thoughts while her actions are the ones that are physical and are actually put into use.

This scene isn’t the only scene that demonstrates human actions controlling the play. For example, in the very first scene, Tybalt and Benvolio fight causing a certain amount of tension that sets the play up for some of the major events that happen later. Another example of this is when Romeo and Juliet meet, Romeo goes out of his way to see her again, once more, setting up the plot. The web of human actions gets larger and stronger until finally, the two biggest human actions occur and the two main characters lay dead. Lay dead because the actions they took led them to suicide.

This incident, as tragic as it is, could probably have been avoided. If the actions that were taken by the characters had been planned better and the consequences had been thought about maybe a better outcome would have been reached. For example, if Friar Lawrence had thought about what would happen if Romeo didn’t receive the message in time, he probably would have taken better precautions. Or maybe if Romeo had thought twice about killing Tybalt, he would have realized that it couldn’t help getting closer to Juliet. Therefore, my advice in this situation is to think hard about your actions. Don’t be caught up in the outcomes of them like Romeo and Juliet did.

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