Juliet's decision to fake her death is a crucial turning point in the play. She is forced into this extreme measure because of the constraints of her society and the pressure put upon her to marry Paris. Juliet had already married Romeo in secret, but her father was determined to see her marry someone from a noble family. When Juliet defied her parents and refused to marry Paris, her father threatened to disown her. The only solution she could see was to fake her death, which would give her a way out of the marriage without defying her family openly.
When Juliet went to Friar Laurence for help, he gave her a potion that would make her appear dead for 42 hours. However, the plan went awry when the letter detailing the plan failed to reach Romeo. When he heard of Juliet's supposed death, he rushed to her tomb and took his own life. Juliet, waking up from the potion-induced sleep, discovered Romeo's body and was devastated by his death. Unable to bear the thought of living without him, she took her own life as well.
In a sense, Juliet's decision to fake her death can be seen as an act of rebellion against the social norms of her time. She defies her parents and takes matters into her own hands in order to be with the man she loves. However, her plan ultimately leads to tragedy, and the play serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of acting impulsively and making decisions based on passion rather than reason.
FAQs
Juliet feigns death to avoid her arranged marriage to Paris and free herself to leave with Romeo (whom she has already married). For the trick, she drinks a substance that gives her the appearance of death. She expects that when she wakes from this slumber, she and Romeo will leave Verona together.
What did Juliet do to cause her death? ›
Juliet kills herself with Romeo's dagger.
Who is most at fault for Romeo and Juliet's death essay? ›
Although Romeo and Juliet choose to kill themselves out of their own free will, Friar Laurence is the most accountable for their deaths. His encouragement of their naive actions, his haphazard scheme, and lack of caution when dealing with their lives, influences their decisions and leads to their untimely deaths.
Who do you think is the most responsible for Juliet's fake death? ›
MOST BLAMEWORTHY: Friar Laurence
Sure, he only wanted to end the feud—but there must've been upwards of a billion ways of doing that that didn't involve letting two newly pubescent teenagers marry in secret. He even gave Juliet the fake death potion!
What did Juliet use to fake her death? ›
In the final act of Romeo and Juliet, our tragic heroine takes a potion to fake her own death and place her into a catatonic state. Many believe the potion is most likely to be deadly nightshade (Atropa Belladonna) a plant native to Europe.
Is Juliet selfish for faking her death? ›
Selfishness- Everyone in this play (except Benvolio) acts selfishly. Juliet never told her parents about Romeo and did the selfish act of faking her death, which greatly upset them. The Capulets were selfish for making Juliet marry a man that she did not love.
What was Juliet lying on when she died? ›
Hoping she might die by the same poison, Juliet kisses his lips, but to no avail. Hearing the approaching watch, Juliet unsheathes Romeo's dagger and, saying, “O happy dagger, / This is thy sheath,” stabs herself (5.3. 171). She dies upon Romeo's body.
Who found Juliet when she died? ›
The Nurse finds Juliet in the deathlike trance caused by the Friar's potion and announces Juliet's death. Juliet's parents and Paris join the Nurse in lamentation. Friar Lawrence interrupts them and begins to arrange Juliet's funeral.
Who does Juliet think was killed? ›
Juliet assumes Romeo has killed himself, and she resigns to die herself. The Nurse then begins to moan about Tybalt's death, and Juliet briefly fears that both Romeo and Tybalt are dead.
Who killed Romeo? ›
The friar will send Romeo word to be at her family tomb when she awakes. The plan goes awry, and Romeo learns instead that she is dead. In the tomb, Romeo kills himself. Juliet wakes, sees his body, and commits suicide.
Romeo buys poison from the poor apothecary, which he plans to take to Juliet's tomb and then drink himself. Here, he claims that the money he uses to pay for the poison is a type of poison itself, as money has been the cause of more deaths than the actual poison he bought ever has.
Could Romeo and Juliet's death been prevented? ›
Overall, the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet could have been avoided if the two lovers had been surrounded by more supportive influences and their decision-making abilities had been respected. The feud between their families, the lack of parental guidance, and the norms of the time period all contributed to their tragedy.
Who convinces Juliet to fake her death? ›
Friar Lawrence gives her a potion that will make her appear as if dead the morning of the wedding. He assures her that when she awakes in the vault, Romeo will be there to take her away. Enter Friar ⌜Lawrence⌝ and County Paris.
Who is to blame for Juliet? ›
The person responsible for Romeo and Juliet's death is Friar Laurence due to the fact that he was a misleader, reckless and bad advisor. Even though he was just trying to help these two young lovers, he made things lead to a tragedy.
What causes Juliet's actual death? ›
In a cowardly and selfish move, Friar Lawrence flees from the tomb yelling “I dare no longer stay,” knowing that what he has done is illegal. By abandoning Juliet, he gives her the chance to make her dramatic move of using Romeo's dagger to kill herself.
Why did Juliet take her own life? ›
She says her final goodbye to Romeo and takes her own life with Romeo's dagger. She chose to kill herself after she found Romeo dead because she loved him and he's the only man she wanted to be with. Juliet also wanted to be with him in heaven and have eternal life together.
Why does Hero fake her death? ›
When she regains consciousness, the friar suggests that Hero fake her death to give the truth time to come to light and have Hero's accusers change their opinions of her. Dogberry discovers Don Jon's plot and proves Hero's innocence.
Why does Paris think Juliet killed herself? ›
Explain Paris' logic in thinking that Romeo is responsible for Juliet killing herself? Paris believes that Juliet has died due to grieve of Tybalt and he has Romeo to blame because he was the one that killed Tybalt.
