Dominoes Every child knows the fun in setting off a chain of Dominoes, how each piece plays its part in the overall outcome.
As we get older we realize the same concept applies to real life. We come to acknowledge the fact that each event in our lives, each person has an effect on our futures. In Shakespeare’s tragedy of “ Romeo and Juliet”, a pair of “ star-crossed lovers take their life”. This event alone, however, is not the cause of just Romeo and Juliet, but all the people in the fair city of Verona.
As W. H. Auden, a poet and critic, once wrote, “” Romeo and Juliet” is not simply a tragedy of two individuals, but the tragedy of a city. Everybody in the city is in one way or another involved in and responsible for what happens”. The tragic ending to this proclaimed love story is an effect of an accumulated number of people, however indirectly.
Three people that acted as catalysts to the toppling Dominoes are the Nurse, Mercutio and Paris. The Nurse is an important figure in the tale. Not only is she the Capulet’s maid but she is Juliet’s mother figure as well, since Juliet’s own mother is somewhat distant. (quote).
It is quite evident that Juliet trusts the Nurse with her life since she is the only Capulet that knows of the marriage between Juliet and Romeo. Not only does she know, but she acts as the messenger between the two, telling the time and place of the wedding and the results of a life-altering duel. Up until that point, the Nurse had proven to be worthy of Juliet’s trust. But, as fate starts to unfold, and the death of Tybalt and Mercutio leave Romeo banished, Juliet becomes heart-broken. Unknowingly worsening the situation, Capulet arranges a marriage between Juliet and Paris in hopes of cheering her up.
As the pressure of the circumstances begins to overwhelm Juliet, she looks to the Nurse for advice. Instead of receiving an answer that would appease her and solve the dilemma, the Nurse says, (quote). By advising Juliet to give in and marry Paris, she unknowingly sends the panicked girl off to a careening end. Juliet’s faith in her Nurses’ words is lost and she goes to find her own solution, death.
Being as close to Juliet as the Nurse was, she feels the weight of guilt and grief on her shoulders. Yet another domino has fallen in the ongoing chain. The next piece to topple is that of Mercutio. From the beginning, Mercutio is a good friend to Romeo.
Being a wild, party-driven and insightful person Mercutio encourages Romeo to enter the Capulet party, and therefore, becomes the cause of the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet. (quote). As the story continues, and the bond between the two lovers grows stronger, they spontaneously decide to get married. Throughout the whole time, Mercutio believes Romeo is still in love with Rosaline. After the marriage between Romeo and Juliet, Romeo goes out and about town with Mercutio and his cousin Benvolio. However, the good mood is quickly spoiled as Tybalt drops in and begins a heated argument with Mercutio.
As the argument starts to turn into a brawl Romeo steps in and tries to quell the fighting. Tybalt, being as fiery and quick-tempered as he is, refuses to back down and proceeds to hurt Romeo, who refuses to fight back since he now considers Tybalt family through marriage. Mercutio, seeing this submission and humility faced by Romeo says, (quote). Becoming unable to watch his friend suffer, Mercutio directs the fight with Tybalt towards himself.
Once again, Romeo separates the two but, this time, Tybalt seizes the moment and stabs Mercutio. With Mercutio’s death, Romeo is no longer able to contain himself and kills Tybalt for revenge. The prince, realizing what happened, banishes Romeo. To Romeo, this exile is worse than death, and ultimately, leads to his death. These events leading from Mercutio’s entrance to the party, until his death aided to the collapse of the lives of the young couple.
Mercutio’s own tragedy in this tale of woe is his own demise. One of the final people to make their mark on Romeo and Juliet is Paris. Paris is seeking Juliet’s hand in marriage and, from the start, is turned down as Capulet tells him, (quote). Capulet explains to Paris that he still believes Juliet to be too young to marry and that the offer is okay by him but that it must be accepted by Juliet as well. As Capulet goes on, he continues to encourage Paris to look for other suitors and even invites Paris to the party so that he may find other women there.
As more events come into place and Juliet becomes distraught from Romeo’s banishment, Paris again comes into play. This time, however, he creates devastating results. Capulet, seeing his daughter’s anguish, decides to help her regain joy by marrying her off to Paris. This seemingly harmless act sets off the entire plan, to which Juliet drinks poison to fake her death and get out of the marriage.
The rest of the plan is that Friar Lawrence should send a letter to Romeo in Manchua, and then he would arrive to take Juliet away when she awakes. Here, an unexpected change occurs, a change for the worse. Romeo fails to receive the letter and is informed of Juliet’s death, not knowing it is a hoax. He then plans to poison himself along side Juliet.
While there, Romeo finds Paris coming to visit Juliet’s grave. Paris, thinking Romeo came to decimate Juliet’s body or rob her grave, stops Romeo and tries to kill him. At first, Romeo resists fighting back saying, (quote). He tries to explain that he does not want to hurt Paris and that he, rather, came to hurt himself. Paris refuses to believe this and persists.
In the end, Romeo gives up on his self-restraint and kills Paris. As Paris’s domino falls, he loses not only a wife but his own life in the process. It is evident that the people of Verona, the Capulets and the Montagues, the Nurse, Mercutio, and even Paris, held a key role in tragic ending of “ Romeo and Juliet”. Unlike the common idea that the cause of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths was of their own accord, it can be easily drawn out that, like in a simple game of Dominoes, one touch from a seemingly unimportant piece can lead a chain of sequences towards its spiraling end. Each person in Verona is their own domino, and as each one falls they push another down with them, therefore, equaling sharing the responsibility of the death of Romeo and Juliet.
