...Oftentimes excusing of a fault doth make the fault worse by the excusing.

So says

Shakespeare in his play, King John, making the point that the excuses for a mistake are often

worse than the mistake itself. Yet, in this particular bit of wisdom, Shakespeare seems

remarkably hypocritical. His tragedy Romeo and Juliet is full of excuses for ignorance and

silliness. Every blunder the characters made was rapidly swept aside simply by calling it love,

when really, it was all just terrible decision making.

Of all the characters in Romeo and Juliet, the one who made bad decisions the most often

was the Friar. First was his decision to marry Romeo and Juliet, which he did without putting up

much fuss. Come, come with me, and we will make short work(Shakespeare, Act 2 Scene 6,

page 1042). He doesnt really protest, he just says, OK lets do it quickly then(Shakespeare,

Act 2 Scene 6, page 1042). The Friar couldve refused completely without any consequences. It

goes against the parents of the bride and grooms wishes and the Friar knew that. He shouldve

said that the marriage wasnt worth his job and that if Romeo and Juliet were really determined

then they could go endanger someone else. Even after the marriage, the Friar just kept lying - or

telling half truths - to stay out of trouble. He gave Juliet the poison and created the whole half-

baked plan. He says,

Take thou this vial, being then in bed,

And this distilld liquor drink thou off,

When presently through all thy veins shall run

A cold and drowsy humor, for no pulse

Shall keep his native progress, but surcease.

No warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest.

The roses in thy lips and cheeks shall fade

 To paly ashes, thy eyes' windows fall

Like death when he shuts up the day of life.

Each part, deprived of supple government,

Shall, stiff and stark and cold, appear like death(Shakespeare, Act 4, Scene 1).

The Friar knew what the poison would do and he knew the risks associated with the plan he

made up, but he went through with it anyway, and how could Romeo and Juliet have carried on

without the Friar? Every part of the plan was down to the Friar, even Romeo and Juliets

reunion.

Go, get thee to thy love, as was decreed.

Ascend her chamber, hence, and comfort her.

But look thou stay not till the watch be set,

For then thou canst not pass to Mantua,

Where thou shalt live, till we can find a time

To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends,

Beg pardon of the Prince, and call thee back

With twenty hundred thousand times more joy

Than thou wentst forth in lamentation.(Shakespeare, Act 3 Scene 3, page

1060).

The Friar decides to encourage Romeo to go to Juliet, even though there could be great trouble

over this. The Friar only warns to leave before the watchmen come, and says that Romeo and

Juliet will be reunited through all the odds that the Friar cannot possibly have very much control

over.
 The Friar was not the only one to make bad decisions, however. There would definitely

be way less of a conflict if the Capulet family acted like mature human beings. One of the

greatest factors in the major problem of the play was that Juliet was pledged to marry someone

she didnt want to marry.

Read o'er the volume of young Paris' face

And find delight writ there with beautys pen.

Examine every married lineament

And see how one another lends content,

And what obscured in this fair volume lies

Find written in the margin of his eyes.

This precious book of love, this unbound lover,

To beautify him only lacks a cover.

The fish lives in the sea, and tis much pride

For fair without the fair within to hide.

That book in manys eyes doth share the glory

That in gold clasps locks in the golden story.

So shall you share all that he doth possess

By having him, making yourself no less(Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 3, page 1008).

In this passage, Juliets mother is pressuring her into marrying Paris by playing him up, saying

that hes handsome and any wife of his would be looked upon with as much favor as himself.

Besides the obvious problem that Lady Capulet is defining her daughter by the husband she gets,

theres the problem that Lady Capulet is not letting her daughter make her own decisions, which

in the end, makes Juliets decisions more rash and Lady Capulets distress deeper. Its not just

Lady Capulet who is being so controlling either. Juliets father is too. But woo her, gentle Paris,

get her heart. My will to her consent is but a part. An she agreed within her scope of choice, Lies
my consent and fair according voice(Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 2, page 1001).Capulet is talking

to Paris here and he claims to care what Juliet thinks about marrying him, but if Capulet truly

does then why isnt Juliet meeting with Paris too? Juliet is just being treated like a mans

property again, while Capulet tells Paris to make Juliet conveniently fall in love with him.

Capulet doesnt keep up this charade for long. Eventually, he just says straight that Juliet can

either marry Paris or leaves his house. Now, sir, her father counts it dangerous That she do give

her sorrow so much sway, And in his wisdom hastes our marriage To stop the inundation of her

tears(Shakespeare Act 4 Scene 1, page 1072). So says Paris, thinking that Capulet is being wise,

but Act 3 Scene 5 shows a different side of the story. But fettle your fine joints 'gainst Thursday

next To go with Paris to Saint Peters Church, Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. Out, you

green sickness, carrion! Out, you baggage! You tallow face(Shakespeare, page 1068)! Capulet

resorts to low insults and threatens to drag her to her own wedding. If Juliets parents hadnt been

so controlling of so young a girl, it wouldve affected the outcome of the entire play. Juliets

actions wouldnt have been so desperate because she would not be pressured to do anything so

large. Thats not to say that Juliets actions werent incredibly stupid. She has a very difficult

time thinking situations through. What sane person would marry someone they just met,

someone they barely know? Especially without taking advice from any of the people closest to

her? Nope, with Juliet, its all jump first look later, and this eventually causes her death and the

death of her husband.

Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed.

If that thy bent of love be honorable,

Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow

By one that Ill procure to come to thee

Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite,

 And all my fortunes at thy foot Ill lay

And follow thee my lord throughout the world(Shakespeare, Act 2 Scene 2, page

1027),

says Juliet on the second time meeting Romeo. She gets so out of hand Romeo, I come! This do

I drink to thee(Shakespeare Act 4 Scene 3, page 1079). Juliet has made a plethora of bad

decisions, but the one that ties them all off takes the cake: She commits suicide. Juliet has every

right to be excessively sad, but what right has she to take her own life? She does not think of the

pain for her family and friends at all. The decision was so spur-of-the-moment, it cannot possibly

have been well thought out, and while it may have been a large, romantic, point-proving

moment, it was inescapably wasted on Romeo, who was neither aware of it nor able to

reciprocate. Lack of forethought must run in the Capulet family, because another bad decision

maker who fits into this form is Tybalt. He hops into fights just because he wants to fight and not

for any real reason. In Scene 1 Act 1, Tybalt is one of the people who start the whole feud again.

Upon meeting Benvolio and the servants, Tybalt says, What, art thou drawn among these

heartless hinds? Turn thee, Benvolio. Look upon thy death(Shakespeare, page 995). He

purposefully misunderstands the whole situation just so he can poke at Benvolio. In Act 3 Scene

1 he pulls almost the same trick, seeking out Romeos friends when theyve not done anything to

him yet. He says, Follow me close, for I will speak to them. Gentlemen, good e'en. A word with

one of you(Shakespeare, page 1045). In the end of Scene 3 Act 1, Mercutio and Tybalt are dead

with Romeo exiled, but all could have been avoided had better decisions been made in the heated

situation. Tybalt never notices that he is out of line, even when Lord Capulet tells him to calm

down. Tybalt lets his anger boil inside him on purpose. Patience perforce with willful choler

meeting Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting. I will withdraw, but this intrusion

shall Now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall(Shakespeare, Act 1 Scene 4, page 1015).
 Of course a feud cannot go on if there are not two sides. The Capulets being one side of

the feud, there remains the Montagues, who make equally stupid mistakes. On this side of the

feud, the parents definitely help push the plays conflict along, but really the ones who light fresh

fires under it are Mercutio and Romeo. Mercutio is a light-hearted type of person who loves to

joke, but he doesnt know when to stop and take things seriously. He does not have the ability to

tell when and who it is a good time to joke with. When Romeo is miserable, Mercutio still pokes

fun, as evidenced by his speech on Queen Mab in Scene 4 of Act 1. He mocks Romeo

incessantly, saying things like,

Nay, Ill conjure too! Romeo!

Humours, madman, passion, lover!

Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh!

Speak but one rhyme, and I am satisfied.

Cry but Ay me! Pronounce but love and dove.

Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word,

One nickname for her purblind son and heir,

Young Abraham Cupid, he that shot so true

When King Cophetua loved the beggar maid.

He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moveth not.

The ape is dead, and I must conjure him.

I conjure thee by Rosalines bright eyes,

By her high forehead and her scarlet lip,

By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh,

And the demesnes that there adjacent lie,

 That in thy likeness thou appear to us(Shakespeare, Act 2 Scene 1, pages 1021-

1022).

On top of this, Mercutio refuses to leave Tybalt alone, rising to every one of Tybalts baits. When

Benvolio urges Mercutio and Tybalt to keep it private, Mercutio responds with, Mens eyes

were made to look and let them gaze. I will not budge for no mans pleasure, I(Shakespeare, Act

3, Scene 1, page 1045). This bad decision, much like all the other bad decisions in this play,

leads to someones death, in this case, Mercutios own. Unfortunately, some of the worst

decisions Mercutio had no control over, namely, those made by Romeo. Romeo acts exceedingly

shallowly throughout the whole play. In Act 1 Scene 1, he goes on and on about Rosaline, but

then the minute he sees Juliet its as if Rosaline never existed, which is probably very romantic,

but whats to say he wont treat everybody as forgetfully as that? He doesnt bother listening to

Benvolios advice, Go thither, and with unattainted eye Compare her face with some that I shall

show, And I will make thee think thy swan a crow (Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 2, page 1004).

Here he is whining about Rosaline:

Why, such is loves transgression.

Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast,

Which thou wilt propagate, to have it pressed

With more of thine. This love that thou hast shown

Doth add more grief to too much of mine own.

Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;

Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;

Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears.

What is it else? A madness most discreet,

A choking gall, and a preserving sweet. Farewell, my coz (Shakespeare Act 1

Scene 1, page 999).

But here he is about Juliet less than three days later,

Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,

Having some business, do entreat her eyes

To twinkle in their spheres till they return.

What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars

As daylight doth a lamp.

Her eye in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.

See how she leans her cheek upon her hand.

Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand

That I might touch that cheek(Shakespeare Act 2 Scene 2, page 1023)!

Its true that Juliet was the one to suggest marriage, but Romeo agreed so readily. To say no

would not have ended the relationship, it wouldve just delayed their marriage - for good reason.

The outcome of Romeo and Juliet was entirely a result of the characters decisions, which

is evidenced firstly by the impression the Montagues and Capulets had on the feud and secondly

by the lovers choices on how to handle themselves. As Shakespeare himself once wrote, the

fault is definitely made worse in the excusing. This makes the characters of Romeo and Juliet

even more mindless, and to think: all the death couldve been avoided with a few seconds of

careful thought.
 Works Cited

Applebee, Arthur N., and William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. The Language of
Literature, McDougal Littell, Evanston, IL, 2002.

Fertik, Michael. 10 Shakespeare Quotes Every Entrepreneur Should Read. Inc.com, Inc., 13
May 2014, www.inc.com/michael-fertik/10-shakespeare-quotes-every-business-leader-
should-read.html. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

Romeo and Juliet. SparkNotes, SparkNotes, nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/page_88.html.

Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

SCENE II. KING JOHN'S Palace. SCENE II. KING JOHN'S Palace.,
shakespeare.mit.edu/john/john.4.2.html. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.