Juliet brings her tragic end upon herself Essay

â€Å"Juliet brings her tragic end upon herself, through the disloyalty and disobedience to her family† How far do you agree? â€Å"Madam, I am here. What is your will? † Juliet’s demise comes to pass as a direct result of failing to follow the wishes of her family. This is not true. Juliet died because of loyalty to the prescripts of her heart. Our first indication of this is the instant attraction between Juliet and Romeo. Juliet was also willing to ignore the blood feud between the Capulets and Montagues in order to follow the prescripts of her heart. Juliet was willing to defy her father’s wishes for her to marry Paris. Finally and most importantly, Juliet died because of unbearable grief. Juliet and Romeo were instantly attracted to one another. Love at first glance is not unusual, but its repercussions can be devastating – as John Clare wrote: My heart had left its dwelling place And can return no more. When Romeo and Juliet spoke to each other at the Capulet ball they instantly knew what the appropriate thing was to say, and when to say it: â€Å"Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purg’d. † Juliet replies, â€Å"Then have my lips the sin that they have took. † The language used in these quotes worked well because of the metaphors that were used in each one. They spoke to one another as though they had known each other for years. It was very obvious at that stage that Juliet had fallen in love. Shakespeare presented them with the idea of love because they spoke in a sonnet to each other, â€Å"My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. † This was when Romeo was speaking to Juliet and it showed us how instantly both himself and Juliet had fallen for each other. Although, when they realised who each other was, they were extremely shocked, â€Å"Is she a Capulet? O dear account! † Romeo just could not believe what he had heard. When Juliet heard that Romeo was a Montague she did not understand why she had fallen for someone, who was an enemy to her family’s name, â€Å"My only love sprung from my only hate! † Juliet could not believe that her first love had turned out to be a Montague. It is clearly evident then that Juliet was following the prescripts of her heart and this is what brought about the untimely and tragic end to her life. Juliet was still willing to ignore the blood feud between the two families when she found out that Romeo was a Montague. Juliet seemed distraught after hearing it, this did not stop Romeo and Juliet continuing with their secret love affair. This definitely suggested that they were both truly in love with each other, by Juliet not realising the consequences that happens if she was to continue to love Romeo; â€Å"Thou art thy self, though not a Montague. O be some other name! What’s Montague? † Juliet felt that a name was just a name and not what your true personality was inside. Romeo replied, â€Å"My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself because it is an enemy to thee. † Romeo also did not care in what his family name was because it was as far as he’s concerned, an enemy name to the Capulet household and to Juliet, the woman he loved. By Juliet still willing to follow her heart even though there were blood feuds between her own family and the Montagues, this shows us that she was just following the prescripts of her heart. Juliet carried on her love affair with Romeo and was very willing to defy her own father, â€Å"Deny thy father and refuse thy name:† We can see that Juliet was willing to give up her father’s name all for the love of her beloved Romeo. â€Å"My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words of thy tongue’s uttering, yet I know the sound. Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague? † Juliet just could not believe that the words spoken by Romeo were actually coming from the mouth of a Montague. Juliet knows that it is Romeo even by the very faint uttering of his words. Juliet seemed to not mind and told Romeo to climb the walls to be with her although they were hard to climb and her kinsmen might of found him there, â€Å"The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, And the place death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here. † Juliet’s willingness to defy her father shows us that she was definitely following the prescripts of her heart. In the last scene of the play, Romeo killed himself by taking poison, â€Å"Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. † Romeo had drunk to his beloved Juliet and dies of all the pain at the loss of Juliet. Juliet however, after discovering that Romeo had taken his life, decided that she wanted to die and be with her beloved, â€Å"Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end, O churl! Drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? I will kiss thy lips. † Juliet kissed Romeo and thought it cruel that Romeo had not left any poison for her. She then reaches for his dagger, â€Å"Oh happy dagger, This is thy sheath; there rest, and let me die. † The love of the star crossed lovers was so intense that they were willing to sacrifice life itself in order to follow the prescripts of their heart.