Romeo Juliet

6 Pages 1532 Words

In the tragic play, William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet, the last words uttered by the prince, “ some shall be pardon’d and some punished “, left the unanswered question of who will be pardoned and who punished. It seems very evident that Friar Laurence and the nurse should be pardoned, and the Montagues and Capulets should be punished as a result of the tragic events. This essay will give evidence on why these people shall be pardoned or punished.

One of the people who had good intentions and should be pardoned, is Friar Laurence. From the beginning he did the best for Romeo, Juliet and both families. For example, at first Friar Laurence agreed to marry them because he thought it would end the feud between both their two families. Later, when Romeo was banished and Juliet suicidal, the friar gave Juliet the death potion because he had faith that it would allow Romeo and Juliet to be together. It also was a possible way to prevent her from committing actual suicide. The audience is aware of this when Friar Laurence says :

“Hold daughter! I do spy a kind of hope,
which craves as desperate as desperate an execution.
As that is we would prevent.” (Act 4, i )

These statements and events should prove that Friar Laurence should be pardoned for their deaths.

Another person that should be pardoned for the untimely deaths of Romeo and Juliet is the nurse. The nurses intentions are proven good because of the constant love and understanding she gave to Juliet. She did the best for Juliet and even passed Romeo’s message about the marriage on to Juliet. At one point though, the nurse gave up on Romeo and Juliet’s love and said :

“I think it best you married with the county,
O, he’s a lovely gen...