Several characters in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet should be put to death for taking part in the many murders and suicides that occurred. Some of the characters had rational ideas, however, had they made improved, more thoughtful decisions, the play would have had a more worthwhile ending. In Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet and Friar Lawrence should be punished and the Apothecary should be pardoned.
In the tragedy Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father, deserves to be punished for the decisions he acted on in the days leading up to his daughter’s death. Lord Capulet had planned for Juliet to marry his friend Paris, but she refused. He shows his aggravation towards Juliet by yelling …show more content…
Even though the Apothecary was not a main character, he still played an extensive role in the play. When Romeo was told that Juliet had died, his grief became overwhelming and he took his own life in the heat of his love for Juliet. Romeo went to an apothecary in Mantua to illegally purchase poison, “Art thou so bare and full of wretchedness, And fear’st to die? Famine is in thy cheeks. Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes. Contempt and beggary hangs upon thy back” (Romeo and Juliet 5.1.70). Romeo was persuading the apothecary to sell him the poison and he brings up the fact that the apothecary is impoverished and he needs the money. The apothecary decided that he did need the money and took the risk of being put to death if he were caught. It was not the apothecary’s fault for the deaths of both star-crossed lovers, he was simply desperate for money and was willing to do whatever he needed for it. Although he changed the story, there were other characters that held the guilt for crimes causing the double-suicide. The apothecary should not be held accountable for the tragedy that takes place at the end of the