Coincidences Ending in Tragedy (Romeo and Juliet Essay Example)

Romeo and Juliet is one of the world’s most famous plays. William Shakespeare’s play has a plot filled with many coincidences. It is clear that this is deliberate on his part in order to make the play an example of a perfect tragedy. Many of the plans that are made by the characters go wrong and lead to much sadness and even death, which are characteristics of great tragedies.

Right from the start, Willian Shakespeare presents us with a huge coincidence, which leads to the tragic meeting of Romeo and Julliet. This meeting should never have happened in the first place. Near the beginning of the play, Capulet throws a party. Romeo was not invited to this party because of the hatred between the two families, the Capulets and the Montegues. Romeo learns of this party when one of Capulet’s servants asks Romeo to read him the guest list because he is blind and cannot read it himself. His friends make him go to the party uninvited to get his mind off of Rosaline.  Additionally, it is a masked ball, which enables Romeo to go uninvited until Tybalt recognizes his voice as that of a Montague. 

At the party, Romeo, although love sick over Rosaline, spots Juliet and falls instantly in love. This coincidental meeting begins the doomed journey of these two characters, leading to tragedy. After Romeo and Juliet kiss at the party, Juliet’s nurse arrives, and this is how Romeo finds out Juliet is a Capulet. Even though this coincidence troubles him greatly, he is already in love with Juliet and there is no turning back. Nurse informs Juliet that the man she kissed is Romeo and he is a Montague. In these early scenes, Shakespeare is setting up the tragedy that these lovers will face. At the end of Act II, Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet. It is quite coincidental that both Nurse and Friar Lawrence conspire to help these two young people in love. Shakespeare had to write it this way because if one of them had not cooperated, they would not have been able to be wed. Therefore, their relationship might not have been able to continue because of the families’ feud. 

Another coincidence that occurs that leads to tragedy is in Act III, Scene 1. Tybalt and his men encounter Mercutio and Romeo in the street. Tybalt insults them and wants to fight, but Romeo refuses to do so. Because Romeo and Juliet are now married, Romeo knows he is related to Tybalt through marriage. He cannot say this, however, because the marriage is a secret. Mercutio takes out his sword and decides to fight Tybalt even though Romeo will not. Romeo tries to stop the fight by going between the two men, but Tybalt accidentally kills Mercutio by stabbing him under Romeo’s arm. Tybalt leaves but, coincidentally, decides to return. Romeo, now angry over the death of Mercutio, draws his sword and ends up killing Tybalt. This moves the tragedy along further because Romeo has now killed his wife’s cousin, which could certainly affect his wife’s love for him should she find out.  

At the end of that same scene, the Prince of Verona arrives, demanding to know what has happened. Even though Benvolio tells the Prince that Romeo tried to break up the fighting, the angry Prince banishes Romeo from Verona. The plot shifts to Nurse and Juliet. In her rush to tell Juliet about the fight, she mistakenly implies that Romeo was killed. However, when the truth comes out that Romeo is still alive, Juliet sides with her husband and asks Nurse to help her be with Romeo. Romeo, meanwhile, is in hiding at Friar Lawrence's cell. Nurse agrees to help, and Juliet gives her a ring to bring to Romeo, to prove Juliet’s love for him. When Nurse goes to the cell, Romeo tells her that he wants to see Juliet before he goes to Mantua. Nurse agrees to tell Juliet he is coming, and Friar Lawrence warns Romeo to be gone by daybreak. In Act III Scene V, Romeo climbs into Juliet’s window and they have their wedding night together. All of these coincidences Shakespeare writes into the plot move along the doomed relationship between Romeo and Juliet, in Shakespeare’s plan for the perfect tragedy. 

In Act IV, Shakespeare introduces a scheme between Friar Lawrence and Juliet that we suspect will have a tragic ending. Juliet tells Friar Lawrence that she would rather kill herself then marry Paris, the man her parents have chosen to be her husband. The Friar’s plan is that on the night before her marriage to Paris, Juliet will drink a potion that will make her appear to be dead. She will then be buried in the Capulet tomb. Then Friar Lawrence will send Friar John to get word to Romeo of his plan. Romeo will then return to Verona to get Juliet and they can leave Verona together. No one will come after them because everyone will believe Juliet has died. The huge coincidence here, leading to tragedy, is that Friar John is unable to deliver the letter to Romeo, due to him being quarantined at his house because of an outbreak of plague. 

Shakespeare begins Act V in Mantua, where Balthasar has heard the news that Julliet is dead and tells Romeo. Romeo is so devastated by the news that he wants to die next to her. Romeo goes to a apothecary to buy a bottle of poison to kill himself. Back in Verona, Friar Lawrence asks Friar John how Romeo took the news of the plan faking Juliet’s death. The tragic coincidences of everything not going according to plan are Shakespare’s way of leading up to the final tragedy of this play, both of their deaths. In this final act, the plot moves along quickly, with numerous incidents of plans going wrong. The full extent of the tragedy comes together in Act V Scene III. In the churchyard, Paris and Romeo meet. They draw their swords and fight, and Romeo kills Paris. Romeo puts Paris into Juliet’s tomb, kisses Juliet, drinks the poison and dies. When Friar Lawrence enters the churchyard, he finds Paris and Romeo both dead. Juliet wakes up and sees the empty vial of poison. She decides she wants to die of the same poison, so she kisses Romeo’s lips, but she does not die from this. Hearing the Watchmen about to enter, she draws Romeo’s dagger and stabs herself. Shakespeare has brought the play to the ultimate tragedy, the death of these two people who were deeply in love. All of the coincidences caused the many plans to fall apart, resulting in a tragic ending. The Montagues and Capulets arrive, realized the part their feud played in their childrens death, and they resolve to put the feud behind them. In this way, Shakespeare presents us with the final coincidence of two feuding families arriving on the scene and making up because the tragedy before them. 

Sometimes plans people make work out, but often, when they do not, it can lead to tragic endings.  In Wiliam Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, there are many plans made by the characters in the play that seem to be well thought out, but unusual and unlikely coincidences make the plans fall apart.Romeo and Juliet ends on such a note of sadness due to feuds, misinformation, fighting, hatred, and mistakes made. William Shakespeare developed the plot this way in order to make his famous play, Rome and Juliet, a perfect tragedy.