Name: ___________________________________

Date: ____________________Period: _____

During your reading of Romeo and Juliet you have considered the causes of Romeos and Juliets
deaths.
The major causes leading to their untimely demise are as follows:
Romeos and Juliets youth and inexperience
The interference of the adults in the play
The influence of fate and/or chance on the lives of the characters
Now look back through the play to locate actions and lines that support each of these causes.
Use the chart below to organize your findings.
Youth and Inexperience

Adults Interference

Fate/Chance

Sampson and Gregory all

bark, no bite (p1038, 1.1,
6-11)
Prince announcing
anymore fights will result
in death (p1041, 1.1, 7496

Act I

Juliet reciprocates
Romeos advances
(p1085, 1.5, 52-53)
Friar Laurence agrees to
secretly marry the lovers
in hopes of ending the
feud (p 1076, 2.3, 90-92)
Act II
Juliets impatience for the
waiting of Nurse to return
from Romeo (p 1083, 2.5,
Stage directions)
Romeo killing Tybalt sets
his and Juliets own fate
against them (p 1092,
3.1, 124-125)
Act III

Prince banishes Romeo

(1095, 3.1, 180)

Juliet threatens to kill

herself to avoid marrying
another man (p 1116, 4.1,
54-55)
Act IV

Youth and Inexperience

Adult Interference

Balthazar shares a story

with Romeo without
confirming its authenticity
(p 1130, 5.1, 18)

Fate/Chance
Romeo talks about seeing
his wife in a dream (p
1130, 4.5, 6-9)

Act V

Prince delivers sobering

words to the Montagues
and Capulets (1114, 5.3,
291-295)

Friar Lawrence merely

misses Romeo drinking
the poison by moments
(1139, 5.3, 140-145)

Continued
Thesis Statement: After compiling your evidence and thinking about the causes of the deaths
of Romeo and Juliet, write a thesis statement that addresses the question: Who or what is
responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

Use the following outline to draft your essay:

Introduction
Lead or hook to grab the readers attention
TAG (Title, Author, Genre) and minimal plot summary
Thesis (your opinion on the subject that you are trying to prove)
At the end of Romeo and Juliet, the Prince states that some characters will be pardoned and
others punished. You have considered the actions of Romeo and Juliet themselves, the adults in
their lives, and fate or chance. Which do you think is primarily to blame for the deaths of Romeo
and Juliet? Write your thesis here.
Body Paragraphs (there should be two)
Topic sentences in each body paragraph that express ideas in support of your thesis.
Evidence from the text that supports your topic sentence
Commentary or explanations of the significance of your evidence

Conclusion
Summary of your main points
Expression of your own thoughts
Brief considerations of related questions, such as:
How does a major theme of the play relate to the causes of the characters deaths?
What lesson can be learned from the characters fates?
What was Shakespeare trying to tell us about life through this story?