Romeo and Juliet: Sorrowful Suicides
Tragic end to the lives of the star crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet.
Last Thursday evening, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet were found dead in each other’s arms in Juliet’s monument. They both allegedly committed suicide. Sources say that Romeo used poison and Juliet used Romeo’s dagger to harm themselves ultimately proving the destructive nature of love's powers.
Suspicion had arisen, among Verona citizens, as a result of the incident, since Juliet had already been pronounced dead. According to Friar Lawrence, Juliet did not die before Romeo, as many of the citizens assumed. He claimed that he supplied young Juliet with a potion which put her in a deep sleep, in an effort to avoid a wedding with County Paris. In his words, he supplied her with the potion in an effort to help her, not hurt her.
He also claims that Juliet came to him, seeking help and a way to relieve her stress. However, the potion allegedly caused both suicides in the end.
Romeo returned from Mantua because he was told that Juliet was dead. Romeo had purchased a death poison from an apothecary before returning to Juliet’s supposed grave. The apothecary says that Romeo was desperate for the most deadly solution—death. "He said “'Let me have A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear As will disperse itself through all the veins That the life-weary taker may fall dead, And that the trunk may be discharged of breath As violently as hasty powder fired. Doth hurry from the fatal cannon’s womb'” (V.i.59-65) I of course did not want to violate the laws of Mantua, I was pressured and reminded of my poverty. I feel extremely guilty but hardly had a choice,” says the apothecary.
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