Forgiven or Punished?The play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, tells the tragedy of two star-crossed lovers who want nothing more than to be together . forever. "...Or, if you don't want to, just make him swear my love, and I won't be a Capulet anymore." (2.2.35-36) Romeo, a young and passionate Montague, meets Juliet at a Capulet party. When they meet, it's love at first sight. Juliet, a Capulet, is a beautiful young woman tired of being controlled by her father, Lord Capulet. The two families are engaged in a never-ending feud between the love of Romeo and Juliet. For four and a half days, Romeo and Juliet plan their wedding with the help of the priest Brother Laurence and Juliet's nurse. After the couple marries, Romeo is banished from the city of Verona, calling their ideal destiny into question. Lord Capulet forced Juliet to marry Count Paris after she married Romeo, leaving Friar to hatch a plan to avoid a second marriage for Juliet. Juliet takes a sedating potion which presumably renders her dead for forty-two hours – during this time, Romeo was to learn that she is still alive; However, that wasn't the case, so he bought illegal poison so he wouldn't have to live without Juliette. Juliette wakes up to find her true love dead next to her, thinking it necessary to stab herself with a dagger. After the couple's death, one question remains: Who should be pardoned and who should be punished? The nurse should be pardoned, while Brother Laurence and Count Paris should be punished. There are characters in Romeo and Juliet who should be pardoned. The nurse should be excused for her actions in the room. Even though she made the decision to help Juliette without her parents' consent, she was thin... middle of paper... elsewhere. (3.5.155-156) Juliet would not have to fake fate if she did not have to marry Paris the next day. If Lord Capulet had not moved the wedding to the next day, then Romeo would have received the letter he was originally supposed to receive and Friar Laurence's plan would have worked effortlessly. Additionally, the father would never allow Juliet to marry Romeo given that he is a Montague, their family's rival. This made the plan to marry Romeo even more difficult for Juliet. In the play Romeo and Juliet, many characters were to blame and some needed to be pardoned. Friar Laurence and Lord Capulet were most responsible for the problems Romeo and Juliet face. While the nurse tried to help and did what was best for the couple, even if it wasn't what Juliet wanted. The nurse did the most realistic thing by telling Juliette to just marry Paris..