Firstly impulsive behaviour surrounding love is a cause for tragedy in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo's decision to go to the Capulet's party in Act 1 Scene 5 leads to him falling in love with Juliet and thus setting their fated tragedy in motion. Moreover him falling in love with Juliet means he forgets his love for Rosaline and we never know if Rosaline may have suffered from his change of heart. Moreover his attendance at the party means incites the two lovers' tragedy of having fallen in love their House's sworn enemy meaning they can never truly be together. In addition, Romeo impulsively challenges Tybalt to a duel after seeing his beloved friend by Tybalt in Act 3 Scene 1. As a result of his mad vengeance, he is cexiled and both families suffer and mourn the losses of important kinsmen (furthermore it sets up the decisions that later lead to both of the lovers' suicides. In Act 4 Scene 3 Juliet decides to take the elixir after hearing of Romeo's exile - in hopes of seeing him again, and to avoid marrying Paris Act 4 Scene 3. The pretense of her death leads to Balthasar wrongly informing Romeo of her state which as result he believes the tragedy that has befallen his love and thus becomes overwhelmed with grief which causes him to act even more impulsively out of grief.This is demonstrated through his impulsive decision to return to Veron after hearing of Juliet's death from Balthasar in 5.1. Had he waited a moment longer for news from the Friar (via Friar John) he and Juliet would have been alive and could have been together. Instead, out of his misinformed grief he buys a deadly elixir from an apothecary intending to commit suicide by Juliet's side (since he does not want to live without her). Moreover he kills Paris in his excessive grief when Paris won't let him pass into the crypt in Act 5 Scene 3, resulting in an unnecessary death and more loss of kinsmen for the Capulets. Romeo impulsively commits suicide where had he waited he would have seen Juliet wake up. The Baz Luhrmann adaptation showcases this impulsive behaviour and its consequences as Leonardo Dicaprio's Romeo sees Juliet wake and before he dies, realising his mistake. Juliet then kills herself with Romeo's dagger seeing the failure of her inital impulsive plan. Their impulsive dual suicide leads to the great melancholia of both families and fulfills the fated tragedy described in the Prologue.
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