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Julie Gouillon
OConnor
Honors English
27 May 2016
The Consequences of Secrecy in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet, written by playwright William Shakespeare, is the tragedy of two starcrossed lovers, fourteen year old Juliet and sixteen year old Romeo. Romeo and Juliet, from
enemy families, have a curious relationship of lust and secrecy. A major theme in this worldlyfamous play is the consequences of secrecy, which is shown by the death of Paris, Romeo, and
Juliet.
A prominent theme exhibited in William Shakespeares tragedy Romeo and Juliet is the
consequences of secrecy which is revealed by the death of Juliets courter, Paris. Paris is a
nobleman that makes an agreement with Lord Capulet, Juliets father, to marry her. To protest the
marriage to Paris and to be able to live with Romeo, Juliet works together with Friar Lawrence to
fake her death. Juliet drinks a sleeping potion, making her family believe she is dead. She is
transported to the family tomb where Romeo finds her, unaware of the fact that she has not
passed. Out of anger, Romeo and Paris fight and Romeo kills Paris. The death of Paris, though it
may not seem to be a great one, is important in showing the theme of this play the consequences
of secrets. Then she is well, and nothing can be ill. Her body sleeps in the Capels monument.
(V.ii.17-18). This quote, said by a man that is unnamed, was said to Romeo while he was in
Mantua. Romeo was unaware of the plan between Friar Lawrence and Juliet and believed that
Juliet had actually died. This misunderstanding then led him to kill Paris while both of them were

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in the tomb of the Capulets. Pariss death, much like that of Romeo, expresses the prominent
theme of Romeo and Juliet, the consequences of secrets.
Romeos death in Romeo and Juliet, is a key example of the theme the consequences of
secrets. Romeos death was his own doing. He, unlike Paris, was not killed by anyone, but by
himself. Though both Paris and Romeo did not die under the exact same circumstances, both of
them died due to misunderstandings because secrets which were important to them and their
lives, were not revealed to them in time. Romeo, upon finding Juliet dead in the Capulets tomb,
drank a poison to kill himself. Heres to my love! [Drinks.] O true apothecary! Thy drugs are
quick. Thus with a kiss I die. [Falls.] (V.iii.119-120). This quote from a lengthy monologue of
Romeos shows his dedication to Juliet. Out of the sadness he feels from having to live without
her, Romeo kills himself by drinking a poison. The poison kills him quickly, but not before he
can have his last kiss. This line is almost a reference to the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet
which was accompanied by a couple of kisses. Because he goes out with a kiss, Romeo is
saying how his life started with a kiss and ended with one. This means, that Romeo and Juliets
first kiss was the beginning of his life, showing his dedication and adoration for Juliet. Because
Romeo was not informed about Juliets plan with Friar Lawrence and he could only think about
Juliet before he died, one could theorize that technically it is Juliet that brought him to life and
killed him. Romeos death could have been prevented if he had known about the plan between
Juliet and Friar Lawrence. Juliets secret about her death, brought death upon Paris, Romeo,
and herself, making it an important example of the theme the consequences of secrets from the
play Romeo and Juliet.
The last, but not least, death of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is that of
Juliet. Juliet, much like Paris and Romeo, died because of her secret. However, that is where the

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similarity between their deaths ends. Juliet, unlike Paris and Romeo, was not as much of a victim
of her secret as Paris and Romeo. Paris was killed by Romeo after provoking him in the Capulet
tomb. Romeo killed himself out of the sadness he felt knowing that Juliet was no longer alive.
Juliet, however, killed herself because of the actual death of Romeo. Romeo, unaware of Juliets
secret, killed himself out of his love for her and his realization that they would never be together.
Juliet killed herself because there was no longer anyone to marry her and that Romeo had
actually killed himself. Romeo died for nothing and Juliet died for Romeo, but if Juliets secret
had reached Romeo, he would not have killed himself or Paris. Yea, noise? Then Ill be brief. O
happy dagger! [Snatches Romeos dagger.] This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die. [She
stabs herself and falls.] (V.iii.169-170). This quote shows Juliets last words. She, much life
Romeo, killed herself out of her love for him and sadness. Just before these lines, Juliet found
Romeo dead and the poison next to him. Poison. I see, hath been his timeless end. O churl!
Drunk all, and left no friendly drop To help me after? I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet
doth hang on them (V.iii.162-165). This quote, from just before Juliet stabs herself, shows a
similarity between the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Both choose to kiss the other before their
death. The kisses before death show their love for one another. This quote also shows that Juliet
planned to kill herself the moment she noticed that he had died. She notices that he left not one
drop of poison in his cup. She then asks herself why he chose to leave no drop for her after
discovering his death. She proceeds to kill herself. Juliets death shows the true consequence of
secrets and how even though she knew about eh secret, the consequence of sadness and
ultimately, death, still applies to her.
William Shakespeares tragedy Romeo and Juliet, exhibits a major theme of the
consequences of secrecy through the deaths of Paris, Romeo, and Juliet. Due to

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misunderstandings and miscommunication, the deaths of Paris, Romeo, and Juliet were the
consequences of Juliets secrecy. In an effort to be able to escape her marriage to Paris and to
maintain her marriage to Romeo, Juliet fakes her own death without Romeo knowing, a mistake
that took the live of Paris, Romeo, and Juliet.