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The Plague ruins everything in Romeo and Juliet. Like, it's always understated how important the Plague is to the plot. A BIT OF HISTORY Shakespeare was alive during the second wave of the Bubonic plague in England (in the mid 1590s). Theaters had to be closed so people didn't, you know, die and stuff, so it ended up impacting his livelihood quite significantly. Romeo and Juliet was written around the time of the Plague, so it is safe to say that it was on Shakespeare's mind. Plus, it's set in Italy in the mid 1300s, during (you guessed it!) the first wave of the Bubonic Plague. So if we're looking for historical accuracy, Romeo and Juliet is going to be set during the Plague.
FAIR VERONA The Montagues and Capulets hate each other's guts. That much is clear from the first scene. And a common criticism of the play is "why don't they just get out of Verona?" It seems like kind of a weird plot hole, until you take their current situation into account. The Montagues and the Capulets can't leave Verona. Not unless they want to have long and painful deaths. - Verona is a walled city (safe from the outside world) - It is surrounded by a river - The city outside (Mantua, and we'll get to it later) was a hotspot for the Plague Verona was highly insular, and that was its benefit. It was also its major flaw, because the two major families of the area hated each other's guts. The tensions caused by the Plague and not being able to leave only went to exacerbate this hatred.
"A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES" RIP Mercutio. You would've loved drag brunch. Also vaccines, since the Plague (indirectly) is probably the reason he died. Yes, I realize he dies because Tybalt stabs him. But why did Tybalt stab him in the first place? Let's roll back the clock a little. - Tybalt killed Mercutio because he was aligned with the Montagues, who are the enemies of the Capulets - The Capulets and Montagues can't just avoid each other because they're stuck in the same city - They're stuck in the same city because of the Plague There's also something to be said for the desperation felt by the people in Verona. Either they can die from sores and diarrhea, or they can die in a fight. And I dunno about y'all, but one of those things sounds a lot cooler. With the Plague closing in, of course people are gonna start picking fights. It's the perfect storm of stressed and reckless. If we contextualize the quote "a plague on both your houses" with the era, it's not just Mercutio cursing everyone out because he's angry he's gonna die (though that's definitely part of it). It's a warning. The Plague is the great equalizer, and it's going after everyone, regardless of whether they're a Montague or a Capulet.
ROMEO'S BANISHMENT Another compelling bit of evidence for the Plague's importance in Romeo and Juliet is Romeo's reaction to being exiled. Romeo is a lovesick puddle of soup. He fell in love with a girl at a party and then died because he couldn't live without her. He's overdramatic. But his reaction to being banished from Verona is pretty dramatic, even for him. Like, come on, dude. But what if it wasn't the fact that he would be separated from Juliet that he was the most worried about? Remember when I said we'd circle back around to Mantua? We're circling back around. Because Mantua (right outside of Verona) was a playground for the Plague. A Plague-ground, if you will. It was a place where a lot of people came and went, and it was blocked off by bridges. So, if an outbreak happened, Mantua (and those in it) would be cut off from the world and left for dead. Suddenly, Romeo's complaints about leaving Verona don't sound quite so unreasonable. Juliet's worry about Romeo going away doesn't seem quite so silly. And the Nurse's advice to Juliet, saying "he's basically dead now, so don't worry about him anymore" actually seems pretty reasonable. In fact, the biggest reason why Romeo and Juliet don't survive in the end is because the correspondence Friar Lawrence meant to send didn't go through fast enough, because Friar Peter (the guy he gave the letter to) was being quarantined.
ADULTS OF VERONA The Plague helps explain the actions of the adults, too. Juliet's parents are trying to get her to marry, even though she's really young (even by the standards of the era). This can be interpreted in a couple different ways. Either they want Juliet to hurry on with her life and get out of their hair, or they know that something might happen to them (or Juliet, for that matter) and they want to do their best to put Juliet in a good situation. The choice of Paris is, given what Juliet is facing, a pretty good one. He's good-looking, generally depicted as being close enough to Juliet's age, courteous, filthy rich, and not affiliated with either the Montagues or the Capulets. Juliet might not be in love with him, but she would at least be taken care of. Was Lord Capulet a perfect man? No. But can his actions be boiled down into just a desire for control? Not if you account for the Plague, at which point he (and his fellow adults) become much more nuanced and much more reasonable.
Romeo and Juliet, on its own, is plausible. It is possible to accept the story of the star-crossed lovers (I mean, the adaptations speak for themselves). But the introduction of the Plague creates a perfect storm of storytelling, cementing it as a tragedy. Not only could it happen, but this was the way it was always going to happen.