Identify three events in the play that had a significant impact on the lives of Romeo and Juliet, and explain why each event had a role in their...

There are several events that take place during Romeo and Juliet which have a direct effect on the ultimate fate of the two young lovers. The three most important are their initial meeting, the fight that breaks out in Act III, Scene 1, and the plot of Friar Laurence to have Juliet fake her death.

Obviously, the meeting between the son and daughter of Montague and Capulet is important. They fall instantly in love and even after they find out each other's identity they continue their ill-fated relationship. As the Prologue indicates, they are "star-crossed" and so the audience already knows that their lives are doomed.

Act III is the turning point of the play. Romeo and Juliet have just been married, but since the play is a tragedy, there must be a plot twist which turns the play toward conflict and death. In Scene 1, despite the warnings of Benvolio, Mercutio remains in the street and encounters the Capulet men led by Tybalt. When Romeo enters the scene Mercutio and Tybalt are given an excuse to fight as Romeo, who has just married Tybalt's cousin Juliet, backs down. Mercutio cannot tolerate the supposed cowardice and challenges Tybalt himself. When Romeo attempts to break up the fight, Mercutio is killed. In revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt, remarking that he is "fortune's fool." Indeed he is, as the event leads to his banishment. Because Romeo is banished, he never receives word of the Friar's plot for Juliet to fake her death. When he is mistakenly told that she is dead, he buys poison in order to commit suicide inside the Capulet tomb next to Juliet.

Friar Laurence's plan for Juliet to fake her death is important because it lands the girl in the tomb where she and Romeo will kill themselves. The Friar believes that if Juliet takes a potion which will make her look dead, she can avoid the arranged marriage with Count Paris. The Friar will send a note to Romeo and the two will eventually be reunited. Unfortunately, the note is never delivered to Romeo and when Balthasar arrives in Mantua, he tells Romeo that Juliet is dead. Romeo buys poison from a poor apothecary and goes to the tomb. Even though he comments that Juliet still looks very much alive he drinks the poison. When Juliet awakens, she is distraught by seeing Romeo's dead body and so kills herself with Romeo's dagger.