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In Act III, Scene One of Romeo and Juliet, what do you think will be Juliet's reaction to learning of Tybalt's death? Why?

Every reader might have a different response to this question based upon their own personal compass and assessment of the text, so I can only answer for myself. Personally, I would have anticipated Juliet to be so devastated by the death of her cousin (and by the fact that it was her own husband who killed him) that she would have broken off her relationship with Romeo. As the saying goes, "Blood runs thicker than...

Every reader might have a different response to this question based upon their own personal compass and assessment of the text, so I can only answer for myself. Personally, I would have anticipated Juliet to be so devastated by the death of her cousin (and by the fact that it was her own husband who killed him) that she would have broken off her relationship with Romeo. As the saying goes, "Blood runs thicker than water;" after suffering such a loss, I would have assumed Juliet would blame Romeo for Tybalt's death, re-calibrate her emotional state, and return her allegiances to her family. 


Alas, those assumptions would be incorrect! To be fair, there is ample evidence that Juliet won't behave in such a traditional way since her relationship with Romeo is already an act of rebellion. In truth, Juliet is very conflicted upon learning the news of Tybalt's death and Romeo's subsequent banishment:



Is Romeo slaughter'd, and is Tybalt dead?


My dear-loved cousin, and my dearer lord?


Then, dreadful trumpet, sound the general doom!


For who is living, if those two are gone?



Juliet must deal with the expectations of public grief that comes with being a Capulet after the loss of a family member, but also with the private grief of her husband's exile. Ultimately, she does not abandon Romeo, but instead chooses to defend and support him in spite of his crime and the immense distance it puts between them physically and emotionally.

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