 In the later part of the 18th and through the 19th century , criticism centred on debates over the moral message of the play . Actor and playwright David Garrick 's 1748 adaptation excluded Rosaline : Romeo abandoning her for Juliet was seen as fickle and reckless . Critics such as Charles Dibdin argued that Rosaline had been purposely included in the play to show how reckless the hero was , and that this was the reason for his tragic end . Others argued that Friar Laurence might be Shakespeare 's spokesman in his warnings against undue haste . With the advent of the 20th century , these moral arguments were disputed by critics such as Richard Green Moulton : he argued that accident , and not some character flaw , led to the lovers ' deaths . 
