A Sense of Tragedy in the Final Scene of Romeo and Juliet
The Oxford English dictionary defines tragedy as
1) A play in which the main protagonist falls to disaster through the
combination of a personal failing and circumstances which they cannot
deal.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy because both characters kill themselves
to show how much they love each other, even though that love is
forbidden. Romeo and Juliet is different from other plays of
Elizabethan times as Shakespeare made the play about a type of love
that is positive as opposed to the type of love shown in the revenge
tragedy plays of the era. Revenge tragedies include 'The Duchess of
Malfi' by Webster, 'The Spanish Tragedy' by Kyd and 'Tamberlaine' by
Marlowe.
The genre revenge tragedy is based on murder and revenge. The murders
are normally depicted in excruciating detail. Themes of this genre
include social, political and religious interests of the Elizabethan
people.
In addition to this, the theme of parental control and the rebellion
of their children to an extent can and did determine the ending as
both Romeo and Juliet betrayed their parents which was, in the
Elizabethan era, a major crime which was comparable to treason.
If Shakespeare had written the play in such a way that the main
characters lived "happily ever after", it would have been censored as
it goes against the natural order of time. At the start of the play,
there is stability as both the children obey their parents. When they
meet, the equilibrium is disrupted and they start to disobey their
parents and their beliefs by breaking the "ancient grudge" set by the
two families Montague ...
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...ier through the hurt caused by Romeo being
banished "Grief of my son's exile hath stopped her breath" This adds
sorrow to the final scene.
The Friar then proceeds to tell the families the entire story in a
direct way; there are no puns, just direct information and the truth
of the tragedy.
The prince speaks about the situation and initially calls it a
"misadventure" but changes his words to "foul murder" creating a sense
of fear towards the two families. He is quite unsympathetic at first,
considering both families had lost their only children. This increases
the sense of tragedy between the families. The tragedy is heightened
still as the families are still feuding at this point even though
their children have just committed suicide. The enraged prince
confirms this "see what a scourge is laid upon your hate!"
The two primary men should have figured out what was going to happen. After all, they are feuding families, what else would you do? In the end, the final verdict on their harassment to the public peace plays a strong role in the play to come. The prince sentenced death to anyone who dare disturb the peace.... ...
...d Juliet's suicide is the result of Act III, Scene I's shift in genres. The death of Mercutio provokes a change from comedy to tragedy but it is Romeo's actions that sustain the tragedy. Although Tybalt's murder reinforces the tragedy, it results in another change in the play. His death changes the course of the play as the family feud becomes increasingly serious. This further complicates the situation for Romeo and Juliet since now their love is forbidden even more than it was before. They cannot reveal their marriage, thus, their attempt to reconcile the families fail. All of this stems from the events in Act III, Scene I. Therefore, it can be concluded that this scene is the most critical scene in Romeo and Juliet.
The Deaths of Romeo and Juliet Was it just one person’s fault, or a mixture? In this essay, I will include many different reasons as to why Romeo and Juliet die. I will explain in detail each point and put forward my own opinions. I will use quotes to back up each point and explain why the historical context is relevant.
Is love worth it all? As publicized in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, reckless decisions may possibly lead to an unforeseen and dreadful conclusion. He also makes it known that if feelings about a situation are over dramatized they can cause a hazardous faux pas. That is exactly what Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence implement in Shakespeare’s tragedy. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the major characters cause the tragic outcome of the drama through their bad choices and decisions.
A tragedy in a play or film should include the progression from happiness to the downfall of someone, where they express all their sentiments and fears. This is relevant to the play of Romeo. and Juliet as when Romeo kills Tybalt. He realises his downfall and expresses his emotions and fear. I am a Tybalt's entrance in the play gives the audience a clear and lasting impression.
The story of Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. The two lovers go against their families and against their hate to be together but they don’t think about the consequences, which in the end are devastating.
After Friar Laurence confesses to the Prince, The Prince says, “Of a poor ‘pothecary, and therewith came to this vault to die and lie with Juliet. Where are these enemies? Capulet, Montague, See what scourge is laid upon your hate, / That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love! And I, for winking at your discords, have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished”(5.3.289-295).
Someone once said, "All literature shows us the power of emotion. It is emotion, not reason that motivates characters in literature." This means that all literature is an expression of emotion and it is the emotion that is the main character, and often the setting and theme as well. It is not the reasoning within the story that draws you in, but rather how the story deals with the emotions we all have felt. It provides us with a possible scenario of the impact of focusing only on emotion and losing focus on reason. The power of emotion driving literary characters to see their emotions through, make us wish we could feel so strongly about something or someone and the way we would all like to think we would see our emotions through. Atticus Finch, from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, and Romeo Montague from Shakespeare's drama, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, both are driven only by their emotions. Both are so driven to see their powerful emotions, no matter what might happen to them, that their emotion and the opposite emotions of everyone else around them becomes the main character, setting and theme in these stories. You are drawn in to the emotion by asking would I have the courage to stand up to my home town full of racism to seek justice for a black person as Atticus did in To Kill A Mockingbird? Could I be so in love, as Romeo was, that I would be willing to give up everything I had, my family, my position in society, even my own life, for the love of another person?
In the course of the play, Romeo and Juliet immediately fall in love. Also, they know they are meant for each other and therefore decide to get married. After this marriage, there was a brief moment in time where everything was perfect. They are married, in love and there is nothing stopping them from being together. This however quickly changes after a fight that leads to death. Once Romeo is banished from Verona for the penalty of murder, love grows tremendously between the couple and drives the need to be together. The marriage between Romeo and Juliet is hidden from their parents, so Montague decides to arrange a marriage between her and Paris. With all the conflict arising between Juliet’s family, Friar Lawrence creates a plan that unfortunately does not succeed. His plan for Juliet is to tell her father she will marry Paris then go to bed with no one, not even the nurse. After, she will drink a potion to make her seem dead for forty two hours and then have a messenger tell Romeo about it. He will have her put in a vault to wait for Friar to bring her out so she and Romeo can elope. The plan was perfect until tragedy occurs, Benvolio had seen Juliet dead and immediately tells Romeo about it. The result is Romeo and Juliet murdering themselves and the play had a tragic ending. Overall, young, innocent lovers die, through no fault of their own but a simple mistake. “How oft when men are at the
Multiple characters are to blame for the tragedy of the play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Romeo displays his immaturity by liking girls solo based off their looks, Juliet falls for Romeo and his willingness and impatience. While Friar Lawrence know is is a sin, he has an idea to help them be together,
There are many tragedies to be found in literature, but only a few are like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It is a story of forbidden love in which a young couple are torn apart by their families’ feud in Renaissance Italy; the play’s tragic ending has both main characters die. Many aspects of this play have sparked a heated debate: is Romeo and Juliet a tragedy or is it simply tragic? Some critics claim that the play lacks elements that are necessary for a tragedy. Yet Aristotle explicitly states the essential components of a tragedy in his Poetics, and Romeo and Juliet meets those requirements. Romeo and Juliet can be considered an Aristotelian tragedy because of Romeo’s impetuousness, Juliet’s loyalty to Romeo, and the play’s peripeteia.
The Death of Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is considered to be one of the greatest love tragedies of all time. Shakespeare, who is known to be a successful playwright for his remarkable plays and beautiful poetry, manages to create a classical play filled with strong emotions, tension, action, violence, humor and most importantly, love. This play is set in Verona when two “star crossed lovers” meet and fall in love passionately. Most of the responsibility for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet should be put upon their parents, themselves, and fate. Romeo and Juliet’s parents should be hold responsible for their children’s death.
The play Romeo and Juliet is a widely known tragedy written by Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet features two rival families and their children. When a daughter of Capulet and son of Montague meet at a party, sparks immediately fly. However, because of their families rivalry, they marry in secret, and were happy. That is until things took a turn for the worst. After an unexpected accident, Romeo is forced to leave the city, and he may never return. Juliet’s not sure she’ll ever see him again and tries to plan a way to be with Romeo, but ends up making things worse. It is an extremely tragic story. Or that’s what everyone is led to believe. However, the play Romeo and Juliet is in actuality a comedy. Between the overabundance of hyperbole, Paris’
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is often referred to as a classic love story. It is a story of love at first sight and fighting between families. The classic is a true tragedy because of the way it is created. Romeo and Juliet is an Aristotelian tragedy because it clearly follows the model shown by Aristotle. All aspects of the plot and characters perfectly follow way Aristotle defined. The plot follows the events that need to occur and the main characters have a flaw. Pity and fear is felt for the characters throughout the play. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a true Aristotelian tragedy because of the characters, plot, and the fact that it triggers pity and fear.
The prince has a possible motive for revenge from the very outset: he is dejected by the “o’erhasty marriage” of his mother to his uncle. Hamlet’s first soliloquy sees the expression of his negative feelings and their growth in intensity; it emphasizes the corruption of the world and the frailty of women – an obvious reference to his mother’s hasty and incestuous marriage: