Romeo's Tragic Flaw

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Romeo and Juliet is a key example of a tragedy created by Shakespeare that illustrates Aristotle's principles outlined in Poetics. The play has two tragic protagonists, Romeo and Juliet. The protagonists are both from esteemed families in Verona that have a conflict with each other. The tragic flaw of Romeo was his immaturity and his tendency to act solely on emotion. His flaw leads him into many conflicts and decisions, as demonstrated by him falling in love with Juliet at first glance. Romeo had originally been charmed by Rosaline, mourning over the fact she did not reciprocate his feelings despite falling in love with Juliet when he laid eyes upon her. Other examples of his rash decisions include his killing of Tybalt and killing himself by drinking poison. Blinded by the rage of Tybalt killing his close friend Mercutio, he killed him without thinking of any consequences. Another instance is when he bought poison and chose to die with Juliet. His decision was blinded by emotion, not allowing him to think clearly. …show more content…

Her flaw is that she is naive and innocent, shown by her loyalty to Romeo and willingness to lie to her family. Her flaw eventually leads her to try and execute a risky plan proposed by Friar Lawrence to avoid marrying Paris. This sense of loyalty to Romeo leads to unforeseen miscommunication that results in her tragic fate, as she wakes and finds Romeo dead beside her and chooses to take her life rather than live without Romeo. Their blossoming love started on a positive note and ended in tragedy and death, highlighting the criteria of a proper Shakespearean tragedy as illustrated by

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