Tragic Love in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Tragic Love in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Tragedy was very popular in Shakespeare’s day. The majority had a

climax at the end involving many dead bodies finishing on stage. Most

other play writers at this time also wrote tragedies like John Webster

who wrote “the witch devil”. Romeo and Juliet was the first major

tragedy. It was before “the big four” which was Macbeth, Othello,

Hamlet and King Lear which were written between (1600-1606).All of

Shakespeare tragic heroes are doomed almost from the start due to a

fatal flaw in their personality. E.g. Macbeth was too analytical,

thoughtful, and not a man of action. Othello is overly jealous. Romeo

is far too romantic, hasty and fickle. Maybe they were both doomed

from the start.

Fate is one of the key reason why the play ends in tragedy. The two

families are rivals so it is fate from the start when they meet. “His

name is Romeo, and a Mountague, the son of your great enemy“ The nurse

says this to Juliet when Juliet meets Romeo for the fast time. In the

scene it tells you the whole plot of the play so this is fate, we know

from the beginning. “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a

pair of star-crossed lovers take their life”. This is saying that 2

lovers from different families will take their lives to be together.

Shakespeare used this to get the crowds attention because it mentions

people dying which would get the attention of the audience. Was it all

written in the stars from the stars? Was there nothing they could do

to stop it happening? “And shake the yoke of unauspicious stars”. This

means Romeo is annoyed with the stars because in their day they

believed the stars mapped out all their future for them. A yoke is a

burden. Romeo is saying he is trying to shake off the burden of the

unauspicous stars. He wants to break away from the idea of the stars

deciding everything. They are talking about welcome death before they