Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare as a Tragedy
"Romeo and Juliet" is considered by most people to be Shakespeare's
most tragic work. Two young people die for their love for each other -
what can be more purer, romantic and tragic than that. But is it as
simple as that? What does actually make the play so tragic? Before we
can discuss the tragic aspects of Romeo and Juliet, we must first
understand the meaning of the term 'tragedy'. The Chambers Dictionary
defines tragedy as" a type of drama dealing with tragic events and
often involving the fall of an honourable, worthy and important
protagonist, often with elevated action and language; a play of this
type; the art of such drama; any piece of literature, music, etc
ending with disaster for the protagonist; a disaster, any sad story or
turn of events; any event involving killing".
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by the definition in the dictionary.
Both lead roles, Romeo and Juliet, die in the play, therefore making
it tragic. However there are many more factors which are typical of
Shakespeare' tragedies which occur, and some factors which make the
play less tragic. Juliet is a more tragic figure because she has no
real control over her life at all. The arrival of Romeo and their
subsequent love affair gives her an alternative to a life controlled
by her father and his choice of husband for her - she could run away
and live a romantic life with Romeo. At the end both Romeo and Paris
are dead so even if she survived there would be no future for Juliet.
Main characters in Shakespeare's plays are often quite innocent and
are swept along by other events happening at the time, for e...
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...nciliation with
her father. Her union with Romeo has lost Juliet her family whatever
the outcome.
'Romeo and Juliet' was written as a tragedy, and is still seen as such
over four hundred years later. A modern day audience may react
differently to some aspects of the play - the treatment of women and
the age of Juliet, for example. In our society, Juliet would still be
considered a child and Romeo would be in as much trouble for his
marriage to underage Juliet as he would be for the murder of Tybalt.
Yet, despite that, our sympathies are with the young couple who were
not responsible for the feud between their parents but who had to
suffer the consequences. The tragedy is inevitable from the beginning.
From the moment Romeo first sees Juliet and they share their first
kiss they hurtle headlong towards their death.
Romeo & Juliet Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy, but it did not have to be. Many things could have been done to prevent their deaths. Many characters contributed to their deaths. The sole character that was responsible for their deaths is Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence is responsible for the deaths of the lovers because he was secretive with their relationship, he was unable communicate effectively, and he had a cowardly persona.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy mainly because of the downfall of the main characters through weakness or misfortune, which lead to their deaths but these flaws are not the only reasons for this tragedy, it is possible that their fate was “written in the stars” as there are many references made about these stars. Fate (the fact that life is already planned out and is out of human control) must be one of the key factors in causing the tragedy of the “star-crossed lovers” Romeo and Juliet. It is possible that there was “some consequence yet hanging in the stars”(I iv) that already had their lives scripted down and no matter how much Romeo wanted to defy them “I defy you stars”(I, vi) he could not. This must mean that Romeo’s life was already planned out. But fate was not only interpreted in the stars, somehow it seemed that some of the characters foreshadowed their own fate, like Friar Lawrence foreshadowed “love so gentle in [Romeo’s] view, should be so tyrannous in proof”(I, I), this meaning that Romeo may see the love he has now, as wonderful, but as it continues it causes trouble.
In all of the best works of literature, each of a writer's characters has a purpose whether the role is small or big. Even if it goes unnoticed, the small characters usually play a key role to the story's plot development. These minor characters also add depth to the story's world and also help in the development of the major characters' personality. In William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the minor characters of Friar Lawrence, the Nurse, and Tybalt are in many ways the most pivotal characters to the play's development.
wither in their pride/ Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.” From
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet At the beginning of the play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is portrayed as
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would
What are we made of? I mean humans of course, but what are we made of. We know what our bodies are composed of but what is in our souls or spirits. Are humans really superior to other living things. Yes we can talk, but what are we made of? We are made of our feelings. Our standards, our way of life, our way of thinking and everyone is different. Some may be straight A students with a normal life while some have had a rough journey and less than perfect grades. But there are some things that I think most people have in them. It’s a positive spirit. Now, everyones is triggered by different stuff but we all have one. But, of course where there is a positive spirit there is a negative spirit which is much, much easier to catch. Even though The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet doesn’t scream positive messages about human spirit there are still some in it such as, love can make you do crazy things, in hard times people can unite, and that even when everyone is against you, you can still do what’s right.
Micheal Jordan famously wrote “If you accept the expectations of others then you never will change the outcome” (Jordan). One can appreciate the context of the quote when relating it to one of William Shakespeare’s greatest work, “Romeo and Juliet”, in which two long-feuding families finally end their strife after their children defy the societal expectations, and consequently take their lives away. The two lovers struggle to live up to the expectations society demands from them, which oppose the existence of their love. For example, the audience sees Juliet challenge her family’s expectations in order to protect her relationship with her true love, Romeo. Additionally, both Romeo and Juliet challenge their gender roles in order to love freely without any opposition from society. Also, as the love between the two intensify, both Romeo and Juliet struggle to abide to the social expectations of their Christian faith. In a nutshell, one of William Shakespeare’s most celebrated plays, “Romeo and Juliet”, is about how two lovers choose to defy the social expectations demanded by their society in an attempt to create an environment where the “true love” they possess can exist.
is once again brought up by Romeo at the end of Act 1, scene 4 when he
two families. It was unjust of him to send Romeo away from Verona as a
Created in 1595, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is about two star-crossed lovers from opposing families who hold an ancient grudge. The theme is about love and hate throughout the play.
His love for Rosaline is great but yet she can not say the same and
Relationships evolve as a human being evolves. During the time of Shakespeare, humans’ relationship was based mostly on impulse, but in the present time, humans do not tend to go impulsive at the beginning of the relationship for avoiding any tragedy by learning from past stories. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the original relationship between the lovers, their marriage, and their suicides are the direct result of their impulsive.
In this essay I shall be writing about why I agree that with the play,
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet I have been studying Romeo and Juliet in class and I have watched a production on television. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet for an audience used to sixteenth century stage conventions, we must appreciate that these conventions are very different from our own. The Elizabethan theatre was very distinctive, when a play was performed thousands of people would pack inside the theatre, the rich would be able to pay for seats in the stand sheltered from the wind and rain, while the poor had to stand and brave the elements as the theatre had no roof.