Romeo and Juliet: A True Tragedy
An Aristotelian tragedy consists of several different aspects. The main characters contain a tragic flaw, or hamartia, that contributes to their fall from esteem. Additionally, the audience experiences pity and fear evoked by Shakespeare for the duration of the play. Next, the characters undergo a catastrophe at the end of the tragedy, in which the characters meet a tragic and horrendous death. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a true Aristotelian tragedy because both Romeo and Juliet possess a tragic flaw, a catastrophe takes place in which both characters meet a tragic death, and the audience is aroused with pity and fear.
Romeo’s tragic flaw impetuousness causes him to make decisions quickly, which contributes to his tragic death. Romeo acts with haste when he marries Juliet, not after knowing her for at least twenty-four hours. Juliet tells Romeo, “It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, / Too like the lightning” (II, ii, 118-120). One can see that even Juliet recognizes Romeo’s impetuousness and questions if they are moving their relationship forward too quickly and hastily. Romeo allows his anger to guide his actions and this gets him into trouble many times throughout the play. One example of this is immediately after Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo is so devastated by his friend’s death that he does not think clearly and acts impulsively. Normally, Romeo would not have gone after Tybalt but he is angered by Mercutio’s death and seeks revenge. Romeo regrets killing Tybalt and even he recognizes his flaw when he says, “Oh, I am fortune’s fool!” (III, I, 132). Romeo realizes that he should not have gone and attacked Tybalt and that there are serious consequences. Last but not least, Romeo...
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... feel pity and fear for Romeo and Juliet throughout the play. Undoubtedly, Romeo and Juliet is a bona fide Aristotelian tragedy because it contains hamartia, catharsis, and a tragic catastrophe.
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... play. The story follows all of Aristotle’s guidelines and therefore must be viewed as a true Aristotelean tragedy: “for there never was a story of more woe/ then this of Juliet and her Romeo” (V, iii, 309-310).
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.
A tragedy imitates the emotional events of life by showing instead of telling. It does not have to be an exact replication of life, but instead have some realistic aspects to it. This type of play is special because an event in the plot is caused by a preceding choice or action performed by the character. Therefore, unlike a story where occurrences are caused by coincidences, a tragedy must have events that inescapably connect to one another as a result of the characters’ choices. Consequently, this idea of cause and effect must direct the plot of the play until the protagonists have an unfortunate end. Thus, the audience watching the tragedy will experience fear and pity for the characters since their actions will lead to their dramatic downfall. Similarily, William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet, conveys these fundamental ideas, but it mainly emphasizes on certain tragic concepts. These components, explained by Aristotle, certainly make this play a quintessence of tragedy. They support the chain of events in Romeo and Juliet by using character traits and majors events to connect the plot and illustrate how the characters create their own ending. For this reason, Romeo and Juliet is a genuine tragedy because of its use of significant, tragic elements; tragically-flawed protagonists; and inevitable fate.
The Downfall of Romeo and Juliet Act three scene one will be my main aid, for in this essay I will discuss the downfall of Romeo and Juliet. Now. The Capulet and the Montague’s are two profound families. Verona, both of whom have been feuding for donkey’s years; Romeo. Montague is deeply in love with Rosaline.
The tragic falls onto the responsibility of Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence. Romeo should not have asked Juliet to marry him so suddenly. “Th’ exchange of thy love’s faithful vow for mine.” (2.2.127). Left unsatisfied by Juliet, Romeo asks Juliet for her hand in marriage the day they met. Rushing back to Verona after hearing the news about Juliet’s death displays Romeo’s heedless behavior. “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” (2.3.94) was told to Romeo. Friar Lawrence advised Romeo to not make any hasty decisions he may regret later on. Romeo tends to solve his issues with violence and never thinks of
end I will come to a final decision of who actually was to blame for
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.
Aristotle proposed what is believed to be the first definition of a true tragedy. Specifically, he states that a tragedy triggers great pity and fear caused by the main characters’ actions alone. Likewise, a true tragedy lacks coincidence and fate plays little in the overall play. William Shakespeare writes the play of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in which the audience knows the destiny of these two tragic heroes from the very beginning. Although this play is tragic knowing that the lives of two lovers are lost, it is not a tragedy as Romeo and Juliet are not solely responsible for their own deaths. Destiny is determined through the hands of greater forces than that of Romeo and Juliet, making this play merely tragic and not a true tragedy. Therefore, the play of Romeo and Juliet is not a tragedy as coincidental events, the role of fate, and Romeo and Juliet’s numerous tragic flaws are what ultimately cause the outcome of this play.
“Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, still-waking sleep, that is not what this is” (Shakespeare 1.1. 179-180). A string of contradictions explain the love story of Romeo and Juliet, a contradiction. Some critics consider this story a tragedy because Shakespeare once wrote; “the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves”. While others say it does not follow the standard Aristotelian form of tragedy (Krims 1). Romeo and Juliet can not be a tragedy because no flaw causes them to fall, the lovers, could not have controlled fate, and family and friends assisted them to their deaths.
Othello is one of Shakespeare’s four pillars of great tragedies. Othello is unique in comparison to the others in that it focuses on the private lives of its primary characters. When researching the subject of Othello being an Aristotelian tragedy, there is debate among some critics and readers. Some claim that Shakespeare did not hold true to Aristotle’s model of tragedy, according to his definition in “Poetics,” which categorized Othello as a classic tragedy as opposed to traditional tragedy. Readers in the twenty-first century would regard Othello a psychological thriller; it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat creating the emotions of terror, heart break, and sympathy. This paper will focus on what Shakespeare actually intended regarding “Othello” and its Aristotelian influences.
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.
All in all, Romeo and Juliet is a true Aristotelian tragedy because of the characters, plot, and the fact that it triggers the emotions of pity and fear. All these concepts are outlined by Aristotle and need to be present in a tragedy. Because, all of the aspects of an Aristotelian tragedy are present the play is truly a tragedy. The tragedy has the perfect characters that experience an anagnorisis, peripeteia, and catastrophes. In short, Romeo and Juliet is a true Aristotelian tragedy.
An Aristotelian tragedy includes many different characteristics. It is a cause-and-effect chain and it contains the elements of catharsis, which is pity and fear, and hamartia, which is the tragic flaw embedded in the main characters. The famous play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is about two lovers of two different families who hate each other and the misdemeanors they have to surpass. Many debate on whether it is an Aristotelian tragedy or simply tragic. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet should be regarded as an Aristotelian tragedy because catharsis is exhibited in the play, Juliet’s blindness of love is shown, and Romeo’s impetuousness is the tragic flaw that leads to his demise.
Romeo and Juliet, the tragic play by William Shakespeare, centers around the love story between Romeo, the young heir of the Montagues, and Juliet, the daughter of the house of Capulet. This story starts off with two opposing families of royalty, the Montagues and the Capulets. These families have a deep seeded hatred for one another that traces way back into their family’s history. Shakespeare takes his audience though a heart churning tale of two star crossed lovers. From the start Romeo and Juliet’s love seemed to be an uphill battle that they would never win even with help. The relationship of Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story of two star crossed lovers trying to find a way to love each other.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, is a well known play. That it is still performed in theaters and English classes to this day. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a play about two star crossed lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. They fall in love, despite of the feud between their families. They were forced to keep their love secret because of their families, and they also got married without their families figuring out. This story is still read now because of its strong usage of literary elements. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet endures time because of its expert use of literary elements including foreshadowing, metaphor, and simile.