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Romeo And Juliet Tragic Hero Essay

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Romeo: A Tragic Hero

There are many tragedies and tragic heroes, but the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is one of the most widely read tragedies of all time. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, two lovers, end up killing themselves because of their families hatred for eachother. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare develops Romeo as a tragic hero in many ways.
In Acts 1-4, Shakespeare does many things to develop Romeo as a tragic hero. For example, in most tragedies, the tragic hero comes from a high class family. In the prologue, it tells that Romeo comes from a high-ranking family. Another characteristic of tragic heroes is that they have an “outstanding quality of greatness”. Romeo’s outstanding quality of greatness is his ability to forgive and look past the feud. Shakespeare develops this quality in Romeo in the scene where Tybalt provokes Romeo, but Romeo refuses to fight him (3.1.59-70). This scene shows that Romeo is willing to forgive Tybalt for his insults and look past his family’s hatred for the Capulets. Tragic heroes also have a reversal of fortune. Shakespeare develops Romeo as a tragic hero by his reversal of fortune in Act 3 when Romeo kills Tybalt and the prince …show more content…

In tragedy, the tragic hero’s choices lead to his destruction as a result of his tragic flaw. Romeo brings about his own death by taking the poison (5.3.85-111). His impatience and love for Juliet is his tragic flaw, and causes him to kill himself because he doesn’t want to live without Juliet. In most tragedies, the tragic hero is influenced by confrontation with a “superior force”. In Romeo and Juliet, hatred and fate are the superior forces. The Montagues and Capulets hatred for each other brings about Romeo's death in the end. Another element of tragic heroes is that their death proves a point. In the play, Romeo (and Juliet's) death ends the feud between the Montagues and Capulets

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