To What Extent Was Romeo And Juliet A Tragedy

The ideology that everything in the universe has a specific place and rank in order of their hierarchy importance created by God is known as the concept of The Great Chain of Being. The order of this concept consisted levels according to highest rank to the lowest accordingly: God, angels, humanity, animals, vegetation life, leading all the way down to crud. Within each category, more specific classification existed, placing these subcategories in a specific order. This concept was believed to be a way to keep the universe in order. As this was believed during Elizabethan times, William Shakespeare also believed in the Great Chain of Being, as many of his plays are prominently based on this concept. Some of his plays include characters that accept their place on the Chain, but others are not so complacent. By examining three different characters from Shakespeare’s tragedies, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and The Tragedy of King Lear, it is obvious to readers who is content with their place on the Chain and which characters have a difficult time accepting their place. Romeo and Juliet do not obey their parents’ orders, therefore suffer harsh consequences towards the end of the play. Macbeth is another Shakespearean character that violates the Chain, due to the committing of several murders, in order to gain the throne. In stark contrast, Cordelia, is content with her place on the Chain as she does not want anything greater in life, unlike her

In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare presents characters in difficult situations in Romeo and Juliet through various language techniques and structure. Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers. Both Romeo and Juliet were from feuding families that would not approve of their marriage. In the play they are presented with many difficult circumstances. The play was set in the Elizabethan era; there was a significant change in religion, family and politics. Attitudes and key scenes highlight the theme of love in difficult circumstances and prepare the audience for Romeo and Juliet’s suicides at the end of the play. In this essay I will be exploring the ways Shakespeare presents characters in difficult situations.

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.

When most people hear the names Romeo and Juliet, they usually think about a romantic story between two lovers. Yes, it is a story about two lovers, but it is not romantic considering that almost all the characters die, including Romeo and Juliet. Actually, this play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is considered a tragedy because of all the deaths that take place throughout the story. These two star-crossed lovers are to blame for the deaths, but not in the way someone might suspect. Although some people believe that love or lust killed all the characters in Romeo and Juliet, the real fault comes from the brains of Romeo and Juliet, which were undeveloped and prone to making bad decisions and taking

William Shakespeare is widely known for all of his literary works; one of his most famous love tragedies being 'Romeo and Juliet'. A Shakespearean definition of tragedy exemplifies the sense that human beings are inevitably doomed through their own failures or errors, the ironic action of their virtues, or even through the nature of fate and destiny (Sayour, Susan, 2007). Romeo and Juliet is a tragic tale based on two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. Throughout the play, Shakespeare intentionally draws on text structures and language features in order to replicate the attitudes, values and beliefs of Elizabethan audiences and intertwine it into his

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."William Shakespeare. The genre of the play Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy and it is written by William Shakespeare. The reason this play is a tragedy is because during the whole play there was always a problem that occurred weather it was in the beginning middle or end of the play. The story has two main characters that fall in love but, the problem is their families hate each other and they have to hide their love for each other. These two characters are named Romeo and Juliet also the title of the play. Romeo is a Montague and they are the rival family of the Capulets, the girl Romeo is in love with(Juliet)is a Capulet. Romeo and Juliet met at a party the capulets where throwing a party that Romeo and a couple of other Montagues went to so they could go out and have a fun night because Romeo had been heartbroken about a girl who doesn't love him back. As soon as the Montegues get to the party Romeo see Juliet and they start to flirt and at first Romeo didn't know Juliet was a Capulet but then he saw her mother lady Capulet and soon they both found out that their families where rivals.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is the tale of two lovers whose forbidden love for each other tear them apart. The play starts off like a fairytale when Romeo and Juliet meet and immediately fall in love. However, as the play progresses their love for each other ruins them and their loved ones. Their forbidden loves causes some of their closest friends to be killed and by the end, they are killed. Many people consider this play a tragedy and that Shakespeare's purpose was to share how love can ruin people. However, there is a huge amount of evidence that supports Romeo and Juliet being a comedy instead. For instance, the amount of hyperbole used, the amount of ridiculous scenarios, and the characters actions (especially

In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare takes a romantic story of two star-crossed lovers, willing to go to the end of the Earth for each other, and turns their tale into one of the greatest tragedies of the modern era, filled with despair, devastation, and death. Whether Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy or romance is a disputed topic amongst historians and critics because there is evidence that suggests the play falls into both genres. Romeo and Juliet can be viewed as a tragedy because the main characters do not achieve their fundamental goal and instead, fall from the grand station they once held. Additionally, Romeo and Juliet can be considered a tragedy because a pair of innocent lovers die young due to a

In the play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, even though many tragic events do not happen throughout the play, it should still be considered a true tragedy because the outcome was due to inevitable circumstances. Objectively speaking, the play Romeo and Juliet does not seem very tragic until both main characters die abruptly at the end. However, the actions and consequences that led to their death were small events that snowballed into one big climax. There are many events that contribute to the final downfall but some of the most important decisions took was Romeo choosing to kill Tybalt, Romeo choosing not to take Juliet with him and Lord Capulet choosing to move up the wedding. The first decision that is important, with Romeo choosing to kill Tybalt was extremely thoughtless and should not have happened if it were for Mercutio's prior judgment.

Romeo and Juliet don’t want to converse with their parents, Romeo is usually having explained his issues to either Benvolio or Friar Laurence and he is never seen with his family during the movie. Juliet is obedient, doing whatever her parents order to do, but she is seen explaining her problems to her nurse. This is a problem with some teenagers today, not talking about their personal issues which could end up causing problems to worsen, such as those leading to the demise of Romeo and

There are many ways that Romeo and Juliet is a tragic tale. First off, fate and death play a large role within this play, which is tragic by its own means. Here are examples of some of these tragic moments. One way the Romeo and Juliet tale is tragic is that you know what might happen, but the characters within the play do not, and that makes the deaths in this tale very tragic, and gives this tale good depth. Romeo said at the end of the play, “Thus with a kiss I die.”

The scenarios within this story are so ridiculous that they cannot be taken seriously, and therefore this story cannot be considered a tragedy. The first example is when Romeo first met Juliet at the Capulet's party, he told her, “Dear saints, let lips do what hands do,” which means if he kisses her, his “sins is purged.” Without even knowing her, he kissed her. That evening, they promised to get married the next day. So Romeo went to ask Friar to wed them and he told Friar that “[they] met, [they] wooed, and made exchange[s] of a vow.” Friar was very surprised that he got over Rosaline, the woman Romeo really loved that the beginning, so fast. Another example of a ridiculous scenario is when Juliet found out her father was going to compel

A tragedy in literature is a tragic hero who falls due to a tragic flaw. Romeo’s immature personality has a huge effect on the end of the play. Romeo never thought before he acted, causing things to go wrong. For instance, before he killed Tybalt, he was angry in the moment not thinking about what would happen. When Romeo met Juliet he was in love with another girl. From here, his judgements eventually lead to his death. His tragic flaw is his unripe personality. Romeo enters this risky relationship as a young and carefree man, who doesn’t realize what could happen during this. The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare fits perfectly with the definition of a tragedy, beginning with two hopeless teens and ending in their death by their own violation.

In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet should be considered a comedy due to multitudinous over exaggerated errors, scenarios, and hyperboles placed in the play. Since the beginning, the death of the two main characters could have been prevented if the Capulets and Montagues family had just gotten along or become more civilized. After all, ever since Romeo met Juliet at the Capulet’s party, many ridiculous events happened. Despite their love being forbidden, they vowed to get married. With this intention, Romeo asks Friar Laurance to be their priest and wed them. Not long after, Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, told Juliet that she must marry Paris or he will disown her. Because of that, she begged Friar Laurance to help her. If he doesn’t, she swears

Romeo and Juliet, a classic play by William Shakespeare, is known to many as a tragedy. But what makes this play tragic? Audiences favor this story because of the emotions evoked from a tale of love that sees two young souls torn apart. However, Romeo and Juliet when under my own definition of tragedy, does not resemble a tragic play. While the death of Mercutio and the deaths of Romeo and Juliet seem tragic, the story does not show one failing when trying to reach their full potential, instead the audience sees a forbidden love and death as a result, which does not demonstrate tragedy. Instead, Romeo and Juliet face flaws from within their families and society, forcing them to stay apart due to conflict. While both Romeo and Juliet try to reach the goal of being together and fail, the flaws of others cause the conflict, not the flaws of themselves. My definition surrounds the idea that the flaws of oneself leads to his or her demise, meaning that the play misses a key characteristic of the definition of tragedy. Both characters seem to die a “tragic death,” however, their death can only be considered sad or upsetting, especially to the audience. This play instead consists of somber scenes that show aspects of a tragedy, but not enough to place this play in a tragic category in the classic definition or in my own definition because the flaws of the main characters do not cause the fall of the characters as they try to reach their full potential. If a character who fell as a