Tragedy : A Great Topic

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.

Romeo and Juliet is a story of a forbidden love, written by William Shakespeare. Some may say that it is a tragedy of fate. Fate is defined as forces outside of your control that makes things happen. An example of fate is when you miss your bus and meet the person who will turn out to be your spouse while you’re standing on the platform waiting on the next bus. I think Romeo and Juliet is the exact opposite of fate, they undoubtedly took things into their own hands.

He was a young boy, probably only sixteen at the time. He had everything going for him. He was on his way to becoming a doctor, he had friends who cared about him, he attended a prestigious preparatory academy. In short, he was successful--or so every body thought until that fateful winter night. Because on that night, tragedy struck. On that night, Neil Perry committed suicide.

In the play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, we learn of the many hardships and highs Romeo and Juliet go through over the course of the story. The play Romeo and Juliet is based off two star-crossed lovers who are separated from each other due to a feud between their two families. Their love is so strong that at the end of the story Romeo and Juliet both end up committing suicide because they can’t live without each other. Whether it is problems with love, or them complimenting each other on how they feel about the other person, Shakespeare uses many literary devices to make the reader dig deeper into the context to find the meaning behind the sentence. Some of the literary devices are; similes, metaphors, and personification.

“Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy” (qtd in “O.J. Simpson”). This quote written by F. Scott Fitzgerald perfectly depicts the fate of O.J. Simpson after he was accused and acquitted of the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman on the night of June 12, 1994. O.J. Simpson was born and raised in San Francisco, California where his mother worked as an orderly in a psychiatric ward and his father as a porter in a private club. O.J. Simpson was one of the most sought after football players of all time. Not only was he loved on the football field by millions, but also off the field where he was welcomed with open arms by virtually any group of people. Everybody thought that after O.J. retired from the game of football that they would not see much of him anymore, but they were wrong, the opposite occurred. Simpson’s career flourished in 1983 when he signed a contract with ABC and appeared in multiple movies, television shows, and advertisements, boosting his career to an all time high, he was on top of the world. His life began to take a nosedive when he was convicted of Spousal Battery of his second wife, Nicole Brown Simpson in 1989. Shortly after this altercation, O.J. and Nicole filed for divorce. They rekindled their romance in March of 1994, but quickly called it quits once again in May. On a seemingly quiet Sunday in June things took a turn for the worst. On June 12, 1994 Simpsons ex-wife Nicole and

In the Symposium, Alcibiades says that Socrates is the only man who has made him feel shame. Alcibiades’ shame seems to indicate that he has reflected on his actions, thus has learned something from Socrates. However, I believe that he is not ascending towards the beautiful nor has he learn anything from Socrates as his desire takes precedent over love for Beauty. This essay will first analyze the role of shame as self-awareness in the Ladder of Love. Next, through two accounts recalled by Alcibiades in the Symposium, they will emphasize the importance of shame in the Ladder of Love. Lastly, the essay will conclude with how shame does not indicate that Alcibiades is ascending towards the beautiful or has learned anything based on the aforementioned

The dictionary describes a tragedy as, “a serious drama typically describing a conflict between the protagonist and a superior force (as destiny) and having a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion that elicits pity or fear.” Aristotle’s “Poetics” have long been the standard of a proper tragedy. Yet, could there be more to the perfect tragedy than what either the dictionary or Aristotle suggests? What are the actual characteristics that form a “true” tragedy? In Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” and Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” (two of the most renowned tragedies ever written), lay the keys to unearthing the facts about what characteristics produce the ultimate tragedy.

Many people would think that Romeo and Juliet themselves are to blame for their tragic deaths. Nonetheless, have you ever considered the role of the friar in this tragedy? In William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence is a friend to both Romeo and Juliet. He is kind, polite, creative and he is always ready with a plan. Friar Lawrence secretly marries the star-crossed lovers hoping that their union might eventually bring peace to Verona, ending the conflict between the to feuding families. As well as being a Catholic holy man, he is also an expert in the use of mystical potions and herbs. Friar Laurence is a kind holy man who is a friend to both Romeo and Juliet. He is able to influence the two lovers both positively and negatively. In examining the person responsible for the suicides of the two lovers, it is clear that the Friar himself is responsible due to his authoritative power and the way he abuses this power. Friar Laurence makes a lot of decisions that results in the couple being dead. He secretly marries Romeo and Juliet, he lies to the Capulet family, and he provides all the escape plans.

The effect of pride is the centers piece of man’s perpetual role in his own destruction. This is illustrated by various characters’ such as Creon in Antigone by Sophocles, Oedipus in Oedipus the King by Sophocles and the Trojans in the Aeneid by Virgil. In the Antigone we see the consequence of one’s pride and desire for power take hold, when Creon decides to punish Antigone for disobeying the law off the land and proving Polynices with a burial. The disregard for any form of sympathy would eventually come to hunt Creon, in a reversal of fortune that would see him loose not only his power but his family as well. A similar pattern is observed in the Aeneid by Virgil, where the Trojans filled with pride and neglecting the voice of reason,

Pride like that of Oedipus had been the downfall of many great leaders. Oedipus is blinded by his arrogance and won’t accept the fact that he can’t avoid his fate. His pride first affects him when he is told about what his fate has in-store for him. Oedipus

The catastrophe Romeo and Juliet was composed by the writer William Shakespeare. This story of this play albeit set in the Italian City of Verona, mirrored the qualities and convictions of Renaissance England. The show fixates on the shocking outcomes of the fight between the two families, The Capulets and the Montagues. The tragedy of the connection amongst Romeo and Juliet is fundamental to the disaster. We are situated to see that their unadulterated love can't make due in their ruined world.

In writing a tragedy, there are certain standards and guidelines to which an author or playwright must follow. One such standard is the Aristotelian definition of tragedy and the tragic hero. William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is a perfect mold of an Aristotelian Tragedy. It displays all eight aspects of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy. It is set mainly in Scotland, but briefly in England during the eleventh century. It illuminates the ideal plot, in which the action of the story, or Macbeth’s murder of Duncan along with his meticulous planning of other murders, takes place over the course of several days in Scotland, particularly at Macbeth’s castle in Dunsinane. Shakespeare creates Macbeth to be the tragic hero of the play.

Throughout or greek tragedy, one of the predominant reasons why the tragedy occurs is because of Prince Alazor's peripeteia. This is because in the beginning of the play, the prince thought he was able to defeat every battle he encountered and thought he was the best of the best. However, since Prince Alazor does not know that his father, King Ixon, bribes his opponents with money, jewelry, and etc... as the prince thinks he is the greatest and winning is inevitable, he comes to a thought where he is stronger than god and calls upon a match against the mighty Zeus. As a result he is defeated and his parents are killed due to his arrogant actions.

Tragedy as a form works differently than modern drama when compared to the ancient Greeks. When it comes to modern drama, the main character is usually an ordinary person, someone who is middle class. Where as with Greek tragedy, the main character is someone important and noble, such as a king or queen. Modern drama revolves around everyday problems such as social, economical, or personal conflicts. Greek Tragedies seem to be very linear. It’s mostly about the hero making a bad decision from the beginning of the play, which leads to his or her downfall in the end. Although, they were of higher ranking, ancient Greek’s beliefs made the main character powerless to avoid their fate, which was controlled by the gods. As far as conventions go, Greek Tragedies are very unified. The tragedy of the royal protagonist will go through only one time span, a day or less, one setting, and one story. In a modern tragedy, however, the ordinary protagonist’s story goes through multiple realistic settings and a realistic time line. Also, the story would contain multiple plots, which may contain flashbacks.

Aristotle thoroughly describes his understanding of the tragedy in the Poetics and bases this conception on certain requirements. According to Aristotle the three most important variables that define a tragedy are plot, characters, and theme. Using Oedipus Rex as a sort of ideal, this philosopher demonstrates how a tragedy functions in order to evoke catharsis while exploring themes and human flaws, or mistakes. In Oedipus Rex, the main figure, Oedipus the King is a subject of fate, unable to escape himself and his desire to uncover the truth. In essence, this drama demonstrates the fall of a prominent figure brought down by his inescapable fortune and self-destruction. I definitely believe it is difficult to find a modern day tragedy that