Romeo and Juliet as a Tragedy

Romeo and Juliet As A Tragedy


Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is his eleventh play.   It is with no
doubt a tragedy. Shakespeare has included all the necessary elements for a
tragedy.   The play has a tragic hero of high standing who dies.   The hero
opposes some conflicting force.   The hero has a tragic flaw and this flaw will
lead to his downfall and the downfall of others.   Good is always wasted driving
out evil.   Indeed, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy.
In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is the tragic hero.   He is the only son of
the Montague family, therefor he is of high standing and very wealthy.   He is
so well respected that even Capulet, His family's sworn enemy praises him:

        "let him alone,,
He bears him like a portly gentlemen;
And, to say truth, Verona brags of him
To be a virtuous and well-govern'd youth.
I would not for the wealth of all this town
        Here in my house do him disparagement"(I.IV.65-70)

This means that among the people of Verona, Romeo is very well respected, and he
would not do any harm to Romeo at that time.   Romeo is the hero in this story.
Romeo must die along with Juliet in order to stop the families' feud.
The conflicting force which Romeo opposes is the fact that he is a
Montague that is in love with a Capulet; his family's sworn enemy.   The
Montagues and the Capulets have been feuding for many years. Romeo is a
Montague and he is born into the feud.   He does not like it and he feels that
it is a waste.   Romeo has to disobey   his family so he can be with Juliet.
In this play, Romeo's tragic flaw is that he is always melancholy,
miserable, and downcast, and Romeo is always in love, and when he falls in love,
he falls hard.   Romeo is depressed over Rosaline.   Romeo is very disheartened
over her and it seems he has been like this for some time already.   Montague
tells us this when he says Romeo "…Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight
out, / And makes himself an artificial night..."(I. I. 135-137). Romeo... [continues]

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