Romeo and Juliet: Tragedy

Introduction to Western Literature

Name: Bob Lee

Pinyin: BaoBi Lee

Class: DAP7

Instructor: Drew QiuRomeo and Juliet as a Tragedy

Introduction

The thought or mention of Romeo and Juliet brings the thought of Romance and the strong love that defied all challenges and barriers. The story features Romeo who is a Montague and Juliet who is a Capulet hence their families fail to agree. However, the two falls in love and are united through marriage by a Friar. Their unity led to more misunderstandings, cause violence and lead to death. The themes of the story depict a tragedy rather than a romantic story due to the violent, ecstatic and overpowering force that supersedes all other values and loyalties of the society (Shakespeare, 1964). The events lead to an unhappy ending with the downfall of the main characters showing that love is not only about romance but can also lead to death.

Romeo and Juliet defied their social world including family, friends and even their ruler that led to negative consequences and a tragic ending. The love the two shared was strong and failed to consider the external parties within their environment. According to Shakespeare’s line 860 to 862, Juliet tells Romeo that, “Deny thy father and refuse thy name, Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (Shakespeare, 2008). From the statement, Juliet is ready to deny her family as long as Romeo denies his father. Also, Romeo is exiled by the prince on pain and death thus forced to return to Verona for Juliet’s sake. The existence of love between Romeo and Juliet leads to the betrayal of family and friends and also defying social values.

The love between the two characters led to violence in that the characters are blinded and think about themselves which overwhelms them and increases the thought of death and suicide. Due to the hate between the Montague and Capulet families, Tybalt wishes to kill Romeo but ends up being killed by Romeo. The act leads to more intentions of death as Lady Capulet states that, “Romeo slew Tybalt; Romeo must not live” (Shakespeare, 2008). Therefore, the hatred between the families and the unwillingness for Juliet and Romeo to be together increased the enmity between the families causing more tragedy. As Juliet states, “Give me my Romeo, and when I shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine” (Shakespeare, 2008). She expected tragedy.

At the end of the story, Shakespeare presents the two lovebirds’ deaths, as each one intends to be with the other. The scene shows a tragedy through three people deaths. Juliet’s father forces her to get married to Count Paris, the Prince’s Kingsman. Since she loved Romeo, she takes a portion that would make her appear dead. Friar was expected to send a message to Romeo to tell him about the plan for him to come back for Juliet. However, the plan fails as Romeo gets the message but thinks that Juliet is dead. He purchases illegal to poison and when he gets to the tomb, and Paris stops him from seeing Juliet, he kills him, gets into the tomb, drinks the poison and dies beside Juliet. As she wakes up and sees Romeo’s body, she takes his dagger and says, “O, happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die” (Shakespeare, 2008). She then stabs herself and dies.

Conclusion

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy as the characters fail to enjoy the love, they share but instead lead to hatred, violence and death. The love makes Romeo and Juliet deny their families and friends and live against societal values. The characters who try to get involved in their relationship end up dying. This includes Tybalt and Paris who are both killed by Romeo. At the end of the story, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide at the tomb, after Juliet’s plan fail to occur as they wanted. Therefore, the story depicts a tragedy of deaths and violence that affects the society and the families of the characters.

References

Shakespeare, W. (2008). Romeo and Juliet. Yale University Press.

Shakespeare, W., Williams, G. W., & Walton, G. (1964). The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet: A Critical Edition. Duke University Press.