In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" poor communication and bad advice do often lead to misunderstanding and disaster. I am going write about three occasions, all of which contribute, to the tragic ending of the play.

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Michelle Pennington

Romeo and Juliet

In Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” poor communication and bad advice do often lead to misunderstanding and disaster. I am going write about three occasions, all of which contribute, to the tragic ending of the play, one for each Romeo and Juliet and one, which affects both and leads to the tragic ending of the play.

     Shakespeare used dramatic tension often in “Romeo and Juliet”. He created it by using dramatic irony. This is where the reader/audience knows something the characters do not and this causes them to have a different understanding of the situation. Hence the dramatic tension between the reader/audience and the characters, who do not possess all the facts.

     An example of dramatic tension in the play is the first meeting of Romeo and Juliet at the masquers ball neither of them realises who the other is. Juliet sends the Nurse to find out who he is. In the Nurses absence she says to herself if he is married her wedding bed is going to be her deathbed.

      “My grave is like to be my wedding bed.”

  This shows that she was already in love with him. (Love at first sight).

  When the Nurse returns and tells her who he is, she says to herself

      “My only love sprung from my only hate”.  

     Tragedy is a literary term and is not linked to real people; though in reality a tragedy is a tragic occurrence.

      Sophocles, a literacy critic, said:

   “We are not interested in what happens but how it happens. The drama comes from watching someone fighting against fate.”

 In this quote the key word is FATE, fate is something that is meant to be and cannot be changed no matter how hard you try.

     From the beginning, by the chorus, we know Romeo and Juliet is destined to be a tragedy. The play is about “ a pair of star crossed lovers” whose tragic deaths are caused by fate and misunderstandings.

Therefore by the end of the play we feel a great sense of loss and pity.

         The first scene where poor communication and bad advice lead to misunderstandings, which I am going to write about is Act three Scene One, for Romeo. Act three Scene one is a big turning point in the play, where it all begins to go wrong for Romeo and Juliet. In this scene the fight between Romeo and Tybalt takes place. It begins with Benvolio and Mercutio joking, when Benvolio says

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   “ I pray thee, good Mercutio, lets retire:

      The day is hot, the Capels are abroad,

    And if we meet we shall not scrape a brawl

    For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring”

Tybalt is out looking for a quarrel with Romeo, to get revenge for the masquers ball.          

“I will withdraw but this intrusion shall now seeming sweet, covert to the bitterest gall.”

When he meets Mercutio and Benvoilio, they begin to quarrel. Romeo then arrives and Tybalt says,

“Romeo, the ...

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