Romeo’s character and his flaws help make tragedy. In all tragedies the hero of the story has to have a tragic flaw. This means his flaw would end up killing him. Romeo’s main flaw is falling in love with Juliet too quickly and rushing into marriage. “For I ne’er saw true beauty, till this night” Romeo said in Act l, Scene 2, after he sees Juliet for the first time. The audience can quickly tell that Romeo’s flaw is falling in love too quickly and easily. Juliet soon realises things are going too fast when she says “This too rash, to unadvis’d, too sudden” in Act 2, Scene 2. Romeo does these things because he is young and has very strong feelings. An example of this would be when Romeo kills Tybalt in an angry rage because Tybalt killed Mercutio, his best friend. “Either thou, or I, or both must go with him”. In this Romeo is saying one of them must die in the fight they are about to have preferably Tybalt.
As well as having a tragic flaw, Romeo makes lots of wrong decisions. Romeo thinks Juliet is dead so he decided to poison himself. “Oh true apothecary, thy drugs are quick, thus with a kiss I die”. Apothecary means a chemist who makes medicine. Romeo is relating the little sip he has to take of the poison to die to the kiss of Juliet making him live. Romeo said this just before he killed himself. If he had just waited a couple of minutes before he drank the poison he would have realised Juliet was not dead.
The other way Shakespeare creates a tragedy is by making other people suffer because of what Romeo does. Juliet dies and the Capulets and Montagues both end up unhappy because their children have died.
Shakespeare has created tragedy by the different events that happen which draw in the audience by the “awful logic”(Romeo+Juliet GCSE book) of how things go wrong, like Friar Lawrence’s plan. He thought that if he could get Romeo and Juliet married the feud would finish. This is why so many things go wrong because the Friar desperately wants it to work and he will do anything. Shakespeare also draws the audience in by using dramatic irony. This is when the audience knows something a character does not know. Mercutio says, “Why, that same pale-heared wench, that Rosaline torments him so, that he will sure run mad”. He means that Romeo is moody because of Rosaline but it is actually because of Juliet. The audience knows and starts to wonder what will happen when they find out the truth.
Shakespeare also uses imagery and themes to help create tragedy. He uses images of the sea to show how people feel. Romeo says “But he, that hath the steerage of my course direct my sail!” He sees his life like a ship being steered through life’s good and bad times. Sea images like terrible weather, choppy seas and sharp jagged rocks also relate to tragedy, because they are usually bad things and people don’t like them. Romeo says “Thou desperate pilot, row at once run on the dashing rocks thy sea, sick weary bark”. Romeo is asking to be guided onto the rocks, because Juliet is dead and he wants to die as well, that is another example of rash and irresponsible decisions by Romeo.
In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare also uses oxymoron’s, which are two opposite ideas put together. Romeo says, “Parting is such sweet sorrow”. But you cannot have sweet sorrow because sorrow is sad, but Romeo wanted it because he was talking about finishing his relationship with Rosoline and how he would start one with Juliet who he truly loves.
Romeo also says, “She shows a snowy dove troopling with crows”. This means Juliet is the snowy dove and the Capulets are crows. The Capulets are described as crows because crows are black which signals death and evil. A group of crows is called a murder of crows so that is why the Capulets are described as crows because murder is also related to death and tragedy. In the film, to show how the two social groups are different the Capulets wear formal black clothes and the Montigues wear informal colourful clothes.
Shakespeare also used similes. “Pale as lead”. This helps with a tragic mood because lead is a dull colour and tragedies tend to be about darkness and death. When Romeo says this he is talking about old people, this could also be an oxymoron because if you are pale you are white and lead is usually very dark. Lead is also very poisonous and this might mean that the old people (Romeo’s parents) are poisoning him from falling in love with Juliet.
Shakespeare also uses metaphors. “That’s by me wounded?” Romeo says he is wounded by love but he is not actually wounded. He feels mental pain not physical pain because he has been wounded by love.
The Friar played a very big part in the tragedy and the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because he was very keen for them to get married and some people may say that he rushed them into it. He had a plan that if he could get Romeo and Juliet married that the hatred between the two families would disappear. His plan backfired because in a tragic turn of events there is the Romeo and Juliet misunderstanding and they both die. Friar had good intentions but his plans go terribly wrong like they are meant to in a typical tragedy.
Tybalt also had something to do with the tragedy because he is hot-tempered and aggressive. “What, drawn and talk of peace, I hate the word!” This shows us Tybalt's views and intentions to cause grief. Tybalt is always looking for trouble and will not back off. He causes the fight between him and Mercutio leading to his death and then draws Romeo in by killing his friend.
Shakespeare wrote in the 1500’s, there is a very large time gap between then and now but we still have the same issues. Shakespeare understood about human behaviour and he wanted the audience to know is that we should stop and think and not rush into important things like love. He shows how Romeo and Juliet’s reckless behaviour destroys their lives.
Shakespeare creates tragedy in different ways. He uses the themes of love and hate; he adds tension and some comedy. He also uses a tragic hero with character flaws who makes bad decisions. He uses poetry, strong language and imagery. Shakespeare set out to make a great tragedy, but not a typical one because he has included two tragic heroes which give two sides to the tragic story.
I don’t think there is a single character who is wholly to blame but Friar Lawrence plays a big part in the tragedy. Mainly through his complicated plans, which needed to be perfect but in the end did not work. Romeo did not receive the Friars letter so he actually thought Juliet was dead. I do not think fate played any part in the tragedy but there were just too many mistakes made by the main characters.
