Does Romeo and Juliet Fit Aristotle's Definition Of A Tragedy?

AS and A Level English

Anna Katibah

LaPointe

English

Period 4

11*6*03

Does Romeo and Juliet Fit Aristotle’s Definition Of A Tragedy?

A story is an account or recital of one or many events, true or not. Many different types of stories have been written since the earliest forms of writing. Even though it was written by Aristotle in the 340’s B.C., one form in particular, the tragedy, sticks out in minds today. Today the term tragedy has come to mean something sad making many people miss use it within the context of literature. A very famous author, William Shakespeare, always stuck to Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy. According to Aristotle in his book Poetics, a tragedy is a serious fictional story which has: the three unities time, place, and action; involves important figures who have a major flaw; incorporates reversal and recognition; and has pity, fear and catharsis. Shakespeare wrote a very famous tragic play called Romeo and Juliet. Because Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare involves important figures who have a major flaw; contains the three unities of time, place, and action; incorporates reversal and recognition; and has pity, fear and catharsis it is nevertheless a classic example of Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy.

Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy states on the first hand that the story must be a serious fictional story which always involves important figures who have a major flaw. A serious fictional story is a recital of happenings either true or fictitious which is then carried out in a grave manner. For example, the reader can infer Romeo and Juliet is a serious fictional story which always involves important figures who have a fatal flaw from the quote “Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona (where we lay our scene), from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” P.1-4. Seriousness is shown by “where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” because when people kill each other, as this quote states, it is very grave. People just don’t kill each other for fun. There is always a reason behind it. Because“(where we lay our scene)” has the word scene in it, we know it is a play which in turn implies it is a story. From the quote “(where we lay our scene)” we can also infer that this story is fictional because it references a play which is among a number of topics considered fictional or not true.

Within Romeo and Juliet there certainly are important figures as in accordance with this evidence: ”Two households, both alike in dignity”. This is because the quotation states there are two houses or families of equal esteem and pride. According to Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy, with the important figures there is a flaw, most times fatal. The fatal flaw of the two households of Montigue and Capulet, pure hate, is implied from “from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” The quote describes the flaw because “from ancient grudge break to new mutiny” is in ...

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Within Romeo and Juliet there certainly are important figures as in accordance with this evidence: ”Two households, both alike in dignity”. This is because the quotation states there are two houses or families of equal esteem and pride. According to Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy, with the important figures there is a flaw, most times fatal. The fatal flaw of the two households of Montigue and Capulet, pure hate, is implied from “from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” The quote describes the flaw because “from ancient grudge break to new mutiny” is in other words from enmity from the past exhibits open rebellion in the present day. The quote is additionally fatal because “where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” talks about killing people making their fate or final outcome deadly. Along with Romeo and Juliet being a serious fictional story which involves important figures who have a major flaw it also includes the three unities of time, place and action.

The second aspects of Aristotle’s tragedy are the three unities. Unity means to be in accordance with each other or be one. Time, place, and action are all one because they all connect with each other in the context of a story. The connection of three unities, time, place, and action is a story. Without doubt, time, place, and action are always held within a story. Time is a presence which binds the human race together. Whenever time is not mentioned it is not clear when the event took or is taking place. Of the many references of time throughout Romeo and Juliet this reference, “Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage;” P.12., is the most valid because it applies to the play overall. The quote shows the story is going to happen within two hours on a stage. Now the time of play is known, but what about the place?

The play has to take place somewhere otherwise there would be no story. Place is the unity which makes everything possible. Afterall, a play can’t happen nowhere. Place is made apparent through this affirmation: “In fair Verona” P.2. Verona is place in Italy, consequently fulfilling the second unity. Next comes the third unity, action.

Something accomplished, the action, is stated clearly throughout every story. Shakespeare states Romeo and Juliet’s action clearly in the beginning, middle and end. Even though all of the statements of action are very good, the best action statement is in the beginning of the story. This action segment is declared by the chorus: “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” P.5-6. Action is shown in this quotation because these next thoughts describe the plot: “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes” means being born from their parents’ who already have their outcome spelled out because of enmity and because “a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” is when Romeo and Juliet kill eachother. The three unities are contained in Romeo and Juliet, a classic example of Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy.

Romeo and Juliet fits Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy because it contains pity, fear, and catharsis in the third place. When one feels pity for someone they regret what has happened to someone and feel sympathy and sorrow for the person. Otherwise known as a group of people who say commentary from a play, the chorus is very important in this piece of evidence of pity and in the whole essay. Therefore, pity is felt when the chorus states, ”Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.” P.8. The reader should pity the parents’ in the quote because the parents’ have lost their children as implied by using the word parents’ in the quote. Pity is additionally felt in this quote because the reader knows what it’s like or knows how loosing a child or any human being is very unfortunate and sad. This is because humans sometimes think of themselves in the situation to know what the pitied person feels.

In modern America most people get to choose their spouse, at the time Romeo and Juliet was written, this was not true. Capulet and Lady Capulet, Juliet’s parents were approached by Paris, a family friend, wanting to know if they would permit his marrying Juliet. All of this was done with out Juliet having any idea. Meanwhile, Juliet had snuck to the church behind her parent’s backs with her lover, Romeo and married him. Of course, when Juliet finds out she is to marry Paris she knows deep inside she can not, yet if she tells her parents she will be forced to divorce her one and only lover. To avoid her wedding day, when she is supposed to marry Paris, she goes to a friend, Friar Lawrence, and gets sleeping potion which will put her in a very deep sleep for two days which allows her to live, but does not allow a pulse or body heat. When Juliet is just about to take the sleeping potion she feels fear because she trusts the Friar in that he has given her the right concoction and dosage, yet still feels scared from not knowing if everything will work. As Juliet makes clear in this attestation: “I have faint cold fear thrills through my veins.” 4.3.15 she declares she is very scared. Along with the tingles of fear comes the relief of knowing it can never happen to you, catharsis, otherwise known as relief. After the most frightful of a story whether in a film, play, or book catharsis is a very refreshing emotion. In Romeo and Juliet the Prince of Verona brings catharsis as he states: “For never was a story of more woe” 5.3.321. This quote embodies the cleansing of catharsis because it explains the story is a mere fictional story, so it could never happen to someone in real life. Within a tragedy reversal and recognition play an important role as do pity, fear and catharsis. Reversal and recognition are the last requirement of a tragedy. It is easier to understand reversal and recognition with this comparison: In wrestling a reversal is when a competitor being controlled by an opponent turns around the situation and gains control. In Romeo and Juliet we can plug in the wrestling comparison as so. When Lady Capulet demands Romeo not live she is like the competitor being controlled by her opponent because she does not know by demanding Romeo to be put to death she is actually hurting her very own daughter. When the competitor turns the situation around and controls his opponent it is like Lady Capulet recognizing in the end that it was wrong to say that because “heaven finds means to kill your joys with love” 5.3.292.293. As previously stated, reversal is exposing itself when Lady Capulet demands Romeo’s life because he killed Tybalt, her nephew. Reversal is unveiled in this quote: “Romeo must not live” 3.1.189 and recognition in this phrase: “See what a scourge is laid upon your hate that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love!” 5.3.292-293. This last quote is spoken by the Prince of fair Verona, who tells the families of Montigue and Capulet in the beginning if they do not stop fighting he will put them all to death. In the end the Prince and the rest of the characters in the story, including all Montigues and Capulets, recognizes their hate has gone too far because heaven found a way to kill their precious offspring, Romeo and Juliet, with love. Reversal and Recognition are the final requirement of Aristotle’s tragedy. Including all the requirements in Aristotle’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet sets a standard for all stories which claim to be tragedies. Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy can be applied or needed for reference any time, anywhere, any place, or by anyone. Moreover, all of Mr. LaPointe’s English classes at Campolindo High School in Moraga, California needed Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy to learn for a test, but did not know they would need it for an essay. If one wants to read another supposedly “tragic” book, they will hope to remember Aristotle’s definition of a tragedy to figure out if it really is “tragic.” Romeo and Juliet is the real form of a tragedy as supported by Aristotle’s original definition.