Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s tragic love story “Romeo & Juliet” is about two

lovers, separated by their family’s feud. Though they love each other

very much, they cannot be together as their families hate each other.

Romeo and Juliet get married but die soon after that. We know this

because in the prologue it says “From ancient grudge break to new

mutiny”, this means that their dislike of each other started a long

time ago and grew as time went on. The audience is not enlightened as

to why the feud started but it is said in the play that the feud had

died down for a while until it flared up again during the course of

this play.

In an average Shakespearean tragedy, we would usually expect the main

character to have some sort of a flaw in their personality, such as

Macbeth’s ambition which led him to murdering the King. We would also

expect a man from a “good” family, both Romeo and Juliet came from

“good” families. We would also expect there to be a murder, of course

there is the death of Mercutio and Tybalt. Also, there tends to be an

isolation of the hero, for example, when Romeo is banished after he

kills Tybalt. The death of the hero is also quite common in

Shakespearean tragedies and of course this applies to Romeo and

Juliet’s death. The restoration of order happens after Romeo and

Juliet take their lives, as after they die the feud between the

Capulets and Montagues ends. Although I have explained how “Romeo &

Juliet” conforms to the guidelines of a Shakespearean tragedy,

however, the play is not a typical tragedy in all aspects. For

example, unlike in most tragedies of this age, there is n...

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...wouldn’t

insult someone you knew who died. Another reason we cannot trust what

she says here is the fact that she is hysterical and is grieving.

This essay question was on how Tybalt was used by Shakespeare to

create tension in this play. Tybalt was used in many ways, it was

through his actions and the way in which he spoke and acted in Act 1,

Scene 1. it was the argument he had with Capulet and the revenge he

swore against Romeo that created tension in Act 1, Scene 5. In Act 3,

Scene 1, it was the fact that Tybalt was behaving strangely and how he

was so focused on killing Romeo. I believe Tybalt is one of the most

important characters in the play and that he was used very effectively

to create tension in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”. A tragic

love story about two star-crossed

lovers.