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What makes romeo and juliet a tragedy
Aristotelian theory of tragedy (what is different in Romeo&Juliet?
Characteristics of tragedy in relation to Juliet and Romeo
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William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers who were destined to die. The story starts with a prologue, summarizing the events that occur in the play. Here, the audience becomes aware of the tragedy that is meant to be a punishment to their parents’ feuding. As the play goes on, Shakespeare incorporates references the paradox of light and dark to establish the paradoxical motif of light and dark. Shakespeare also references stars in this play as a motif to remind the audience of the destiny that will befall the two lovers. Shakespeare uses the motif of stars and the motif of light and dark to remind the audience that even if things are comedic, tragedy is inevitable. Shakespeare uses the motif of light
William Shakespeare is really famous for his writings, especially Romeo and Juliet. A pair of two star crossed lovers take place, on their mission to unite two houses, Capulets and Montagues, once and for all. In the play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare presents a lot of paradoxes. This provides a lot of contrast to the text and allows readers to think harder and better understand the intricacies of this writing. In this play, there are many paradoxical themes expressed through the text for example good versus evil, love versus hate, and many more. All these paradoxes are communicated through figurative language, characterization, sound devices, and literary foils. These are literary devices that authors use to help readers to visualize
...ir love lacked wisdom and so it brought them doom - it brought them tragedy. Their union created devastating endings, thus creating the whole point of Shakespeare's play. The star-crossed lovers made choices that altered what fate has in store for them. They took over their own destiny as they made their decisions together which caused them to go to a path of consequences that brought suffering. In reality, every action leads to another. Everything is all connected and everything ends up in one final outcome. Unless the world stops spinning, everything in an individual's life will consist of decisions made on a daily basis. In the end, life is indeed short and so if a person want to make the best out of it, risks and decisions has to be made no matter what the result is for life can vanish in a blink of an eye just like the tragic death of Juliet and her dear Romeo.
The purpose of the light/dark motif in Romeo and Juliet is to show how Romeo and Juliet are unable to tell light from dark, or good from bad. I think everyone has the potential to discern what choices lead to “light” and what choices keep them in the “dark”. So Romeo and Juliet had that potential but I don’t think they wanted to know about that, since nothing else mattered to them but them. In this play, Romeo and Juliet do never make a clear choice of light over dark because they almost do not want to deal that decision in the midst of their romantic bliss. They could have brought their situation, which was becoming more of a mess each day, into the light by speaking openly about it. However that would’ve ended, I think the feud would have to be reconciled in some way and I’m sure Romeo and Juliet would not have lost their lives doing this. By ignoring their responsibilities and ignoring the darkness that was impeding upon them, Romeo and Juliet in essence allow tragedy to befall them both.
Two star-crossed lovers, destined for death, separated by nothing other than their families inability to cooperate. The classic play ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ written by William Shakespeare within 1599, encompasses relevant messages which have fascinated readers for centuries. In the attempt to re-live Romeo and Juliet's historical tales many modernise versions of the play have been adapted into movies, such as those produced by Baz Luhrmann and Carlo Carlei. Both the aforementioned examples of Romeo and Juliet adhere extremely closely to William Shakespeare's original version of the play for they incorporate all many similarities including the multiple characters, settings and tones of the production which will be expressed below.
“Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, still-waking sleep, that is not what this is” (Shakespeare 1.1. 179-180). A string of contradictions explain the love story of Romeo and Juliet, a contradiction. Some critics consider this story a tragedy because Shakespeare once wrote; “the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves”. While others say it does not follow the standard Aristotelian form of tragedy (Krims 1). Romeo and Juliet can not be a tragedy because no flaw causes them to fall, the lovers, could not have controlled fate, and family and friends assisted them to their deaths.
The play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is about a tragic love story which ultimately causes the death of two star-crossed lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, from feuding families. Throughout the play, Shakespeare incorporates an abundance of figurative language to enhance his writing. This is evident in the famous “balcony” scene in Act 2, Scene 2 where Shakespeare uses metaphors to convey Romeo’s feelings towards Juliet, an analogy to give a better understanding of Romeo’s relationships, and imagery to create a visual atmosphere for the reader to see what Romeo sees in Juliet.
“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.” - Madeleine L’Engle. Throughout William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, countless trying situations are forced upon Romeo and Juliet. These characters are forced to do unwanted tasks and deal with the unending feud taking place between their two families. But overall they find their happiness in undying love for each other. While Romeo and Juliet are both forced to deal with many dark times they find light and happiness in each other, but in their case the light they find is overpowered.
“To be consorted with the humorous night. Blind is his love and best befits the dark. If love be blind, love cannot hit the mark” (2.1. 31- 33). Among one of the most renowned contributions to literature is The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet written by the prestigious English poet, William Shakespeare. This tragedy of the sixteenth century concludes with the fate of the two star- crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, along with those attempting to see them apart. As the prologue states, The Capulets and Montagues are from separate rivaling households, both alike in dignity, whose children have fallen in love. It is believed that if the two were to marry then feuding in the streets of Verona would come to an end, but only further complications have risen. These complications result in six deaths total. Those responsible for these deaths are Romeo and Juliet themselves, Lord Capulet, and the one who holds this burden as his obligation, Friar Laurence.
William Shakespeare's play, "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," is the story of two "star crossed" lovers who both meet a tragic end. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy; however, the poetic and vivid manner in which Shakespeare engages the viewer or reader make this a beautiful play. The story of Romeo and Juliet is timeless, and it has provided a model for many other stories. The story line or plot in Romeo and Juliet is well loved by many around the world, but that is not what gives the play its special quality. Just as in most of Shakespeare's plays, words and phrases with double meanings, imagery and poetry are all used to create a play that is not only a pleasure for the eyes, but one for the ears and mind as well. The following statement by Romeo in act one scene one provides a good example of this: Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs, Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lover's eyes, Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with loving tears. What is it else? A madness most discreet, A choking gall, and a preserving sweet (Riverside, 1.1.190-193). Shakespeare's use of these components is exquisite and allows for much deeper involvement by the reader or viewer. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses imagery in the forms of lightness and darkness, animals, and plants or herbs to provide the reader or viewer with a more vivid and enjoyable experience. Lightness and Darkness Imagery of lightness and darkness is used extensively throughout Romeo and Juliet to symbolize and/or describe events that take place. Capulet describes the party he is planning with lightness and darkness, "Earth-treading stars that make dark heaven light"(1.2.25). Stars continue to have a role in the play as Juliet mentions her own death she claims, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with the night, And pay no worship to the garish sun(3.2.22-25). It seems that Juliet, unknowingly, is describing the future in a symbolic sense. Later in the play, after Romeo is banished from Verona for the slaying of Tybalt, he and Juliet exchange lines that are full of light imagery. As the dawn is approaching, Romeo describes the view, "Look, love, what envious streaks / Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east / Night's candles are burnt out .
The play, “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare had ended in a tragedy that was presented in such a way that it had shocked the audience. In summary, Romeo and Juliet, the Star cross 'd lovers, were heavily impacted by their long history family feud. The family feud then lead to Romeo and Juliet and other important characters in the play to keep secrets from each other. Thus, creating multiple problems in the play that resulted in Romeo and Juliet 's death. In the end, Romeo and Juliet were not the only people to cause their misfortune, but fate along with many characters in the play.
All throughout the play, stars symbolize fate. In the prologue the chorus stated, “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous
“Star crossed lovers” is the title regularly given to the characters of this iconic play. Romeo and Juliet are supposedly destined by faith to die together as lovers. There is much more to this concept than meets the eye. Some think of fate as nonexistent, just us humans grasping for some reason as to why things happen the way they do. Others, as shown in the play, see it as the predetermined future, which can be either really good to you or be an amazingly brutal force. In this play, (even though both families are in a deadly feud) fate is what supposedly drove Romeo and Juliet together as lovers, to their deaths, and to the end of their families’ feud, which can be seen in either a good or bad way. Both of them reach for the stars, believing that there is something more than life itself, and this plays a large part in how they are driven together, and how their interests and thoughts and ideas align in this way. For these two characters, fate is not just another theory, it is the story of their lives.
To conclude, with Shakespeare’s use of light and dark imagery, the reader is able to better understand the abundant love between Romeo and Juliet as well as being able to identify the importance of the nighttime. Through using this type of imagery, Romeo was able to express his love for Juliet’s beauty as well as his affection towards her by comparing her to the sun; she is his light in the darkness. Ironically, the light that brightens the world, the sun, is symbolic for their tragic ending.
To begin with Shakespeare’s motif light and dark, Romeo uses various examples to illustrate Juliet’s beauty, which reveal his flaws. His flaws consist of foolishness and impatience. First, Romeo is foolish because he altered his emotions spontaneously. In the first place, Romeo was depressed that he did not receive the same affection from Rosaline. But, when he encounters Juliet, Romeo’s emotion revises. He is instantaneously besotted by Juliet’s beauty that he insists that he is in love. For instance, Romeo pictures Juliet to be… Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear, Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear (I.ii,!!!!!!!!!!!!!). This quotation indeed depicts Romeo’s foolishness because he asserts that Juliet’s beauty is too much for this earth.
The famous line from the infamous story Romeo and Juliet reads, “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life...”(Shakespeare, Prologue, Lines 5, 6). From the start, the legendary tale exposes the reader to an interesting scenario, for it presents the concept of love between Romeo and Juliet as bridging the gap between conflict and hate (hinting to attributes of true love) but also as a cause of their death (hinting immature love). With the rest of the story to follow, it may be allusive and debatable as to how exactly Shakespeare portrayed the love between Romeo and Juliet. In order to determine this, one must first find what attributes true