The Ways in which Act 3 scene 5 Prepares the Audience for the Tragic Ending of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

The Ways in which Act 3 scene 5 Prepares the Audience for the Tragic Ending of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

In the time of Shakespeare the word tragedy is used to describe a hero

or heroine, usually from a noble family, involving a sad ending with

the hero or heroin dying. Nowadays the word tragedy is used to

describe everyday things, anything that is sad in the television and

newspapers is called a tragedy. It is very often used as a story

leading to a sad ending. Tragedy is most used in our world today when

something really bad happens that doesn't occur too often. A good

example would be the world trade centers that were destroyed by

terrorists on a hijacked plane. My definition of tragedy is the same

as the world's today: it is something sad or a terrible disaster.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy because it follows Shakespeare rules of

tragedy, which involves a hero or heroine that eventually dies. One of

the possible causes of tragedy for Romeo and Juliet is fate. In the

Prologue line 6, it is said that they were "star-cross'd", meaning ill

fated.

I think the biggest problem for Romeo and Juliet is that they live is

a society where men rule and women can't speak their mind. It is made

clear from the beginning that they live in a male dominated world.

This could be a tragic flaw, it shows that in Verona society 'macho'

behavior fired the feud they had, no one wanted to back down. In Act 1

Scene 1 it begins with Gregory and Sampson talking about raping the

Montagues' maids, taking their virginities and making crude jokes.

"Tis true, and therefore women being the weaker vessels Are ever

thrust to the wall: therefore I wi...

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...bout him and advises Juliet to

marry Paris:

"…I think it best you married with the County.

O, he's a lovely gentleman!

Romeo's a dishclout to him…"

This scene leads to the tragic ending. Shakespeare shows that by

putting hints in the scene, the vision Juliet had is one, and when she

unknowingly predicts Romeo's future is another. Act 3 scene 5 prepares

the audience for that ending because of the hints, haste, and pace. I

would say the final image of death is Juliet's threat at the end of

the scene to commit suicide if she has no option. It hides nothing and

goes straight to the truth about what's going to happen. In

Shakespeare's plays there is always a tragic flaw in a character, the

tragic flaw in some of the characters are greed, big egos, and the

most important that the play talks about is fate.