Tragedy In Romeo And Juliet

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Tragedies are commonly used throughout literature to create suspense. The famous playwright William Shakespeare writes tragedies to show plot development through suspense. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is classified as a tragedy based on its dictionary definition. The definition of tragedy is a play that has a tragic hero who acquires tragic flaws which result in the downfall of the hero, especially in catastrophe. Romeo and Juliet are tragic heroes in the play and have tragic flaws in their actions and personalities. The tragic flaws of Romeo and Juliet ultimately lead to their downfalls in death. The play, Romeo and Juliet, is considered a tragedy because it fits the components of the definition of tragedy. Concerning the definition of …show more content…
Recalling the definition of tragedy, the play results in catastrophe. From the start of the play, the reader is informed that the tragic heroes will ultimately die. The prologue comments, "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,” (Shakespeare Prologue 5). From this quote, one is informed that the ending of the play will be tragic. When Romeo sees Juliet dead, he automatically wants to take his life by announcing, “Here’s to my love! [drinks the poison] O true apothecary, / Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die” (Shakespeare 5.3. 119-120). Romeo was celebrating to give his life to Juliet. When Juliet finds out that Romeo is dead, she wants to do the same by committing suicide, declaring, “I’ll be brief. O happy dagger, / This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die. [stabs herself with Romeo’s dagger and dies]” (Shakespeare 5.3.169-170). This quote shows Juliet is loyal to Romeo at the end of her life by taking her own life to be with him. With the downfall of Romeo and Juliet’s death, which is the catastrophe, it shows how unfortunate they were, with fate bringing them to their deaths. After analyzing the tragedy with what happened to both of them, one can observe that each were willing to give their lives to be with each