Fate This, Stars That--The 'Tragedy' of Romeo and Juliet
Written by Gloria Casson and Kalisa Goertz
In drama, a tragedy is a play with an unhappy ending that involves the downfall of a tragic hero. Romeo and Juliet is considered a tragedy (though one could argue that the ending wasn’t that unhappy). Maybe if one considered the deaths of two teenage idiots who were ‘in love’ tragic, then maybe it is. In this story, Romeo is one of our tragic heros, and love is his tragic flaw. Love is what got him into this mess. This story has a tragic ending with the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
FATE
Romeo kept talking about fate throughout the whole story. It began when he had a dream about his death. He knew somehow that going to a party at the Capulets’ house would be the beginning of the end for him--but he still went. It was ‘written in the stars’ as he would put it. The idea of fate implies that he couldn’t have done anything about it. However, Romeo could have done many things to prevent all of this.
Motivated by Stupidity
Romeo and Juliet were the tragic heroes of this story. Love was their tragic flaw, and their love is what caused their deaths in the end. If they’d never met each other, this wouldn’t have happened. Romeo and Juliet rushed into marriage too quickly. After knowing each other for a day, they wanted to get married. These two children were extremely irresponsible, and the Friar should never have let them get married.
Romeo and Juliet were motivated by their love to their tragic end. After two whole days of loving each other, they were willing to die for each other--and they did. Apparently, Romeo couldn’t take having the first girl to like him back dying. He was motivated by his poor judgement and bad decision making to kill himself. He noticed that Juliet still looked alive. However, he didn’t think about staying there for a few minutes so he could think about his decision--he just went right for the poison. Only minutes later, Juliet wakes up and all living organisms collectively sigh in frustration. Juliet was motivated by her naivety to kill herself. She was only 13 and didn’t know anything about love or life. She felt like if her only love was dead, she should be, too. If Friar Lawrence hadn’t just left her there alone, maybe she wouldn’t have killed herself. Friar Lawrence didn’t do much wrong here except for that. He was motivated by his hopes of ending the feud. All he did was marry Romeo and Juliet and give Juliet the potion. He tried to tell Romeo about the plan, but it wasn’t his fault that the message wasn’t delivered.
Who’s to Blame?
The blame for this could be traced back to many things. If Romeo hadn’t acted so quickly, he would have known that Juliet was still alive. He described in the story how she looked alive. Knowing her situation, wouldn’t Romeo think that maybe Juliet tried to fake her death? Wouldn’t a logical person think that through? If Juliet hadn’t been forced to marry Paris, she wouldn’t have needed the potion. Earlier on, Lord Capulet told Paris that he needed Juliet’s consent to marry her; however, just a couple of acts later she’s being forced into it. If Romeo hadn’t killed Tybalt, he wouldn’t have been banished. He could have run away with Juliet if he really wanted to. Maybe he could have talked to his parents and Juliet’s parents about this and try to work things out. Sadly, the only way the feud was ended was through death.
If Romeo hadn’t met her at the party, this wouldn’t have been an issue. This can be blamed on either Romeo or his friends, but his friends were just trying to help him. Romeo was the one who couldn’t stick to one person. Romeo went on and on about how Rosaline was ‘the one,’ and the next day he’s completely moved on. This story really is timeless. Teenagers are definitely still like that today. If Lord Capulet didn’t have the party, Romeo wouldn’t have met Juliet. If the Capulets and Montagues didn’t have this feud, Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t have this problem. No one really knows why these two families were fighting in the first place. If Romeo and Juliet had just gone to their parents and talked to them, maybe they could have been the ones to end the feud. There are many people and events we could blame, but in the end, Romeo and Juliet are the ones who killed themselves. They’re the ones who made that choice.
Image: LINK
FATE
Romeo kept talking about fate throughout the whole story. It began when he had a dream about his death. He knew somehow that going to a party at the Capulets’ house would be the beginning of the end for him--but he still went. It was ‘written in the stars’ as he would put it. The idea of fate implies that he couldn’t have done anything about it. However, Romeo could have done many things to prevent all of this.
- Romeo, don’t go to the party. It’s not a good idea. Tybalt already wants an excuse to kill you.
- No, Romeo, don’t get involved with Juliet. She’s a Capulet, idiot.
- Hey, maybe you shouldn’t kill Tybalt. Didn’t you listen to the Prince?
- No, don’t kill yourself over some girl you met two days ago. That’s dumb.
Motivated by Stupidity
Romeo and Juliet were the tragic heroes of this story. Love was their tragic flaw, and their love is what caused their deaths in the end. If they’d never met each other, this wouldn’t have happened. Romeo and Juliet rushed into marriage too quickly. After knowing each other for a day, they wanted to get married. These two children were extremely irresponsible, and the Friar should never have let them get married.
Romeo and Juliet were motivated by their love to their tragic end. After two whole days of loving each other, they were willing to die for each other--and they did. Apparently, Romeo couldn’t take having the first girl to like him back dying. He was motivated by his poor judgement and bad decision making to kill himself. He noticed that Juliet still looked alive. However, he didn’t think about staying there for a few minutes so he could think about his decision--he just went right for the poison. Only minutes later, Juliet wakes up and all living organisms collectively sigh in frustration. Juliet was motivated by her naivety to kill herself. She was only 13 and didn’t know anything about love or life. She felt like if her only love was dead, she should be, too. If Friar Lawrence hadn’t just left her there alone, maybe she wouldn’t have killed herself. Friar Lawrence didn’t do much wrong here except for that. He was motivated by his hopes of ending the feud. All he did was marry Romeo and Juliet and give Juliet the potion. He tried to tell Romeo about the plan, but it wasn’t his fault that the message wasn’t delivered.
Who’s to Blame?
The blame for this could be traced back to many things. If Romeo hadn’t acted so quickly, he would have known that Juliet was still alive. He described in the story how she looked alive. Knowing her situation, wouldn’t Romeo think that maybe Juliet tried to fake her death? Wouldn’t a logical person think that through? If Juliet hadn’t been forced to marry Paris, she wouldn’t have needed the potion. Earlier on, Lord Capulet told Paris that he needed Juliet’s consent to marry her; however, just a couple of acts later she’s being forced into it. If Romeo hadn’t killed Tybalt, he wouldn’t have been banished. He could have run away with Juliet if he really wanted to. Maybe he could have talked to his parents and Juliet’s parents about this and try to work things out. Sadly, the only way the feud was ended was through death.
If Romeo hadn’t met her at the party, this wouldn’t have been an issue. This can be blamed on either Romeo or his friends, but his friends were just trying to help him. Romeo was the one who couldn’t stick to one person. Romeo went on and on about how Rosaline was ‘the one,’ and the next day he’s completely moved on. This story really is timeless. Teenagers are definitely still like that today. If Lord Capulet didn’t have the party, Romeo wouldn’t have met Juliet. If the Capulets and Montagues didn’t have this feud, Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t have this problem. No one really knows why these two families were fighting in the first place. If Romeo and Juliet had just gone to their parents and talked to them, maybe they could have been the ones to end the feud. There are many people and events we could blame, but in the end, Romeo and Juliet are the ones who killed themselves. They’re the ones who made that choice.
Image: LINK