Romeo and Juliet Essay

Tragedy is a major theme in Romeo and Juliet. Discuss how the events and characters
made this story tragic.
Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeares most famous plays. The
story is set in Verona and revolves around two feuding families; the
Capulets and the Montagues, whom were both equally wealthy and
powerful. Young love blossoms between The Montagues only son, Romeo
and the Capulets only daughter, Juliet. The beginning of the book
establishes the tone and immediately tells the fate of the two star-crossed
lovers, thus signifying that tragedy is a major theme of this play. With the
prolonged and bitter quarrel of the two families, Romeo and Juliet were
bound to fall into all types of misfortunes.
The hatred between the Capulets and the Montagues play a major role in
this play. Given their inability to see past their feud, Romeo and Juliets
love was doomed to be a tragedy in the first place. This stubbornness is
demonstrated when Tybalt, who was blinded by the hatred of the
Montagues, was quickly angered and willing to kill Romeo from their first
encounter at the Capulets party. He persistently refers to Romeo as a
villain (Act 1 scene 5, line 60) and even Lord Capulet questioned his
anger and demanded him to calm down. This is an example of how hatred
has consumed the families and how their lives are revolved around the
resentment for the other family, which is an extremely disastrous way to
live and leads to tragic and catastrophic events. Furthermore, this feud
has led to violence and physical harm to not only the two families, but
also civilians outside of the feud such as Mercutio, who was killed by
Tybalts hands and Prince Escalus who tried to bring peace between the
two families, but lost his cousin as an outcome of the fight. At the
beginning of the play, the prince tries to stop the quarrel because it was
troublesome for himself and the other civilians, but after Mercutio is killed,
the whole fight becomes personal for him since his own blood is shed as
he stated; I have an interest in your hates proceeding; my blood for your
rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding (Act 3, scene 1). Therefore, this shows the
devastating outcome as a result of the feud and how it affected everyone
and not only the families.
The tragic outcome of Romeo and Juliet mainly reflect many of the choices
and decisions that characters make throughout the play. Both good and
bad decisions are demonstrated, but its the wrong decisions that lead to
the deaths of the two lovers. Killing Tybalt was one of the decisions that
Romeo made out of rage to avenge the death of Mercutio, his best friend.
It is also one of the decisions that have a major impact on Romeo.
Because of the choice he made out of anger, he causes his own tragedy
which leads to his banishment. Romeo expresses his distress upon hearing
about his banishment, telling the friar, Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say
death; for exile hath more terror in his look, much more than death; do not
say banishment (Act 3, scene 3), he makes many comments about how
he would rather die than be banished, which foreshadows his fate, leading

the play down a path of further tragedy. Additionally, another decision that
made a huge effect on the ending of this tale was when Lord Capulet,
after hearing about the death of his nephew, Tybalt, forces Juliet to marry
Paris because as Tybalt was the eldest male in the Capulet family, he was
the only one to be the next heir. The irrational decision which was made
out of desperation and hopelessness, forced Juliet into thinking that there
was no other way out of it besides death, which will only be doomed to
tragic consequences.
Besides tragedy, another major theme of Romeo and Juliet is fate. Many of
the characters blame fate for the things that happen, instead of reflecting
it on their own actions. Romeo blames fate that he was born a Montague,
and Juliet, a Capulet. However, many of the unfortunate events that were
completely out of their control determined how their story would end. The
letter which was supposably meant to be sent to Romeo did not reach
him, which meant he did not know Juliet was faking her death to avoid
getting married to Paris. Since the beginning of the play, the reader will
notice that Romeo is an impatient man who is quick to act, therefore, he
was bound to make a harsh decision; which was seeing the apothecary to
buy poison to end his life. Friar John had completely no way he could have
prevented the plague from happening in the first place, thus this incident
falls in the hands of fate. Finally, one of the most well known moments of
Romeo and Juliet is when Romeo finally arrives at Juliet's tomb and sees
his love for the last time before killing himself. Time was another thing
that they could not control nor alter; and because fate was not on their
side, Juliet awakens a few moments later, seeing her Romeo dead next to
her, which she then uses her lovers dagger to end her own life. Given the
circumstances, the two could see no other way to be with each other in
harmony, except for in death.
Overall, throughout the play of Romeo and Juliet, there were many factors
that made this story a tragedy. Shakespeare masks this play as a story
about love and destiny, but also wanted to demonstrate that this could
lead to a tragic ending. The catastrophic fate of the star-crossed lovers
was already likely from the start because the Montagues and the Capulets
were too stubborn and blinded by hate to see past their feud for the sake
of their childrens happiness. The characters choices and the unfortunate
events that fate had planned for them play a major part in leading the
story down a disastrous route. In Romeo and Juliet, fate is inevitable,
especially when things are out of their control. Therefore, with many hints
and foreshadowing of death, Romeo and Juliets story was bound to end in
tragedy and heartbreak.

Assessment Criteria for Romeo and Juliet Essay

Assessment Criteria

VH
5

H
4

M
3

L
2

VL
1

NG

A clear and concise contention/ point of view has been

established at the start of my essay and has been
consistently maintained throughout my essay.
I have shown throughout my essay a deep
understanding and analysis of the themes, characters and
events of Romeo and Juliet.
I have effectively used appropriate examples and
evidence that specifically relate to Romeo and Juliet to
support my arguments.
I have also explained in depth about how the evidence
and/or examples have been used to support my
arguments.
I have correctly structured my essay in a clear and
logical manner effectively using the TEEL process to
structure each paragraph.
I have used appropriate grammar, spelling, punctuation
and sentence structure throughout my essay.

26/30
COMMENTS
You've written a good essay that has shown some depth of understanding
and analysis of the themes, characters and events in Romeo and Juliet.
You have also effectively used the TEEL structure within your paragraphs
but there is some room for improvement. Also while you have used some
appropriate spelling, punctuation and grammar you need to check your
phrasing as well as your sentence structure. A way for you to improve is to
ask some to check and help you edit your essay at least once before you
submit the final copy of it. Overall, you have written a great essay.

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