What elements or ingredients make Romeo and Juliet a classic tragedy?

Shakespeare wrote 37 plays in all. Of these, 10 were tragedies including Romeo and Juliet.

His other famous tragedies include Othello, Hamlet and Macbeth. Even now tragedy is still around an important genre in modern novels, films, plays, etc. The most common difference between modern and past tragedies is that the hero/heroine in past tragedies had a high status in society, like an emperor, king, prince, so they can loose their status in a tragic fall, whereas in modern tragedies, the hero/heroine can be just an 'ordinary' person rather then someone with high status.

The dictionary definition of a tragedy is; a serious drama, film, opera, etc in which the main character or characters are eventually destroyed through a combination of events, circumstances, and personality problems. Tragedies have been dated all the way back to ancient Greece. In the 5th Century BC the play write Sophocles was the greatest of his time and the first to write tragedies. His greatest works were Antigone and Oedipus Rex.

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Also during this time, Aristotle wrote an analysis of what made up a tragedy. His points still apply today and some included were:

o The death or downfall of an important character(s) with a sudden turning point or reversal of fortune.

o The important part played by fate (inevitability).

o A 'tragic flaw' which the main character(s) has, bringing their downfall.

o An emotional release for the audience.

These are the points on which this essay will be based, looking into how far these elements/ingredients are contained in Romeo and Juliet.

A classic tragedy features the death or downfall of a hero/heroine of noble status and in this play Romeo and Juliet are these characters. Both are from two of the biggest households in Verona and they both have youth, beauty, wealth and power which makes them perfect main parts as they have so much to lose. They both die in the end when Romeo mistakenly thinks Juliet is dead and kills himself, with poison, to be with her. When Juliet awakes, she then finds him dead and kills herself, with his dagger, to be with him.

Other characters get caught up in the tragedy and some even die. The Friar is the character who gets most caught up in the play, followed by the Nurse. Those others who die are Mercutio (Romeo's best friend), Tybalt (Juliet's cousin), County Paris and Lady Montague (Romeo's mother) and the many deaths is a typical ending for a tragedy. Also at the end of the play Prince Escalus sums up the play in two lines:

"For never was a story of more woe,

Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

This shows that the play is finished due to the rhyming couplet and the word "woe" makes the story end on the thought of tragedy. It can also give a sense of sadness and the final words give it the ultimate love ending. The couplet is also simple and memorable and sums p the sense of waste and loss.

The play is started by an actor walking onto stage and reciting a Prologue for the play. The idea of a Prologue comes from the original Greek tragedies and has the purpose of giving a short summary of what the play is about. Shakespeare's Prologue for Romeo and Juliet is in the form of a sonnet. A sonnet is a fourteen lined poem and this strengthens the Prologue by being in rhyming verse and capturing the attention of the audience.

This Prologue blames the deaths of the lovers on their parents. Their parents are the heads of the top households in Verona, Romeo's family the Montagues and Juliet's family the Capulets. The families fight from an "ancient grudge", meaning their fight has been going on for many years. The Prologue also refers to Romeo and Juliet as "a pair of star-crossed lovers" who come "from forth the fatal loins of these two foes.... " and this shows the part of fate controlling their lives shown by the words "star-crossed" and "fatal". This is also shown by the words "death-marked love". The Prologue also states that in a way the two lovers had to die ("with their death bury their parents' strife") in order to stop the families fighting.

Sympathy is felt for Romeo and Juliet throughout the play but opposing that is the lack of understanding of their 'quick mark' reactions, which sometimes may frustrate the audience. Sympathy can be most strongly felt at the 'balcony' scene (Act 2, Scene 2), where they want to show their love but the friction between their families brings a sense of contrast, danger and watchfulness. This causes their fatal flaw of impetuousness to come into play and they arrange to get married. Other places where sympathy can be felt are when Romeo has to leave after their night of passion and the death scene (Act 5, Scene 3). Sympathy can also be felt for Juliet when she is told she has to marry Paris.

Romeo is shown to be a decent man in Act 1, Scene 5 by a comment from his father's greatest foe Lord Capulet, who admits:

"...Verona brags of him

To be a virtuous and well-governed youth."

This is a great compliment from his foe and shows that he is respected and honourable. He has heard that Romeo does not like to get caught up in the feud and prefers to stay neutral and Capulet sees this as a wise move. Romeo's anti feuding shows in Act 3, Scene 1 when Tybalt starts to abuse him. He takes no offence form Tybalt's words even after being called "a villain" ("villain" was a great insult during this time), and skilfully and graciously turning the other cheek.

However the impulsive nature of the two lovers does play a part in the tragedy. One example would be that they arranged the marriage to be the next day. It is rushed into and impetuous and Romeo's lack of care as to whether if he gets caught, also shows this because if he was caught, he would be killed. Juliet shows a concern about going so fast in the relationship. In the 'balcony' scene, she says:

"It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden;

Too like the lightening, which doth cease to be

Ere one can say, 'It lightens.'"

This shows that she is not normally an impetuous person but due to her love and the circumstances is pushed into it. Friar Lawrence also shows his concern at the swiftness of the marriage when he first learns of it in Act 2, Scene 3 and exclaims:

"Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast."

This means that if they do go quickly they are likely to lose their love as soon as they've gained it. Romeo's impulsiveness shows in most of the scenes he is in. He is most impulsive in Act 5, Scene 3. This is the final scene and if only he hadn't been so impulsive about killing himself, he would have seen Juliet wake up. His impetuousness is definitely his fatal flaw or weakness and if he and Juliet weren't so impetuous they would probably have lived.

The feud between the two families still plays a large part in the tragedy. One of the reasons for the impetuousness of the lovers may have been that they didn't want to get caught by their families so they made the arrangements for as soon as possible. If the families weren't feuding then Romeo and Juliet's love could have had a chance to survive. Also if the families weren't fighting then Romeo wouldn't have killed Tybalt and been exiled out of Verona. This shows how great an effect the feud has on the story, although it is never revealed how it all started. All that is said is that it came from an 'ancient grudge', which probably can't be remembered. The hate for each other is definitely there but possibly not quite as much as there used to be. The most hating person is Tybalt, Capulet's nephew. He shows more than just hate for the Montagues, almost a psychological need to fight and I believe that he takes the feud too seriously.

At the end of the play the Prince of Verona blames all the deaths (not just Romeo's and Juliet's) on everyone, including himself. He says, 'All are punished', and means that all should feel responsible for the deaths, learn from the tragedy and try to stop anything like it from happening again.

Even though Romeo and Juliet are 'of age', in 16th Century terms, their lives are still run by their parents and other elders. Juliet's parents are the more controlling of the two rival households and this is shown in Act 3, Scene 5. In this scene Juliet is told that she has an arranged marriage to Paris. Her parents think this is what she wants and this is what will make her happy because they think she is mourning her cousin's death but she is really mourning for Romeo. She is then threatened by her father:

"...get thee to church on Thursday,

Or never after look me in the face.

My fingers itch."

This traps her because she cannot tell her parents about her secret marriage to Romeo and if she does marry Paris she will be committing bigamy, a sin she would be punished for. "My fingers itch" means that he wants to hit Juliet but doesn't and "never after look me in the face" means he would disown her and would never want to see her again for betraying his word. This pushes her to go to the Friar, one of the controlling elders, whereas before she went to her Nurse, the other advisor and mentor. This also shows how much power the Church had at the time. The Friar is the person that Romeo confides in and Juliet confides in her Nurse but they both let down the lovers at crucial points. The Friar does this when he fails to get the message of his and Juliet's plan to Romeo but it wasn't his entire fault and fate may have played its part again.

At the start especially, Shakespeare emphasises the role of fate. The Prologue says they are "star-crossed lovers" and that they are destined to die. Several premonitions and one curse occur in the story. The first premonition is from Romeo in Act 1, Scene 4, just before they go to the Capulet ball:

"I fear too early, for my mind misgives

Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Shall bitterly begin his fearful date

With this night's revels, and expire the term

Of a despis�d life closed in my breast

By some vile forfeit of untimely death."

In this premonition he sees that he is about to start a "fearful date", meaning that he is about to release some sort of evil or something with great fear and he sees an "untimely death", which means that he will die soon or at a young age. In the next scene Juliet asks the nurse to find out Romeo's name and then says:

"...if he be marri�d.

My grave is like to be my wedding bed."

This is the next premonition and it means that if he is married then she will marry her grave because she wouldn't be able to love him and never love anyone else, even in the slightest. The final premonition is from Juliet again. As Romeo climbs down the balcony to go to Mantua, Juliet says this:

"O God, I have an ill-divining soul!

Methinks I see thee now, thou art so low,

As one dead in the bottom of a tomb."

She has "an ill-divining soul", meaning that she is expecting evil and then sees him dead, lying in a tomb. Premonitions are said to come from the subconscious, where you know what's right and it becomes a reality because you make it a reality. This is one possibility that could be true and the other is that they could just see into the future. The stars are another way of telling your future and this point is also shown in play. In Act 5, Scene1, when Romeo finds out that Juliet is dead, he exclaims:

"Is it e'en so? then I defy you stars!"

This means that he wants to go against what the stars say and he will be with Juliet, in either life or death, no matter what. The role of fate is shown finally by Friar Lawrence in the final scene, who says:

"A greater power than we can contradict

Hath thwarted our intents..."

This means that a higher power, in this case fate, has stopped their plans. This, again, shows the role of fate in their lives and how much superstition there is at this time.

At the crucial moments in the play there seem to be so many unlucky coincidences, and this makes it seem that Romeo and Juliet are doomed by fate. There are so many 'if only' points in this play from start to finish, like if only Romeo hadn't gone to the ball. This would have stopped the lovers from ever meeting and therefore stopping their untimely deaths.

Other 'twists of fate' include Romeo meeting Tybalt and then Mercutio intervening. The death of Mercutio makes Romeo kill Tybalt, which in turn gets him exiled. Without this meeting and the fights Romeo would have never been banished, Juliet would have therefore never been distraught and her marriage to Paris wouldn't have been brought closer. Juliet then wouldn't have to fake her death; each event isss linked and has a 'domino' effect, where one thing triggers another and that another, until all the dominoes have fallen.

Following from Juliet faking her death, Friar John had to tell Romeo of Juliet's and Friar Lawrence's plan but did not get to him before Balthazar did. He then told Romeo that Juliet was dead, which leads Romeo to kill himself next to her in the tomb seconds before she awakes. In all, these coincidences are ironic, in that characters have premonitions and warnings but do not take heed of them and then they come true. This irony is easy to spot and the audience can 'see it coming', even if they don't know the story.

Still 2500 years after the first tragedies, they are still as popular as ever. This could be for a number of reasons, and I think some of them are:

o The audience connect or identify with the characters on an emotional level.

o The sad or romantic side of it captures audiences' attention.

o The irony engages and entertains people.

o It can teach you valuable lessons about life and love.

These could also be the reasons for the popularity of 'Romeo and Juliet' still has today. A number of these items, and many more, make 'Romeo and Juliet' one of the greatest tragedies ever, but I believe the focal point of this tragedy, and probably why it's still so popular, is the love involved between two 'enemies', which is enough to catch anyone's attention.

The range of emotions in the play is what I think makes it a passionate and enticing tragedy. From passion and joy to sadness and from frustration to sympathy, 'Romeo and Juliet' has virtually every emotion contained within it. The theme of love comes in from every perspective and we can all relate to how the lovers feel because we've either been there, seen someone go there or just know its coming, because it happens to everyone. A sense of frustration is felt when the lovers do some something impetuous or stupid because we can see its going to go wrong but why they can't and in some ways the audience like this; it adds to the irony, which keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I myself can relate to Benvolio, the peace keeper of the story. I am like him in that we both are reluctant to fight but will if necessary. I could also see myself as Romeo, this is due to my last love where I was quite impetuous and so I pulled out of the relationship so as not to get hurt.

The play is 'moving' for the audience in the way that is connects with their emotions and views on life. Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann are directors who have both made a 'Romeo and Juliet' movie. Both directors must have been 'touched' by the play and made their own version of it with what they thought went well. These have their own emotions and put the initial idea of 'Romeo and Juliet' into them. Zeffirelli adhered more closely to the story line and based it in the time the original play was set. Baz Luhrmann set his in a modern scene with guns and cars but both kept the Shakespearean language in them but took out what they thought wasn't needed.

The final Act is the most emotional and I believe that the emotions felt can't be explained. The sense of sadness and depression is countered by some kind of positive ending. The feud ending and the lesson is to a certain extent positive but the mass deaths puts everything into a depression and sadness is felt by everyone. The ending is like most tragedies where many people die and a lesson is learnt by those who survive and the people around them. Examples of this would be in the rest of Shakespeare's tragedies and more recent tragedies like the sinking of the Titanic and 9/11. The movie 'Titanic' ends with many deaths and a lesson to avoid complacency and in the recent tragedy 9/11, it ended with hundreds of people dying and the lessons not to under estimate terrorists, and not to take for granted what you have.

As I said earlier, the audience feel a connection with the characters in the play and this shows that the play is still relevant today. Love, impetuosity, sadness, grief and happiness are feelings we still have today and the play has these in them. This also shows how much the human mind hasn't changed much in 400 years.

Scientists have always been intrigued by how the stars work and whether they affect your life your life or not. Whether it is sun signs or Chinese zodiac signs someone believes in them and I myself believe slightly in both. I was born the year of the Dragon and I think this affects who I am and what I act like and the sun signs, me being a Sagittarius, affects what my daily outcome will be and how I will feel and act on certain days. But contradicting that I believe that I can change to be a better person and change what my day will be like.

In conclusion, our fate is initially controlled by the stars but we have the power to change who we are and what will become of us. Romeo and Juliet were no different but they believed that they were controlled by the stars too much, which made them fatalistic. In truth they controlled themselves but by believing in their premonitions they made them come true.

References

• Famous Quotes of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius
• Romeo and Juliet — Themes — CliffsNotes
• Tragedy - Definition and Examples
• Tragedy - Literature