Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet - Research Paper Example

 Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet 1. Tragedy Tragedy in theatre was first introduced in Greek drama. It is an art that depicts a pain, loss or misfortune in a particular character’s life. Grube states that, ‘Aristotle defines tragedy as, a tragedy is an imitation of a good action, complete and of a certain length by means of language sweetened for each of its two parts separately; it relies on its various elements upon acting, not narrative; through pity and fear it achieves the catharsis of such emotions’(Grube, 1995, 74). 1.1. Types of Tragedies In theatre and drama it is observed that tragedy is associated with more than one form. Fundamentally it is the pain and loss that is the main crux of such drama however the manner in which it is depicted can vary. Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy which deals with a tale of a young love and all the misery the two suffer at the hands of their family. 2. Romeo and Juliet This play projects a love story of a boy and girl. In this play however they become the victims of family differences and personal grudges which results in the separation of the two lovers. Although ultimately both die because of heart ache and misery since they are unable to live without each other. Hager describes Romeo and Juliet as, ‘in Romeo and Juliet action is all. That is in mapping out a tragedy of young love and familial gangs at war, a mystical notion of paradox, and an elaborate version of uncontrolled rush, Shakespeare capitalized a play whose elements triumphantly merge and whose themes echo throughout his later works’ (Hager, 2). 3. Aspects of tragedy In this play it is observed that there are various elements that amalgamate and merge together in order to produce the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. These aspects include the themes, language, and the ending of the play. 3.1. Themes Theme of love and destiny appears to be an important theme in the play. In fact in a way it is because of love and fate that the two lovers suffered heartache and pain. In Romeo and Juliet the author talks about the strong emotion of romantic love shared between two human beings. Love is projected as a power that conquers all. Basically it is a spiritual relation shared by two individuals and it is so intense and blinding that no force on planet earth can break the bonding of two individuals. Consequently the theme of love is also one of the elements that form the basis of the tragedy of the play. Fate is another important theme in Romeo and Juliet. This theme is depicted through words and actions of the characters rather than using the assistance of supernatural or a villain in the play. As also clear from Romeo’s dialogue, ‘I dreamt my lady came and found me dead’ (5.1.6). This shows that in Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare’s use of the technique of foreshadowing is projected through words and actions of the character. Also the prince refers to this fate as, ‘fate or heaven’ and Friar refers to it as, ‘greater power.’ Hence it is observed that since the very beginning of the play the theme of fate is highlighted through the use of language. Cartwright states that, ‘Bertrand Evans points out: "Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy of unawareness’ (1991, 56). This comment further explains the unvoiced presence of fate and destiny that rules every action of the play. Also Goddard states, ‘in this play simply the fates have taken this young pair and play a cruel game against them with loaded dice, unaided by any evil in men’ (117). 3.2. Language In Romeo and Juliet the conversations have a lyrical quality and the exchange of words is filled with intense emotion of love and affection. As it is also apparent from Romeo’s dialogue, ‘Let me be ta'en, let me be put to death; I am content, so thou wilt have it so. I'll say yon grey is not the morning's eye, 'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow; Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat The faulty heaven so high above our heads: I have more care to stay than will to go: Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so. How is't, my soul? let's talk; it is not day’ (3.5.17-25). This one excerpt of Romeo’s dialogue is an example of the passion filled conversations that Romeo and Juliet have through out the play. The passion that Shakespeare entraps in the words of this play further melt the hearts of the readers as the words have a powerful impact on the readers as it is the expression in which Shakespeare has depicted this play that conveys all the pain and misery of the two lovers to the readers.. 3.3. Ending In Romeo and Juliet the death of the two characters epitomizes the power of love and the passion that the two characters shared and it reflects the fact that love is such a powerful emotion that even death can not separate the two lovers. Moreover it illustrates the fact that a love story never ends and the bond of love that the lovers share is so strong that death rather than parting them eternally joins the two individuals as one. Moreover it also reflects the mind set of the two i.e. if the world cannot accept their love they would prefer to die and be together in after life rather than suffering individually while living in this world. Hunter and Lichtenfels state, ‘Juliet and Romeo have to die because their alternative worlds cannot exist at the same time as larger social world… in their deaths Romeo and Juliet transcend death…’(177). 4. Conclusion Hence it is observed that tragedy is a diverse genre of literature that involves a variety of aspects of human life this can include the tragedy in love, friendship, betrayal, ambition and greed. The pain and misery that human beings suffer in life in any form is the tragedy of their life. References Goddard, Clark, Harold. The Meaning of Shakespeare Volume 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Ltd., 1951. Print.  Hager, Alan. Understanding Romeo and Juliet: a student casebook to issues, sources. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc.1999. Print Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. New York: Barron’s Educational Series Inc., 2002. Print.  Read More