Examples Of Fatal Flaws In Romeo And Juliet

The majority of people find relationships between young teenagers a nuisance, but few would ever consider them fatal. Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.Many forget, however, that this play is a tragedy, and does not star role model characters. The characters Romeo and Juliet have their share of fatal flaws that gives Romeo and Juliet its tragic and infamous ending. Their flaws at first lie dormant, but erupt when the two children meet each other and proclaim their love for eachother. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo’s flaw of naivety and Juliet’s flaw of brashness combine horribly to result in the two characters’ suicides. The first of these infamous lovebirds is Romeo,

The first example of their conjoined flaws is when Juliet offers to marry Romeo and Romeo agrees (2.II.143-144). If Romeo had disagreed, or decided to wait, their tragedy could have been avoided. Romeo’s naivety, however, caused him to agree, “Hence will I to my ghostly father’s cell…” (2.II.189). Another example of Romeo and Juliet’s flaws meeting and the consequence following is their marriage plan. Their plan to marry secretly is incredibly childish and poorly thought out. This is evident when Romeo tells the Nurse their wedding plans, “...Some means to come to come to shrift this afternoon;/ And there she shall at Friar Laurence’s cell/ Be shrived and married.” (2.IV.156-158). This plan of theirs does not take into account the possibility of someone finding out, delays, or anything else. Their combined flaws allowed such a weak plan to be created. The last combination of their flaws results in the suicides of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo’s naivety results in his death, for he truly believes he can not live a life without his Juliet. He shows this when he says that he wants to rid himself of this unhappy fate (5.III.111-112). The belief that his problems will be solved by his death is incredibly naive. Juliet’s brashness also resulted in her suicide. She shows her happiness to die when she says, “This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die.” (5.III.170). Juliet’s immediate suicide shows how brash she is and her inability to think before she acts. Their conjoined flaws led to Romeo and Juliet’s ultimate demise, the defining factor of their