Examples Of The Tragic Hero In Romeo And Juliet

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Tragic Hero
A tragic hero is a main character that suffers a downfall through their good fortune because of their tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is a characteristic of the character that leads to their downfall. In Romeo and Juliet Romeo is known to be a Tragic Hero. Although Romeo doesn’t know, his tragic flaw is that he is impulsive. Some examples of him being impulsive throughout the play include Romeo immediately falling in love with Juliet, him willing to die for her, and him killing himself. According to the Alabama Virtual Library it says, “...the tragic hero is never passive but struggles to resolve his tragic difficulty with an obsessive dedication…” (academic.eb.com). Romeo would do anything for Juliet; he would even kill himself. Romeo fits the …show more content…

One example of Romeo being impulsive is when he first meets Juliet. When Romeo first saw Juliet at the Capulet party, he immediately fell head over heels for her. Romeo says to a servant,” Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night”(I.v.44-45). This shows Romeo’s impulsiveness by how he says he loves her, and he hasn't met her yet. Romeo is being impulsive by how quickly he falls in love. This is an obvious example of how Romeo is impulsive. Another time Shakespeare shows Romeo’s tragic flaw is when Romeo and Juliet get married the day after they met. When Romeo and Juliet first met each other they decided that they wanted to be together forever, resulting in them getting married. Romeo talking to Friar Lawrence says, ”save what thou must combine By holy marriage”(II.iii.60-61). Romeo is eager to be with Juliet so much that he doesn’t consider the consequences that could result in their marriage. Since Romeo is desperate for love, he would do anything to achieve it. Romeo may not realize it at the time, but his impulsive decisions will result in his