Passion Becoming Poison William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is one of the most influential plays in history. One thing that is very prominent in the play is how the characters’ tragic flaws influence the sad ending of the play. This play is about two forbidden lovers who fall in love and meet a tragic demise. Of course, many characters are to blame for this, but there are three characters whose flaws cause the ending of their stories. Those characters are Romeo with his impulsiveness, Juliet with her passion, and Friar Lawrence with his pride; these characters all influence the tragic ending. The First Character is Romeo; Romeo is a young man who falls in love with Juliet. The one tragic flaw in Romeo’s character is his impulsiveness. His impulsiveness is why he is swift to fall in love with Juliet. Romeo needed someone to stop him from thinking about the woman he was in love with before. One scene that shows his impulsiveness is …show more content…
His tragic flaw is his pride, which leads to him believing that he can control the outcomes of events. This is shown when Romeo comes to Friar Lawrence because he wants to marry Juliet, and they need a priest. Friar Lawrence is initially reluctant because he thinks Romeo has moved on quickly. Romeo tells him what he wants him to do, but the father explains that wasn’t his intention. Nevertheless, he agrees to marry them and says this. Friar Lawrence says, “For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your households rancor to pure love” (2.3.91-92). Friar Lawrence agrees to marry them because he thinks it will unite the households. But he never thought of the outcome where it makes it worse, like in the actual play where it does. His pride doesn’t allow him to think about all the possible consequences, only the one he wants to happen. This is why Friar Lawrence’s pride is a factor that contributed to the tragic