Romeo And Juliet Tragic Hero

The concept of literary tragedy has been perfected and toyed with for centuries by writers and scholars such as Aristotle. A tragedy is centered around the downfall of a specific character known as the tragic hero, whose ultimate downfall makes the story tragic. The tragic hero is a “good” character who ultimately meets a piteous end through an error due to an unavoidable flaw, and in order to be considered a tragic hero, the figure and his fate must embody certain characteristics. A tragic hero is easily recognized by the effect he has on society and others. In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, one of many famous tragedies, the character Romeo is the tragic hero and ends up inflicting tragedy upon himself and others through his role as

His overly rash and passionate quality causes him to fall in love too easily, so that he ends up making hasty decisions that lead him and others along a dangerous path to tragedy. For instance, he jumps into his relationships too quickly to know if it is safe or not. He impulsively jumps into a relationship with Juliet without consulting the feuding families, which is a dangerous move. The day after he meets Juliet, Romeo tells Friar Lawrence, “my heart’s dear love is set on the fair daughter of rich Capulet: as mine on hers, so hers is set on mine. And all combined save what thou must combine by holy marriage” (II, iii, 57 of Prentice Hall Literature). Romeo’s impulsive passion causes him to jump into a risky relationship and make large steps without thinking through the consequences, as he is already proposing marriage to Friar Lawrence. This puts Juliet in danger as well, pulling her into his tragedy. Although it is perfectly acceptable to fall in love, which is not a flaw in Romeo’s character, he should have had the reasonable self-restraint to at least consult Juliet’s parents. This displays Romeo’s rashness in his decision-making, and how this spreads his tragedy to those around him. Romeo’s foolish decision to marry secretly and without permission allows for other events to occur that directly lead to both his and Juliet’s tragedies. Romeo can easily be marked as a tragic hero simply by the way his misfortune leaks to others, a red flag for the presence of a tragic