Romeo And Juliet Tragic Hero

William Shakespeare, an illustrious playwright from the 1500s, wrote many famous plays, that many people still study today, one of the most pre-eminent being The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. This follows the life of two teenagers, Romeo and Juliet, they both love each other but their relationship is destined to fail. They can not love each other, because their families, the Montagues, and the Capulets both hate each other, however, they get married anyways, this eventually leads to their downfall. A tragic hero is a character who has a tragic flaw which eventually leads to their fall. Romeo’s tragic flaw is his impulsiveness, this flaw not only affects the course of the play but also other characters, including himself. As a result of Romeo’s

During encounters with Capulets, and other oppositions the situations end up being very ugly, because of his impulsiveness. One situation in which Romeo’s tragic flaws’ shown is when Tybalt kills Mercutio in a sword fight. Mercutio, one of Romeo’s closest friends tries to defend Romeo’s honor but ends up getting stabbed in the chest, by Tybalt. As a result, Romeo becomes furious, and vengeful, as shown in this quote “Away to heaven respective lenity/And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!/Either thou or I, or both, must fo with him”(3.1.121-126). Here Romeo is exclaiming that he’s going to let his rage guide his decisions because he’s tired of being merciful, so he’s ready to fight, and only one man’s coming out alive. Romeo’s impulsiveness eventually leads him into a fight with Tybalt, because of his pure anger, and want for vengeance. Romeo’s impulsiveness is shown when he ends up murdering Tybalt in an act of rash violence, he rushed into the fight without thinking because he let his emotions control him. He didn’t have to kill Tybalt, the law would’ve executed Tybalt anyway, however, Romeo’s outburst of anger made him lose control. As a result of the murder of Tybalt, Prince Escalus banished Romeo, which eventually leads to Juliet staging her death, causing everyone to believe that she is dead. Romeo vows to go to

He is ready to commit suicide on many accounts because his emotions control his decisions, rather than logic. For example, Romeo threatens to take his own life when he finds out that he is exiled from Verona. This news causes Romeo to be very melodramatic “In what vile part of this anatomy/ doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack/ The hateful mansion”(3.3. 106-109). Romeo is saying what part of my body is my name located, so I can cut it out of myself. This happens when Romeo is discussing the exile with the Friar, and what to do. Romeo is threatening to kill himself because he will no longer be able to see Juliet. This shows Romeo is impulsive because he is so quick to grab a dagger and stab himself, Romeo thinks it’s the end of the world because he didn’t stop to think about his situation. In reality, Romeo was very lucky to only be exiled and not sentenced to death. As a result of his tragic flaw, he doesn’t use logic and tries to commit suicide when things get tough. Romeo is also ready to commit suicide when he learns that his wife Juliet has died, Romeo gets the news through Balthasar, and since the Friar’s letter that Juliet is still alive hasn’t gotten to Romeo yet, they think she’s dead still. Romeo is saddened by this and prevents him from fully processing the situation. For example “ ”Well Juliet I will lie with thee tonight”(5.1.1 34) Here Romeo is claiming that he is