In the tragic love story by Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, The two main characters named Romeo and Juliet are supposed to be sworn enemies but fall in love at first sight. As shown in the play strong emotions have tragic consequences, but does this mean Romeo is a tragic hero? Romeo is not a tragic hero even though he exhibits three out of the five characteristics to be a tragic hero, which are being noble, having a tragic flaw, and experiencing a reversal of fortune but does not exhibit catharsis or the audience does not feel pity for him. These are the reasons why Romeo is not a tragic hero.
To start, even though Romeo is not a tragic hero, he does exhibit the trait of being noble. Romeo was born into a very high-class family called the Montagues. A Lot of people respect Romeo, even his enemies respect him (capulets). The audience sees his enemies respect
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In the play, we see the reversal of fortune when Romeo finds Juliet and marries her but kills Tybalt and is banished, ruining his marriage. This is shown when the Prince states, “I beg for justice, which thou, prince, must give. Romeo slew Tybalt; Romeo must not live.” (Shakespeare 3.1.190). The audience sees Romeo kill Tybalt and eventually gets banished from the town of Verona. If Romeo didn't kill Tybalt he would not have been banished, and their Marriage between Romeo and Juliet would have possibly turned out differently.
One trait Romeo does not exhibit is catharsis. Romeo does not exhibit catharsis because he is repulsive and fast acting in the play multiple times. One way Romeo is repulsive and fast acting is when he rushes immediately to marry Juliet, this is shown when Romeo states “ I’ll tell thee as we pass, but this I pray, That thou consent to marry us today.” (Shakespeare 2.3.67-68). This quote shows how Romeo is fast acting and does not exhibit the trait of