Preview

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet with Alternate Endings

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2843 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet with Alternate Endings
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet with Alternate Endings Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is the story of a pair of star-crossed lovers that results in great tragedy. One may ask, “Why would Shakespeare choose such a tragic ending for his heroes?” Hopefully this essay will answer that very question for you. Over the years, Romeo and Juliet has remained one of the most popular and most studied literary works of all time. With this amount of popularity, hundreds, even thousands, have written alternate endings to the timeless classic. Shakespeare could have chosen many endings, but he chose the tragic one for Romeo and Juliet. We can never truly understand his reasoning, but in general, people agree with his well thought out decision. Times have changed, language has changed, and the world has changed since Romeo and Juliet was written, but one thing remains: love can be beautiful, yet it can easily become tragic. William Shakespeare most likely had many reasons for ending the play in such a tragic way by killing both of the main characters. One reason could have been that too many stories of his day were ending with the characters living happily ever after. Shakespeare might have just wanted his story to appear more realistic to the general population. If two families were constantly fighting, as the Capulets and Montagues were, even in the technology-free age that this story was set in, the young, star-crossed lovers would not have found such easy ways to be together. There most likely would have been a little more predetermined hatred between the teenagers when they revealed their identities after they met. The second reason that William Shakespeare might have used such a tragic ending could have been that he had the foresight to know that the story would not have been such a memorable classic if the lovers had simply lived happily ever after. There are probably a million other plays, songs, and poems about love in this “happily

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the story, Romeo and Juliet, the final tragic outcome, namely the deaths of the two young lovers, was a result of human choices, rather than one of fate. Although fate played some role in Romeo and Juliet's deaths, the various characters' decisions and actions throughout the story eventually led to the tragedy. There were four main stepping stones, all resulting from man's decision, which finally ended with Romeo and Juliet taking their own lives.…

    • 750 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s greatest love story. Dating back to the late 1590’s, Romeo and Juliet is an icon for young love in present day generations. In the play, many characters are guilty of making hasty decisions that dictate the fate of the star cross’d lovers; death. Romeo, Lord Capulet, and Friar Lawrence all influence the direction of the play with their hasty actions.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is without doubt one of the most well-known love story. Throughout the five acts of the play, one tragedy follows another, with the famous suicide of Romeo and Juliet as a tragic conclusion. Throughout the play, it may seem that Romeo caused these events to unfold, however it is unjust to say that he bears all responsibility for the tragedy. The decisions, actions and circumstances that other characters made and faced have also contributed to the tragic outcome. Nevertheless, it is also in the hands of fate that destined the immature deaths of Romeo and Juliet…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both Romeo and Juliet are under the impression that they can live happily ever after with each other, despite the fact that their families hate each other, and may kill the other is they ever find out about the lovers. In reality, they end up killing themselves because they can not peacefully live out their lives together, without fear of their own families.…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play itself ends in misery and death, alike the rest of Shakespeare’s tragedies. Shakespeare has a tendency to end the characters lives by suicide or murdered. For characters to take suicide from other characters, which in turn took suicide, is not an unusual paradox in Shakespeare’s works either. Maybe the most famous one is Romeo and Juliet. And with no exception for this play most lives took the destructive turn.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The ending of Romeo & Juliet was not very satisfying in terms of how happy it was. William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet has many moments that could be changed, in order to result in a happier more satisfying ending. A few of these events would be for Mercutio to not get in a fight and get killed. And another event would be for Juliet to wake before Romeo Drinks the poison. Either one of these event changes could independently result in a more conclusive satisfying ending.…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The deaths of Romeo and Juliet in this tragic play truly do pluck at the strings of the heart. As the play goes from start to finish, a bond is formed between the audience and the young couple: nothing but luck and happiness are wished for them. No one wishes for anything bad or awful to them, just the opposite. That is the way William Shakespeare…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo”. (5.3.320-321). The dramatic play Romeo and Juliet- perhaps the most famous of Shakespeare’s works. This play is a love story of two young children of feuding families. Their famous tragic ends have raised many questions among readers, but the biggest question is most likely who is to blame. I believe that the ends of Romeo and Juliet were the faults of Romeo, Friar Lawrence, and the society’s way of life. .…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “These violent delights have violent ends,/ And their triumph die, like fire and powder./ Which as they kiss consume”(II, ⅵ, 9-11). “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is a romantic love story about two people from families that have a long time hatred for eachother. The main Characters are Romeo from the Montague family and Juliet from the Capulet family. Their first encounter was at a masquerade ball and they instantly fell in love at first sight. They quickly got married, then soon after, their relationship started to go downhill after some unfortunate events, which ultimately led to the death of both Romeo and Juliet. There were many factors that caused the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet including Friar Lawrence, Romeo, and Romeo and…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alex Grey once said, “In a society that tries to standardize thinking, individuality is not highly prized.” Romeo and Juliet were deeply in love, but the world around them would not allow them to be together. The Capulets and Montagues could not look past their nonexistent differences and let their children find true love. The ridicule from their own parents and families caused for the downfall of the love-struck teenagers. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the influence of the judgmental family is to blame for the death of the two characters.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The well known pair of star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet are dead, and there is no one to blame. Some still argue fault on the hopeful but not timely Friar, Juliet’s love-blind parents, and the poor lovers themselves, but why wonder a question already answered? Shakespeare reveals in the prologue that fate, their deaths, was inevitable as he orchestrates contrasting personalities, the family rivalry, and utter coincidences to create the perfect storm.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet, is a tale of two star-crossed lovers who died tragic deaths. Romeo and Juliet both made horrible, quick decisions but, the one who made the worst decisions was Romeo. Mercutio, Tybalt, and Juliet’s lives were all affected by Romeo’s decisions. Romeo’s impulsive behavior negatively affects the three characters in this tragedy.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet are doomed by fate from birth since they belonged to opposite households, but due to their rash decisions which aroused from uncontrolled emotions, and the influence of irrational guardians, their tragic endings were unavoidable. It’s Romeo and Juliet’s fate to die which is necessary to end their family feud. Many actions and dialogues in the play foreshadow their incoming deaths.…

    • 1919 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people see Romeo and Juliet as a tragic love story. Shakespeare writes Romeo and Juliet to show the world he lives in that love can empower and change. The death of the young couple is tragic but their death enriches and touches the lives of those who survive the violence unleashed into the society by the bitterness and vengeful circumstances surrounding them. Because of this, the love story is triumphant and not tragic. It turns the tragedy into one of gain, not lost.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In my opinion, Shakespeare chose a tragic ending for his heroes in Romeo and Juliet to make the story interesting and to make it into something that the reader wouldn’t have expected to happen. Everyone would have expected Romeo and Juliet to have survived and lived happily ever after, but they both ended up dying. This makes the story special and different and leaves the reader shocked after reading the tragedy. I was also shocked when I read that Romeo and Juliet both die. I had expected them both to live happily. And also, Shakespeare wrote a tragedy and all the main characters in a tragedy die.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics