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Why Is Romeo And Juliet A Tragedy

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Why Is Romeo And Juliet A Tragedy
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was made to be seen as a tragedy (hence the name). Two lovers separated by the anger and tension between their two families end up killing themselves over each other. That’s supposed to be sad, right? Well, not necessarily. Although the story itself is very tragic, many events and character behavior in this play make it seem like it should be a comedy instead. Some of these factors being crude jokes, clueless characters, and the over sensitivity of one of the main characters.

One reason why The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is actually a comedy is because of the hidden crude jokes. In tragedies, most everything is taken seriously. Crude jokes are never included because it’s supposed to be an emotional roller
…show more content…
If this was a tragedy, Paris would be a guy that Romeo would have to face to get to Juliet. However, Paris is no obstacle. In Act 4, page 785, Juliet walks in Friar Lawrence’s church where Friar Lawrence and Paris are. When Paris sees her, he greets her by calling her his “lady” and “wife.” She responds with, “That may be sir, when I may be a wife.” Then he says, “That “may be” must be, love, on Thursday next.” Obviously, Juliet does not want to marry this guy. She’s in love with Romeo. Paris doesn’t realize that she is in no way attracted to …show more content…
Usually in a tragedy, the main character is supposed to be flawed, but we’re also supposed to feel sympathy for he/she. We feel no sympathy for Romeo for a number of reasons. He exaggerates things way too much (a lot like Juliet) and gets too emotional about things. All throughout the play, Romeo is going on and on about Juliet and how he’d kill himself if he couldn’t be with her or how awfully beautiful she is. It’s sweet, but he just met her a couple days ago and is already about to marry her (and does marry her). There are a few examples of this sprinkled throughout, but one is in Act 5 on page 807. In line 6, Romeo describes a dream he has about Juliet, claiming that he “dreamt [his] lady came and found [him] dead.” Then he says in the dream she brought him back to life with kisses. Not really something you dream about a girl you just met. He’s obsessed and it’s ridiculous enough to the point where when things start to turn on him, the audience doesn’t feel

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