Romeo as a Tragic Hero Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

â€Å"A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;† (Prologue, 6) Tragedy, events of great misfortune, has engulfed the world for centuries. Tragedy often giving rise to feelings of depression, anger, sorrow, and guilt. Romeo, in the tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, is a wealthy adolescent of the Montague family. He falls in love with young Juliet, of his rival family—the Capulets. Romeo’s infatuation with Juliet leads to a hasty desire for marriage. This creates a rash and careless mindset, making Romeo susceptible to errors in judgement. This same poor judgment causes Romeo to thoughtlessly slay Tybalt, as revenge for the death of his friend, Mercutio. Through fate, Romeo coincidentally falls in love with a Capulet, his family’s rival. It is ultimately Romeo’s hamartia, combined with chance, and death, that produce the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is only human, an as such, will inevitably make errors—but some will have a much larger impact than others. Hamartia, or a tragic flaw, is an error in a certain character, which leads to his destruction. During the Capulet’s masquerade ball, Romeo is love-struck at the sight of Juliet, for â€Å"[he] ne’er saw true beauty till [that] night.† (I, v, 52). Romeo is suddenly entranced and overcome by emotion. Romeo feels forced to linger and see Juliet once again. He finds Juliet, on a balcony, unaware of his presence. Juliet secretly hopes Romeo would â€Å"refuse [his] father and refuse [his] name:† (II, ii, 34). Romeo, struggles with the notion of betrayal of his family. Refusing his father would lead to the loss of his entire inheritance. This choice imposes compromise upon Romeo. He must make a tough decision—his lifestyle or his love. Romeo’s naive infatuation with Jul... ...rong sense of pathos and pity in the audience. The viewers are meant to feel connected to the experiences of the actors by being reminded of similar circumstances in their own lives. Romeo’s hamartia, combined with chance and death truly do produce the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo’s tragic flaw leads to infatuation and haste—bringing about his recklessness. Chance then causes a chain of unfortunate events; Tybalt’s chance encounter causing Romeo’s exile, as well as Romeo’s fatal decision to commit suicide moments before Juliet’s awakening. Death adds yet another layer of tragedy, by connecting the loss of characters in the play to feared real-world loss of family and friends. Although tragedy was ever-present in Romeo and Juliet, the characters learned from their mistakes and grew stronger from their failures. Perhaps we will be able to do the same.