preview

Tragic Hero In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Decent Essays

Romeo Montague is characterized by his passion and his tendency to beget rash decisions. Throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare provides examples of these two of Romeo’s qualities, and, ultimately, they are what define him as a tragic hero.

From the beginning of the play, it is a palpable declaration that Romeo is a dreadfully passionate being. In Act I, Romeo is in an excessively depressive element as a consequence to succumbing to love with an elusive woman named Rosaline. Amidst a tirade, Romeo divulges how he felt somber due to love or, perhaps, in his case lack thereof. Furthermore, how attitudes on love have the ability to dismantle one into immeasurable distraught and perturb them to no end. In reaction to Rosalind’s denial to love, …show more content…

There are several key examples of this trait throughout the play. The first decision Romeo hastily makes is near the beginning of the play when he quickly transitions from a state of being hopelessly in love with Rosaline to feeling the same way about Juliet in the course of one night. Friar Lawrence articulates the speed of this transition when he says to Romeo,”Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken?” Soon after Romeo’s marriage to Juliet (a result of the previous decision), Romeo is challenged to a fight by Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. At first, Romeo refuses to fight because he loves Tybalt and claims to have done him no harm, saying, “I do protest I never injured thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise, till thou shalt know the reason of my love.” (3.1 L. 64-66). However, Romeo contradicts this statement with his actions when he quickly decides to fight Tybalt after Mercutio becomes the victim of the Capulet’s wrath. He throws aside his claimed love for Tybalt, and without thinking carefully, kills him. All of these incidents exemplify this flaw in Romeo’s

Get Access