The ideology that everything in the universe has a specific place and rank in order of their hierarchy importance created by God is known as the concept of The Great Chain of Being. The order of this concept consisted levels according to highest rank to the lowest accordingly: God, angels, humanity, animals, vegetation life, leading all the way down to crud. Within each category, more specific classification existed, placing these subcategories in a specific order. This concept was believed to be a way to keep the universe in order. As this was believed during Elizabethan times, William Shakespeare also believed in the Great Chain of Being, as many of his plays are prominently based on this concept. Some of his plays include characters that accept their place on the Chain, but others are not so complacent. By examining three different characters from Shakespeare’s tragedies, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and The Tragedy of King Lear, it is obvious to readers who is content with their place on the Chain and which characters have a difficult time accepting their place. Romeo and Juliet do not obey their parents’ orders, therefore suffer harsh consequences towards the end of the play. Macbeth is another Shakespearean character that violates the Chain, due to the committing of several murders, in order to gain the throne. In stark contrast, Cordelia, is content with her place on the Chain as she does not want anything greater in life, unlike her
Love also cannot be affected by other people. Romeo thinks he knows what love is with Rosaline, but when it comes to Juliet, all other people are inexistent. Love should be powerful enough to drive someone completely crazy about the other, in a good way. Right when Romeo meets Juliet he says, “For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night” (1.5.60). From this point forward, Romeo’s love is dedicated to Juliet. No one can stand in the way. Next, Shakespeare deceits the reader by bringing in Paris for Juliet to marry. However, Juliet speaks her mind and says, “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, From off the battlements of any tower, Or walk in thievish ways, or bid me lurk Where serpents are” (4.1.78-81). Paris seems like a good guy, but he really shouldn’t interfere with Romeo and Juliet. In fact, this act of marrying sooner brings more conflict for the star-crossed lovers to commit suicide sooner. Still, Romeo and Juliet did that act out of love and didn’t listen to anyone’s advice. Lastly, all family members of the Capulets and Montagues are not a problem for Romeo and Juliet’s love. Neighbors are supposed to be comforting and welcoming, but as for Romeo and Juliet’s families, they want the other family dead. Juliet says, “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore are thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (2.2.36-39). Just by chance, Romeo and Juliet have to be enemies. Loving an enemy can be pretty
To believe that everything in the universe has a specific place and rank in order of their hierarchy importance created by God is known as the concept of The Great Chain of Being. The order of this concept consisted of God, angels, humanity, animals, vegetation life, leading all the way down to crud. Within each category, more specific classification existed, in a way that still placed these subcategories in a specific order. As this was believed during Elizabethan times, William Shakespeare also believed in the Great Chain of Being, as many of his plays are prominently based on this concept. Some of his plays include characters that accept their place on the Chain, but others do not react so smoothly. By examining 3 different characters from Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of King Richard the Second, Macbeth, and Lear, it is obvious who is content with their place on the Chain and who have a difficult time accepting their place.
Romeo and Juliet is a story that involves many untimely deaths. Out of all the deaths Romeo and Juliet were the most important deaths out of the whole play. But who is left to blame for their deaths? Tybalt, Paris, and Mercutio; there is someone to blame for each of those deaths. Yet nobody is one hundred percent sure who is to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s suicide. Well, the answer to who led them might surprise you, as the people who were closest to them led them to their suicide. Two families who have a raging feud. A feud so strong they pushed their children to the brink of death.
The main concept of the Great Chain of Being is that every existing thing in the universe has its “place” in an outlined hierarchical order. Where it is placed depends on the amount of spirit and importance in society it has. The chain commences at God and progresses downward to angelic beings, kings, princes, nobles, regular humans, animals, plants, and many other objects of nature. According to this theory, all existing things have their specific function in the universe, and causing any kind of disorder on the higher links of this chain courts disaster. In Hamlet, Shakespeare dwells on the idea of a disheveled natural social order which restrains human beings’ ability to live peacefully. The society presented in this play is a society
Teenage romance tends to be really confusing and painful. However, even if it ends badly, it typically does not end in the death of either party. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, this unfortunately is not the case. Romeo’s love for Juliet ends with both of their suicides. In the prologue to the play, it says “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life”(Prologue line 6), suggesting that fate determined the deaths of these teenagers. This may be a romantic idea for a play, but this tragic ending likely results from the unwise decisions made by a fourteen year-old boy and a thirteen year-old girl. Romeo and Juliet’s deaths happen due to Romeo’s fickle attraction, Juliet’s submission to his advances, and both of their reactions
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is the question we hear so many times as children. Yet, growing up does not necessarily mean becoming an adult. Rather, growing up is the change within one’s self that is illustrated by a heightened awareness, the ability to think reasonably, and the proficiency to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. In adolescence, we turn to the adults in our lives to aid us in understanding our choices as we become increasingly responsible for our own actions. During this time in our lives, adults with worldly experience direct us down the path of good judgment in order that we may learn how to make good decisions. They near essential to us, even though not everyone has this advantage. William Shakespeare’s famous and celebrated tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, depicts several instances in which the title characters, though still naïve, behave more responsibly and maturely than the misguided adult figures in their lives–those of the Houses of Capulet and Montague, especially Juliet’s parents, and the culpable Friar Laurence.
Romeo and Juliet written by playwright, William Shakespeare, is widely renowned for being the greatest love story of all. However, after reading, it is hard for anyone to understand how the tragic story of two ‘…star-crossed lovers…’ – Chorus (1.1.6) who take their lives, can be seen as ‘beautiful’ or ‘inspiring’. This also leads to other questions being raised such as, who is most to blame for the untimely death of Romeo and Juliet? Now, many will argue that those who had the most contact with the lovers, in the time leading up to the affliction are to be held responsible i.e. Friar Laurence or their families. Others may just simply believe that they brought it upon themselves. The purpose of this essay is to explore and analyse the role
Some people may not consider that fate is something that truly occurs in the world. Others believe that each event is prearranged and set out before them like a roadmap to life; in other words, fate. The faith stems from a common belief from William Shakespeare's time that the points of the stars determined someone's fortune. Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, depicts fate as an exceptionally vital force. Because of fate, the play becomes immensely thrilling and it is exactly what manages the two young lovers to encounter one another in the first place. The instant that Romeo and Juliet meet is the exact incident that leads to their death, however oblivious these "star-crossed lovers" remain to that detail. Therefore, fate is undeniably the most controlling influence for the couple's distressing calamity.
John Steinbeck once said, “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” Without the use of opposites, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet would just be another love story. By incorporating many different dualities into his writing, Shakespeare differentiates his readers the true emotions and identity of every single one of his characters. As Steinbeck compares Summer and Winter, he describes them in a way that show they depend on each other. Shakespeare creates The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by incorporating dualities between two opposites. This method enriches his story by adding specific character to the language and writing, allowing the audience
As a freshman at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI, I took the writing class WTNG 102 Section 31, taught by Professor Ramey. All undergraduate students must receive at least a 70 as a final grade in the class prior to being enrolled in Critical Writing, WTNG 200 or 220. Entering college, I was most worried about taking Expository Writing because writing has never been one of my strengths. I have always struggled with writing transitions, and have made endless grammatical mistakes, including comma splices and tense changes. I hoped that Expository Writing would help me with these writing mistakes. Another thing that I hoped that WTNG 102 would do for my writing is that it would… Over the semester, I wrote a total of four papers with three different learning objectives and specific understandings. The first paper, “The Real Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” shows my understanding of rhetorical knowledge. The second paper, “What is a Discourse Community?” shows my understanding of discourse community knowledge. The third paper, “Genre Analysis” shows my understanding of genre knowledge. Through these three papers, I have achieved the learning outcomes in rhetorical knowledge, discourse community knowledge, and genre knowledge.
In all situations, blame points its finger at many people. In most cases however, only one person possesses true responsibility. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, teenagers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the son and daughter of long-time rival families fall desperately in love with each other at first sight. By fate, Romeo gets exiled from his hometown Verona, and Juliet’s father forces her to marry someone other than her husband Romeo just after their secret marriage. Once Romeo moves to Mantua, a miscommunication causes both lovers to take their lives, ending the tragic story as well as the family feud. The blame for the deaths of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, cannot be traced back to one person; however, the blame for the tragedy traces back to three major figures.
"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."William Shakespeare. The genre of the play Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy and it is written by William Shakespeare. The reason this play is a tragedy is because during the whole play there was always a problem that occurred weather it was in the beginning middle or end of the play. The story has two main characters that fall in love but, the problem is their families hate each other and they have to hide their love for each other. These two characters are named Romeo and Juliet also the title of the play. Romeo is a Montague and they are the rival family of the Capulets, the girl Romeo is in love with(Juliet)is a Capulet. Romeo and Juliet met at a party the capulets where throwing a party that Romeo and a couple of other Montagues went to so they could go out and have a fun night because Romeo had been heartbroken about a girl who doesn't love him back. As soon as the Montegues get to the party Romeo see Juliet and they start to flirt and at first Romeo didn't know Juliet was a Capulet but then he saw her mother lady Capulet and soon they both found out that their families where rivals.
In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the unfortunate events, and ultimately the untimely deaths of the main characters are caused by the feuding of the Montagues and the Capulets. They are at fault because they are constantly fighting with each other both physically and verbally. The feud prevents Romeo from asking Juliet to marry him with their parent’s knowledge. Their parents’ fighting also encouraged Romeo and Juliet to do some pretty risky things so that they can still see each other!
Romeo and Juliet, a classic play by William Shakespeare, is known to many as a tragedy. But what makes this play tragic? Audiences favor this story because of the emotions evoked from a tale of love that sees two young souls torn apart. However, Romeo and Juliet when under my own definition of tragedy, does not resemble a tragic play. While the death of Mercutio and the deaths of Romeo and Juliet seem tragic, the story does not show one failing when trying to reach their full potential, instead the audience sees a forbidden love and death as a result, which does not demonstrate tragedy. Instead, Romeo and Juliet face flaws from within their families and society, forcing them to stay apart due to conflict. While both Romeo and Juliet try to reach the goal of being together and fail, the flaws of others cause the conflict, not the flaws of themselves. My definition surrounds the idea that the flaws of oneself leads to his or her demise, meaning that the play misses a key characteristic of the definition of tragedy. Both characters seem to die a “tragic death,” however, their death can only be considered sad or upsetting, especially to the audience. This play instead consists of somber scenes that show aspects of a tragedy, but not enough to place this play in a tragic category in the classic definition or in my own definition because the flaws of the main characters do not cause the fall of the characters as they try to reach their full potential. If a character who fell as a
In less than four days the complex love story and tragedy of Romeo and Juliet unfolds. Written in Shakespearean language, creating a three minute movie trailer is a challenging yet eye opening task. There are an array ideas present in Romeo and Juliet and there are even more ways in which each idea can be developed. Our trailer revolved around the character Juliet, but my group adapted her character in order to show a lack of love between Romeo and Juliet, and a lack of fate in their relationship. To tell Shakespeare’s tragedy in a way such that it revolved around Juliet, my group took the unique approach of making Juliet from a different world than Romeo. Instead of being Juliet she was a girl, Julia, from the twenty-first century who dreams that she becomes Juliet. By separating Julia/Juliet from the world of Romeo and Juliet, a dream-like atmosphere is created in the moments she finds herself within the world of Romeo and Juliet. Every decision made during the production of our trailer was chosen with the focus that: love and fatalism are practically non-existent because Juliet is a confused teenagers whose confusion translates to skepticism of her love for Romeo.