Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy
Romeo and Juliet is an enduring love story written by Shakespeare, involving a pair of blind, immature lovers that end their own lives as well as those around. It is believed that he borrowed the plot from Arthur Brooke's poem 'The Tragical Historye of Romeus and Juliet' (1562). Records show that the first play was performed between 1594 and 1595, in the Elizabethan era.
Romeo and Juliet is not a tragedy. There are too many other elements such as comedy for it to be a tragedy alone. Not to mention that the fatal conclusion resulted from Romeo and Juliet’s own foolish choices, not fate. Their deaths not only brought them together forever but also healed the long feud that separated the Montagues and Capulets resulting in more good outcomes then bad.
A Shakespearean tragedy “exemplifies the sense that human beings are inevitably doomed through their own failures or errors, or even the ironic action of their virtues, or through the nature of fate, destiny, or the human condition to suffer, fail, and die...." (http://cla.calpoly.edu/-dschwart/eng1339/tragedy.html). All the factors needed for Rome and Juliet to be considered a tragedy ARE NOT shown through-out the play. For example, although Romeo and Juliet’s deaths did occur from their own failures and errors, Fate and destiny were not factors in their suicides rather their own stupid choices. For the play to be considered a full tragedy their deaths needed to occur from all four factors, therefore the play shouldn’t be considered a tragedy alone.
Romeo and Juliet’s suicides weren’t caused by fate or destiny, but rather their own individual will. To start with Romeo asks Juliet to marry him after only knowing her for a few hours. This was an immature and rushed decision that was never going to have a good outcome, especially when they knew they were from opposing families. They didn’t take time to evaluate the situation and when Romeo was told that Juliet was dead he rushed to conclusions and decided he would prefer to die then live with-out her. This then led to Romeo getting the poison and killing himself, by Juliet’s side. When Juliet woke after seeing Romeo die she committed suicide by stabbing herself with Romeo’s dagger. These disastrous outcomes could have easily have been avoided with better communication and clearly thought through decisions. Therefore it wasn’t fate or destiny rather their own poor choices that led to their untimely deaths. Since it wasn’t fate but rather silly immature decisions Romeo and Juliet shouldn’t be classified as a tragedy.
Ultimately, the play is about young love with a devastating conclusion however Shakespeare includes comical elements which mean it can’t be just a tragedy. Most comedy comes from the nurse, Benvolio and Mercutio as well as Lady Capulet. In scene 1 Act line