Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a masterpiece that many have
heard of or read for themselves. The novel, however, is commonly argued about. The reason is whether it should be classified as a tragedy or a romance. I believe that this novel has parts in it that could be a love story, but if you dig deeper you will find that it is a tragedy.
In many places throughout the story, it is easy to see that it is a tale of true love, a
romance novel. After all, in the name of love Romeo had killed himself when he saw Juliet dead, knowing that he could not live without her by his side. After awakening from her deep sleep, Juliet killed herself when she found Romeo deceased. Upon finding him dead, Juliet exclaimed, “O churl, drunk all, and left no friendly drop To help me after! I will kiss thy lips. Haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make me die with a restorative (231)”. After observing that Romeo had poisoned himself, Juliet accused him of being selfish because he had left her none to drink. She then goes on to say that kissing Romeo's poisonous lips, it will be like a restorative medicine for her as it will have them together once again. This shows that they feel their love is so strong that the two star-crossed lovers cannot bear to be separated.
However, this play has more arrows that point it to being classified as a tragedy. Romeo
and Juliet were young, only 14 years of age. When you are so young, and when your “feelings” (hormones) are so strong, they can lead you to make impulsive decisions. For example, Rome had just been “in love” with Rosaline the day before he decided to marry Juliet. I believe, had Romeo taken a month to get to know Juliet better and even more to talk about a wedding, they may not have even gotten married! This leads me to think that the two were never really in love because they didn't know anything about one another other than the fact that they were from feuding families. If this is true and they weren't ever really in love, then the novel would very clearly be a tragedy. The reason was that they both died over something that neither of them truly understood.
Love is not a game the way that I believe that these two characters made it out to be. Romeo
did so by loving one girl and then quickly deciding to love and marry another, leading to his wife's death. Juliet did the same by rushing the wedding to avoid marrying another man and not even thinking about the consequences that would follow. They had an immature love, pushing things way too fast. After all, there was only one night that separated the day that they met from the day that they got married. They also showed their immatureness by thinking they could not live without another and taking their lives. In mature love, you would continue to live after your spouse passed away, not only for yourself but for them, too. To tell others about their story and show others the change that your spouse had brought to your life. Also in mature love, you would take time to get to know one another and see your differences and similarities. For all you know, they might be part of a satanic cult whereas you have devoted your life to God. If you just see their attractive outward appearance and immediately get married just to find out these things after, it is now too late. The two lovers in Romeo and Juliet showed an immature sense of love, hardly getting to know each other at all.
In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet is an overall tragic novel with the pair dying for
something that they knew nearly nothing about. I believe there should be no argument as to whether this is a romance or tragic novel. When you dig deeper into the text, realize how quickly the four days passed and went spiraling downhill, leading to multiple characters’ deaths, it's easy to see that the novel is a tragedy. Had the two young and impatient main characters slowed down, even just a little bit, these deaths would most likely not have happened.
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