Act V
The Argument that Romeo Uses with the Apothecary
1. offers 40 ducats - an enormous sum of money for someone as poor as the apothecary
2. says that being put to death for breaking the law is better than the apothecary starving to death (long and slow)
3. says the law favors the rich and only holds back the poor, so why obey a law that is doing nothing to help the apothecary
Why Romeo Doesn’t Get the Letter from Friar Lawrence
Friar John doesn’t want to go to Mantua alone, so he goes in search of another friar to accompany him. The Friar John is looking for his friend who is helping the sick in the part of Verona where the black plague is rampant. Officials of the town, fearing the spread of the disease, quarantine John.
IRONY - Romeo says it doesn’t matter that there is no letter from the Friar - it mattered very much - Romeo, Juliet and Paris would not have died
Romeo in Act V
Romeo’s tragic flaw is evident here - RASHNESS
1. He quickly decides he must die when he learns of Juliet’s death
2. Even a holiday doesn’t stop him from buying the poison immediately
3. He accepts Paris’s challenge too quickly - he doesn’t even know Paris is the man he killed
4. He is too quick to drink the poison at the tomb - if Juliet doesn’t look dead, maybe she isn’t
If he had been ruled by reason rather than by impulse, the ending of the play could have been quite different and much more positive
Forebodings of Tragedy in Act V
Romeo has a dream that Juliet finds him dead lying in a tomb - she does
Accidents in the Plot
1. even after Romeo buys the poison we are still looking for hope that the tragedy will be avoided - we hope Romeo will get the Friar’s letter - again, fate is the enemy of the lovers - Friar John is quarantined
2. we hope the Friar will arrive at the tomb in time to prevent the deaths of Romeo and Juliet - the Friar missed saving Romeo and Juliet from death by a matter of minutes - he stumbles over too many tombstones - chance has once again worked against the lovers
3. Arguments ensue; Mercutio and Tybalt are killed - Romeo is banished
4. Romeo thinks Juliet is dead and decides to commit suicide
5. Friar Lawrence arrives at the tomb too late to save Paris and Romeo - Juliet commits suicide
Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragedy
and How They apply to Romeo and Juliet
1. Every tragedy must have a conflict between two individuals, an individual and his environment, and/or within the individual himself, in which the hero is overwhelmed and destroyed (the hero does not necessarily die)
Romeo and Juliet has examples of all three types of conflicts.
2. Hero and/or Heroine
a. Every tragedy must have an extraordinary hero and/or heroine
Romeo and Juliet are not ordinary. Their love for one another is unique and extraordinary. They are ruled entirely by love. They have tremendous strength and feeling. Their relationship is pure and ideal. The fact that this perfect love is destroyed by death increases the tragedy.
b. The hero and/or heroine must be destroyed because of adverse fate, character flaws or both.
In Romeo and Juliet there is both adverse fate and character flaws. Fate works against the lovers from the very beginning of the play. It forces their deaths. They are children of feuding families. They are separated by an accidental fight. A freakish quarantine contributes to their deaths. Romeo and Juliet have character flaws. They are too rash and impetuous. It is fate, however, that plays the major role in their destruction. Complications are caused mostly by the world around Romeo and Juliet.
3. The hero’s and/or heroine’s destruction must serve some purpose.
In Romeo and Juliet, the deaths of the children serves to reconcile the Montagues and the Capulets and prevents further bloodshed.
1. offers 40 ducats - an enormous sum of money for someone as poor as the apothecary
2. says that being put to death for breaking the law is better than the apothecary starving to death (long and slow)
3. says the law favors the rich and only holds back the poor, so why obey a law that is doing nothing to help the apothecary
Why Romeo Doesn’t Get the Letter from Friar Lawrence
Friar John doesn’t want to go to Mantua alone, so he goes in search of another friar to accompany him. The Friar John is looking for his friend who is helping the sick in the part of Verona where the black plague is rampant. Officials of the town, fearing the spread of the disease, quarantine John.
IRONY - Romeo says it doesn’t matter that there is no letter from the Friar - it mattered very much - Romeo, Juliet and Paris would not have died
Romeo in Act V
Romeo’s tragic flaw is evident here - RASHNESS
1. He quickly decides he must die when he learns of Juliet’s death
2. Even a holiday doesn’t stop him from buying the poison immediately
3. He accepts Paris’s challenge too quickly - he doesn’t even know Paris is the man he killed
4. He is too quick to drink the poison at the tomb - if Juliet doesn’t look dead, maybe she isn’t
If he had been ruled by reason rather than by impulse, the ending of the play could have been quite different and much more positive
Forebodings of Tragedy in Act V
Romeo has a dream that Juliet finds him dead lying in a tomb - she does
Accidents in the Plot
1. even after Romeo buys the poison we are still looking for hope that the tragedy will be avoided - we hope Romeo will get the Friar’s letter - again, fate is the enemy of the lovers - Friar John is quarantined
2. we hope the Friar will arrive at the tomb in time to prevent the deaths of Romeo and Juliet - the Friar missed saving Romeo and Juliet from death by a matter of minutes - he stumbles over too many tombstones - chance has once again worked against the lovers
3. Arguments ensue; Mercutio and Tybalt are killed - Romeo is banished
4. Romeo thinks Juliet is dead and decides to commit suicide
5. Friar Lawrence arrives at the tomb too late to save Paris and Romeo - Juliet commits suicide
Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragedy
and How They apply to Romeo and Juliet
1. Every tragedy must have a conflict between two individuals, an individual and his environment, and/or within the individual himself, in which the hero is overwhelmed and destroyed (the hero does not necessarily die)
Romeo and Juliet has examples of all three types of conflicts.
2. Hero and/or Heroine
a. Every tragedy must have an extraordinary hero and/or heroine
Romeo and Juliet are not ordinary. Their love for one another is unique and extraordinary. They are ruled entirely by love. They have tremendous strength and feeling. Their relationship is pure and ideal. The fact that this perfect love is destroyed by death increases the tragedy.
b. The hero and/or heroine must be destroyed because of adverse fate, character flaws or both.
In Romeo and Juliet there is both adverse fate and character flaws. Fate works against the lovers from the very beginning of the play. It forces their deaths. They are children of feuding families. They are separated by an accidental fight. A freakish quarantine contributes to their deaths. Romeo and Juliet have character flaws. They are too rash and impetuous. It is fate, however, that plays the major role in their destruction. Complications are caused mostly by the world around Romeo and Juliet.
3. The hero’s and/or heroine’s destruction must serve some purpose.
In Romeo and Juliet, the deaths of the children serves to reconcile the Montagues and the Capulets and prevents further bloodshed.
