The Play Romeo and Juliet

The play, Romeo and Juliet: The Tragedy shows how two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, quarrel with each other. Romeo and Juliet are two lovers who marry in secret for fear of their parents reactions to their betrothal. Juliet is then forced to marry Paris but fakes death by taking a potion from the Friar. Juliet's decision leaves many dead after her poor choice of taking the potion. Among the dead are Juliet, Romeo, Paris, and Lady Montague. The play Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare. The theme of Romeo and Juliet is tragedy.

The first phrase in the play where the theme of tragedy is introduced is the prologue. "Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean" (735). This shows the struggle between the two families in the play, the Montagues and the Capulets. The fights that happen in the streets makes their differences so great that their hands are covered in the other family's blood.

Mercutio shows us how he suffers under tragedy in the play. "I am hurt a plague a' both your houses" (792). This is a time during the play when Mercutio is slain by Romeo's sword. Romeo and Tybalt are fighting, even though Romeo does not want to fight as Tybalt is his cousin-in-law. However, Romeo cannot tell Tybalt that he is related to Tybalt by marriage as this would cause problems between the two houses to flare so much that it might lead to civil war. Mercutio tries to break up Romeo and Tybalt, but is slain by Romeo's sword. It is a tragedy that he dies in such a foolish fight.