Shakespeare Tragedies

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SHAKESPEARE TRAGEDIES

William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers of all time. His plays have been told and taught for centuries and teach moral lessons through its misfortunes. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Macbeth are all tragedies of either love or loss and demonstrate the imperfection of human desires.

One of William Shakespeare’s most popular works is Romeo and Juliet. This play tells a story of two young, star-crossed lovers, whose love was destined for destruction. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet are complete strangers until they meet each other at a costume party. As soon as they see each other they instantly fall in love. That night they encounter a rendezvous and confess their love for one another along with their true identities. When Juliet finds out that Romeo is a Montague she realizes that her love for him is forbidden because of the Montague/Capulet rivalry. Though they both know it is a sin to be together in their families’ eyes, they decide to keep their love a secret. Romeo takes the first steps to being untied by asking Juliet to marry him. She quickly accepts and arrangements are made for their matrimony. After Romeo and Juliet are wedded, Romeo is charged with the murder of Juliet’s cousin and is announced to be banished from Verona. Romeo must flee to Mantua leaving his new love behind. The next day Juliet discovers that her father has arranged for her to marry someone else. Pain-struck and heartbroken Juliet doesn’t know what to do. She can’t bear to marry someone she doesn’t love, let alone marry someone at all since she is already a wife to Romeo. And with Romeo being in Mantua she feels more alone then ever. Distressed at the prospect of a false marriage and going mad she turns to Friar Laurence for advice. He offers her a sleeping potion to make her appear dead for 42 hours. During this time, the Friar would send a letter to Romeo to return to Verona in time for Jul...