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Romeo And Juliet Unrequited Love

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‘Romeo and Juliet’ is an Elizabethan tragedy, telling the story of ‘two star-crossed lovers who take their life’ due to a family feud as old as time. Over the course of the three-act play, Romeo, the tragic hero, develops from being impulsive and reckless to a more mature individual, beginning to understand the real notion of love. Through this, Shakespeare enlightens the audience about the difference between unrequited, immature love and true love and ultimately encourages them to pity the lovers as they succumb to the inevitable tragedy of their fate . Shakespeare initially presents Romeo as a courtly lover, his immaturity highlighted through his initial unrequited love for Rosaline. Romeo’s first words of the play are ‘Is the day so young?’, revealing there is still time for him to continue mourning over his love …show more content…

Even though his love for Juliet is very strong and authentic, transitioning from initially being spiritual to intense passionate love, it is still unable to reach fruition. At the end of Act 3 Scene 1, having impulsively killed Tybalt, Romeo blames his impulsive behaviour on fate, exclaiming ‘O, I am fortune’s fool’, presenting characteristics of Aristotle’s tragic hero. The alliteration of ‘fortune's fool’ and sudden shift from Romeo confidently claiming that the fight ‘shall determine that’ presents Romeo’s vulnerability , with ‘fool’ suggesting Romeo feeling he was was misled and is unlucky. Seeing Romeo blame his actions on fate, the audience may question earlier evidences of developing maturity and even though the Elizabethan audience would likely believe that fate significantly dictates the course of our life, Shakespeare's exploring the extent to which it does so heightens the audience’s pity towards Romeo and his predestined tragic

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