Does the Character of Romeo Conform to Aristotle’s Conventions of a Tragic Hero?
Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” is one of two main characters. The other is Juliet. The play was written in the late 16th Century by William Shakespeare and it is a tragic romance. “Poetics” was written by Aristotle and it defines what a tragic drama or tragic romance should be like and what it should contain. It states that the main character, which in this case is Romeo, should be of noble status, and he should have a tragic flaw which results in a reversal of fortune. Everything in “Poetics” is written by Aristotle and it has been widely accepted by writers and readers of tragic dramas and tragic romances. This essay is to find the answer to the question; does Romeo conform to Aristotle’s conventions of a tragic hero or not? The main ways in which Romeo may or may not conform to Aristotle’s conventions of a tragic hero are whether he is of noble status, whether he has a tragic flaw, and whether he has a reversal of fortune at some point in the play.
One of the main factors which make someone a tragic hero, described by Aristotle in “Poetics”, is to be of noble status. At the beginning of the play in the prologue, the two households, which are the Montague and Capulet households, are described as “both alike in dignity”, which shows that both the households are noble and, since Romeo is of the Montague household, he is therefore of noble birth and of noble status. This comment carries a great deal of weight, because it was made in the prologue by someone who isn’t biased to any one side, so it is therefore quite likely to be true. One of Romeo’s sworn enemies, Lord Capulet, compliments Romeo emphasising that “Verona brags of him”, which shows that he is popular in Verona. This also shows that Romeo is noble, because Verona is almost gloating that it has him, and they are much less likely to brag about him if he wasn’t of noble status. This comment carries a lot of weight because...