Download Romeo and Juliet - Wayzata Public Schools

Shakespearean Tragedy
Romeo and Juliet: Archetypes and
the theory of the tragic flaw
Romeo and Juliet
Archetypes


An archetype is a pattern from which copies can be made.
Archetypes fall into two major categories: characters and
situations/symbols.
Characters include:
The hero: the courageous figure, the one who's always running in and saving the
day. Example: Dartagnon from Alexandre Dumas's “The Three Musketeers.”
 The outcast: The outcast is just that. He or she has been cast out of society or
has left it on a voluntary basis. The outcast figure can often also be considered
as a Christ-like figure. Example: Snowball from George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
 The scapegoat: The scapegoat figure is the one who gets blamed for everything,
regardless of whether he or she is actually at fault. Example: Piggy from William
Golding’s The Lord of The Flies.


SOURCE: http://www.essortment.com/all/literaryarchety_rabl.htm
Romeo and Juliet

The star-crossed lovers: This is the young
couple joined by love but unexpectedly
parted by fate. Example: Romeo and Juliet
from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet.

Romeo and Juliet have been immortalized
as the archetypes of true love because
they are willing to sacrifice everything —
including themselves —for their love.
The Tragic Flaw
Three views of tragedy:
 Catastrophe results from a flaw in the
character of the hero.
 The hero’s tragic flaw results from fate or
coincidence.
 Tragedy results from an error of judgment
committed by the hero, one that may or
may not have as its source a weakness in
character.
The Tragic Flaw
Typically, tragic protagonists make
mistakes; they misjudge other characters,
they misinterpret events, and they
confuse appearance with reality.
 Often, the hero’s fall from glory crushes
not only himself but other related
characters.

The Tragic Flaw
Review: Aristotle’s criteria for tragedy:
 The hero is of noble birth or occupies a highly
respected, public position.
 In a tragedy, the hero is not necessarily good or
just, but his misfortune is brought about by
some error or frailty, rather than by vice or
depravity.
 A tragedy tracks the hero’s gradual downfall,
usually brought about by his own misjudgment.
The Tragic Flaw
The play progresses logically, showing the
audience the step-by-step events that lead
to destruction and death.
 This is the tragic flaw: It may be caused
by bad judgment, inherited weakness, or
any of several other possible causes of
error.

The Tragic Flaw
Shakespeare’s tragic heroes are made of
the stuff we find within ourselves and
within the people around us.
 In almost all instances, we see a marked
one-sidedness, a predisposition in some
particular direction; a fatal tendency to
identify the whole being with one interest,
object, passion, or habit of mind.
