William Shakespeare wrote the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet between 1591 and 1595. The play reveals the theme of the tragic love between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, whose families ate centuries of hostility that led to the death of young people. In the play, Shakespeare criticizes the social foundations of the patriarchal society of medieval Italy, and therefore the play is also considered a social tragedy. Critics highly praised the play, and it was one of the most frequently performed during Shakespeare’s lifetime. The author adhered to the tradition of tragic novels when writing the play and skillfully used the poetic genre to characterize the characters.
Li (164) analyzes the play in terms of the reasons that led to the tragic ending. In the foreword to the article, the author states that he aimed to present arguments regarding four main reasons that precipitated the tragedy. These reasons are “the two households’ resentment and rage, Paris’s love for Juliet, Romeo’s pursuit for idealistic love, Juliet’s insistence on free love, and the old and patriarchal society” (Li 164). The author also concluded that Shakespeare, in the play Romeo and Juliet criticized the patriarchal social order.
Li (164) has duly presented the arguments for his thesis, providing compelling evidence based on the play’s plot. In particular, he explained why the feud between families was such an important factor preventing the two lovers from joining and why Romeo and Juliet were powerless in the face of social norms. Further, the author recalled the importance of minor characters, such as Mercutio and Paris, killed by Romeo, who were also participants in the tragedy. The author convincingly explained why Romeo’s desire for idealistic love and Juliet’s desire for free love precipitated the sad ending.
Li (166) has supported his assumptions with examples from the play’s plot, which makes them convincing. The author could use more direct quotes from the text to make the discussion more descriptive. He also did not mention the role of Lorenzo, who gave Juliet poison, which could also help hasten the tragedy. The author also needed to pay more attention to the pressure that families and circumstances put on young lovers. The author used excellent structure, tone, and organization of the article, so it was easy and enjoyable to read it. All arguments were presented clearly and consistently.
The author did not show any biases and used objective language in the discussion. Hence, the author achieved his goal and proved his thesis about what factors had a decisive influence on the outcome of the events presented in the play. The author paid particular attention to how difficult it was for young lovers to challenge the feudal system. However, the author should have described in more detail the concept of fate in Shakespeare’s understanding. Although the author stated that he would consider the reasons that led to the death of the heroes in the context of Shakespeare’s concept of fate, he did not give a detailed description of Shakespeare’s vision of fate.
Thus, the article “Analysis of Causes of Tragic Fate in Romeo and Juliet Based on Shakespeare’s View of Fate” by Jie Li was discussed. The article is easy to read and makes a compelling case for the reasons that precipitated the tragedy in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. During the play analysis, the author uses the examples from the plot developed and the main characters’ behavior. The arguments presented are compelling, and the author uses objective language for discussion. The disadvantage of the article is the lack of a detailed consideration of the fate concept in Shakespeare’s understanding, although this was declared in the preface. The strong point of the article is a thorough examination of why Romeo and Juliet is a social tragedy and how a patriarchal society tragically affected the fate of the main characters.
Work Cited
Jie, Li. “Analysis of Causes of Tragic Fate in Romeo and Juliet Based on Shakespeare’s View of Fate.” Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences 3.6 (2020).