Romeo and Juliet

I remember reading someone, I remember it being Coleridge, saying of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that it does not fit purfectly with Aristotle's theory of tragedy.

In an Aristotelian tragedy, the tragedy must be the fault of the hero. The hero must bring about their own downfall through some fatal flaw, or else the tragedy is not fair.

Romeo and Juliet have no such flaw. Their downfall is caused by the mistakes of their families.

That is because the model for Romeo and Juliet is not Aristotelian tragedy.

It is the suffering and death of Christ.

Romeo and Juliet die through someone else's mistakes.

Their death causes their family to see their mistakes and correct them.

Romeo and Juliet's death brings peace at last to their city.

It is the passion of Christ, and not Aristotelian tragedy, that is the model for Romeo and Juliet.

God loves you!

Sincerely,

David S. Annderson