‘Romeo and Juliet’: Shakespearean tragedy

Romeo and Juliet is arguably Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy. Straining against the social apparatus of “fair Verona”, the protagonists fight for a bond that is at once deeply personal and fiercely political.

A Shakespearean tragedy must have a tragic hero whose flaws lead to his downfall. Although almost comic in its concerns and structure, it is important to always think about Romeo and Juliet as a tragedy first and foremost, and form our responses with this framework in mind.

Sample ‘Romeo and Juliet’ IGCSE English question

IGCSE questions tend to focus on specific themes in their enquiries. Common examined themes in Romeo and Juliet are passionate love, violent hate, the individual vs. society, death and the inevitability of fate. In the example below we consider this sample IGCSE English question: how does Shakespeare explore the theme of predestination in ‘Romeo and Juliet’?

The question invites the candidate to discuss the significance of predestination. Candidates may explore how predestination exists not only in the content of the text, but is integral to its structure. Furthermore, a sophisticated IGCSE response should include discussion about the differing relationships modern and Elizabethan audiences have to beliefs surrounding predestination, and how this changes the play’s reception.

As well as demonstrating a nuanced understanding of the theme within the text and close textual analysis of its occurrence, high scorers will also be expected to have a considered and imaginative approach to the prompt.

Weaker IGCSE English response on ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Below is an example of a response that a weaker IGCSE student may produce:

Predestination is when things happen because they were always meant to happen. Predestination is presented as something that makes things happen in Romeo and Juliet. Obviously the whole play is pre-determined because Shakespeare wrote the whole thing, including the ending, in 1595 and so the ending is already decided before we have even read it. Shakespeare hints at the awareness of the ending by foreshadowing it throughout. For example, even in the prologue we know that Romeo and Juliet will kill themselves “A pair of star cross’d lovers take their lives”. Contextually, the inclusion on suicide in the play would have been very shocking to an Elizabethan audience as they were very religious and believed suicide to be a sin. Nowadays people don’t care about religion but still think suicide is quite bad.

Why is this response considered weak for IGCSE English?

There are a few problems evident in this paragraph. First of all, the candidate does not engage in much in-depth analysis, only including one piece of textual evidence within the whole paragraph. Another area for improvement is the general language, tone, and academic rigour: examiners will not be impressed with colloquial language in this response. Finally, the context drawn upon in the closing sentence is only tangentially relevant to the discussion of the theme. Any discussion of context should be closely related to the textual analysis.

Improved IGCSE English response on ‘Romeo and Juliet’

A stronger IGCSE English response might look more like this:

Shakespeare presents predestination as a powerful force in people’s lives. This is evident from the very beginning of the play, in the opening sonnet. Romeo and Juliet are “a pair of star-crossed lovers [that] take their lives”. “Star-crossed lovers” suggests that their love violates the God-given order of the firmament, and therefore they are predestined to die a tragic death. Predestination is presented as a powerful force here, as even before the action of the play, the lovers are fated to die. Furthermore, in the play the characters seem to be cognizant of how powerful a force predestination is in their lives. After murdering Tybalt, Romeo cries “O, I am fortune’s fool!” “Fortune” is an extension of predestination. Romeo recognises he is powerless in the face of it, and so is a “fool” failing to resist the pull of fate. An Elizabethan audience would have strongly believed that fate has the same powerful force over their own lives, and thus its powerful machinations within the play may have made them fear fate's influence to an even greater degree. However, a more modern audience may view the characters' recourse to fate as a tool used to distance themselves from the consequences of their actions. Overall, predestination is presented as a powerful force as its influence permeates the play from the very beginning.

Take a look at the two example paragraphs and have a think about where they fail and succeed, and what kind of analysis you might produce independently. Check out our website here for more information on our IGCSE English Literature tutoring programmes. If you would like personalised support on Romeo and Juliet or IGCSE English in general, feel free to reach out to us anytime at (852) 2882 1017 or enquiries@bartyed.com.