Poll: Romeo and Juliet: A tragedy or a comedy?

[Naeo]

Shakespeare ultimately wrote two kinds of storied: ones where everyone dies (Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, etc) and ones where there's a marriage. Respectively, those were his tragedies and comedies. Since everyone died in Romeo and Juliet, it's a tragedy.

 

[funguy2121]

Ah, academics and their arrogance. I suppose what mr. fancypants professor was trying to say was that Romeo and Juliet was shit, so much so that Shakespeare must have been joking. Personally, I love me some Shakespeare, but Romeo and Juliet is the oldest incarnation of the "chick flick," which teaches children and teens that there's no difference between a crush and true love, or that you can know you want to spend the rest of your life with someone when you haven't even had a proper conversation with them.

Or maybe he meant that it's naive camp, which would be my opinion.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

A Tradgedy is a story of love and loss. Since the two kill themselves out of grief over the loss of the other, I would say it is a Tragedy and that I will hope that I never get that guy for an english teacher.

 

[Godhead]

I actually find it a comedy by how Juliet figures out how to live together with them and then Romeo pops out of nowhere and completely buttfucks the plan. I actually made an essay about Romeo and Juliet viewed as a comedy. I find that literature (especially poetry) is completely based on the readers point of view.

 

[UltimatheChosen]

I'd say it's a tragedy, although from a theoretical standpoint, it's possible to be both.

 

[LewsTherin]

No-one dies in comedies.

EDIT: Also, ninjas

 

[Pimppeter2]

Irony =/= comedy.


The opposite is pretty much what I believe this guy was thinking

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Well I'd say it's one of the most pitiful examples of a love story I've ever heard of, but it sure as hell isn't a comedy.

 

[Skuffyshootster]

It was funny to see Juliet turn into a schizophrenic who talks to daggers and fears that the corpses of her family members will beat her to death with their dismembered limbs, but then again I'm not exactly normal.

The play is a tragedy through and through, and it's pretty hard to come up with an argument suggesting that it isn't.



[small]Damn right that's a challenge.[/small]

 

[Hollock]

isn't it odd that there are so many professors that make ridiculous statements like this on the internet?

 

[skywalkerlion]

I don't quite see how it could be a comedy. They all die at the end. And hell, even the romance parts aren't what I'd call light. So I call it a tragedy.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

It's a tragedy, Shakespeare titled it so.

Isn't either the original title or one of the alternate titles "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet"?

 

[Acier]

It's a Tragedy.

The basic Drama 101 of comedy and tragedy, is that it is dependent on the ends.
Comedies have good endings, tragedies have bad ones.
It doesn't matter how sad or funny the beginning or middle is, it's the ending that defines it.

 

[Toaster Hunter]

Tragedy- Unhappy ending. Someone dies or there is some other failure regardless of the content before.

Comedy- a good ending. Divine Comedy is called that because it ends well. It is not a happy piece of fiction.

Romeo and Juliet is the defining example of a tragedy. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong and possibly suffering from massive head trauma.

 

[rhyno435]

I would say a tragedy. Basically all of the main characters die if I remember correctly from Grade 10 English class.

 

[Crystal Cuckoo]

In Shakespeare's plays, comedies ended with all the main characters happy and in love with one another, having a party of some sort at the end (like Twelfth Night).

Tragedies, on the other hand, ended up with all the main characters killing themselves (like Hamlet) usually in a manner that would make any viewers cry. Hence, Romeo & Juliet is a tragedy. No question.

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

Interestingly enough, I'm doing TV production at university and one of our first theory lessons was, what is a drama?

Drama is infact defined as a balance of comedy and tragedy and Romeo and Juliet has both of these things.
There are times when you laugh and times which you don't.
I also did Romeo and Juliet in school. My teacher said that within every good drama you need comedy to lighten the mood, Mercutio and Nurse provide the comedy and so do Juliet's parents at some points.

I guess my answer is I haven't seen/read The Twelfth Night but unless there is infact no tragedy in it then yes it's a comedy but if it does contain tragedy then the true answer to the question which is the best comedy would be an entirely personal one depending on which one made you laugh more

 

[^=ash=^]

Tragedy: main protagonist dies
Comedy: i think the main protagonist gets wed or something :S don't hold me to that though.

 

[JanatUrlich]

wtf how is it a Comedy at all???

 

[Soxafloppin]

This must of been the nutty professor.

I made a funny.