ABSTRACT
Tragic heroes such as Macbeth and Hamlet do have something 'false within'. It is after all the definition of a tragic character that his fate lies in himself and in his own weakness. Romeo and Juliet are thus not strictly speaking tragic characters, since they are betrayed by what is false without. Capulet, who is Juliet's father, also appears to be concerned with keeping the peace. He refuses to let Tybalt attack the masked gate-crasher at the feast. But what we now call the collision course is already set in motion. Romeo and Juliet meet, they love and they marry. Tybalt kills Romeo's friend Mercutio. Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished. The lovers consummate their marriage. Juliet is then betrothed by her father to Paris. She goes to Friar Lawrence, who had married her to Romeo. He gives her a potion which will simulate death and she is taken to the family vault.
