Communication - The Key To Steering Clear From Tragedy (Romeo And Juliet Essay Sample)

Communicating with others is something that most people do daily. Communication is used to share information, comment, ask questions, express wants and needs, develop social relationships, etc. That being said there are many different forms of communication such as verbal and nonverbal communication or written and visual communication, though none of which are useful unless they are clear. The key to communicating is doing it clearly, if not, one may get into trouble along the way, a slip-up in wording or a change in tone can make a message interpreted completely different from what the person initially meant. When communication is not present and clear it can lead to unwanted outcomes and mistakes much like how in Williams Shakespeares’ “Romeo and Juliet” a lack of communication leads to tragedy.

There are many times in Romeo and Juliet where a lack of communication leads to tragedy but one specific instance is when Romeo fails to tell Tybalt that he is married to Juliet. Shortly after getting married Romeo finds himself in the middle of an argument with Tybalt which ultimately leads to Tybalt's death. Before they start any fighting Romeo’s intentions are pure, wanting to keep the peace and refraining from harming his new cousin, though Tybalt is unaware of their new relationship status therefore he is in no hurry to get along with Romeo. Romeo tells Tybalt, “I do protest I never injured thee, But love thee better than thou canst devise till thou shalt know the reason of my love; and so, good Capulet, which name I tender as dearly as my own, be satisfied” (Shakespeare 3.1.65-69). He says this in hopes that this explanation will be enough to prevent any brawls from breaking out though it does nothing but confuse the Capulets. With Romeo's explanation not being enough to calm any age-old rage, a fight breaks out and Tybalt kills Mercutio. Seeing his best friend dead eliminated whatever was left of Romeo's desire to keep the peace as he told Tybalt, “Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain? Away to heaven respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now! Now, Tybalt, take the “villain” back again that late thou gavest me; for Mercutio’s soul is but a little way above our heads, staying thine to keep him company. Either thou or I, or both, must go with him” (Shakespeare 3.1.120-127). A fight ensues and Romeo kills Tybalt, consequently getting himself banished from Verona. Mercutio and Tybalt's death, as well as Romeo getting banished, all of which being tragedies in their own way, were evidently caused by Romeo's lack of communication. If he would have just communicated it well enough to Tybalt that they were now cousins, Tybalt would have never started the fight and the tragic events would not have occurred. Though Romeo's lack of proper communication led to much tragedy he was not the only character whose lack of communication did so.

Another character whose lack of communication leads to tragedy is Friar Lawrence. When Juliet’s trusted Nurse advises her to marry Paris she has nowhere else to turn but Friar Lawrence. When she arrives at the Friar's cell in the beginning of act four, they formulate a plan. In short, Juliet will pretend she is going to marry Paris but drink a potion to make herself look dead for forty-two hours, everyone will think she is dead and by the time Romeo will arrive she will be waking up and he can take her back to Mantua. After formulating this plan the Friar says, “Get you gone, be strong and prosperous in this resolve, I’ll send a friar with speed to Mantua, with my letters to thy lord” (4.1.122-124). At this point in the play, Romeo is expecting a letter from Friar Lawrence explaining everything but this is not what he receives. A sudden outbreak of the plague forces Friar John (who was sent to give Romeo the letter from Friar Lawrence) into quarantine, preventing him from delivering the letter to Romeo, though Friar Lawrence is informed of this too late, this lack of communication causes Romeo to now be uninformed and the Friar now has no time to tell Romeo the truth. Romeo hears first from his servant that Juliet is dead, though the reader knows that she is not actually dead, Romeo does not. Since Romeo thinks she is truly dead he buys poison with the intent of killing himself and goes to see her, when he gets to Verona he finds her “dead” and drinks the poison because he cannot live without her. When Juliet’s potion wears off, she wakes up finding her beloved husband dead and she too kills herself thinking that she can’t live in a world without Romeo. If the communication of the plan had been clear everything would have gone smoothly and the tragedy could have been avoided, therefore making this a prime example of how a lack of communication can lead to tragedy.

In brief, Shakespeare is trying to teach the reader about the importance of communication, more specifically, how in its absence, tragedy is formed. Particularly in Romeo and Juliet, a lack of communication causes catastrophe and adversity in terms of the characters’ situations. Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet find themselves in many hopeless situations and a lack of communication is at the origin of most. Romeo’s lack of communication with Tybalt leading to multiple deaths and his own banishment as well as when Romeo is uninformed about the truth behind Juliet’s “death” causing the most tragedy in the entire play (the death of the star crossed lovers) being two good examples of this. Seeing how the lack of communication affected the play so negatively, one can take away the lesson that communication is the key to steering clear from tragedy.