Climax Of Romeo And Juliet Essay

Climax

The climax of a play or another narrative work, such as a short story or a novel, can be defined as (1) the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse, or as (2) the final and most exciting event in a series of events.

The climax of Romeo and Juliet, according to the first definition, occurs when Romeo kills Tybalt, causing a turning point that begins with Romeo's banishment. According to the second definition, the climax occurs in the final act, when Romeo, Juliet, and Paris die.

The death of Tybalt is the climax, because it is a turning point in the play. This is definitely a major turning point because the death of Tybalt serves as the beginning to all of Romeo and Juliet's problems. However, I personally beleive that this is, rather than the climax, the beginning of the rising action.

Others will say that the climax is when the Nurse finds Juliet (supposedly) dead. After her feigned death, the mood of the story is changed from happy (Juliet and Romeo being happy together, with hopeful looks toward their future; Capulet, Lady Capulet, and Paris looking forward to the wedding) to very melancholy (Romeo's misunderstanding about Juliet's feigned death, Lord and Lady Capulet's sadness at their dead daughter, the death of Lady Montague, the deaths of many others).

I personally beleive that the true climax of the story is when Romeo and Juliet die. This is the final point of major action in the story, which often defines a climax. After this point, the story merely concludes, with a summary of the story from Friar Lawrence and Romeo's letter (read by the Prince), as well as our learning that Lady Montague also died and that the Montagues and Capulets are going to resolve their feud because of the large amount of casualties that have been suffered.