Friday, January 23, 2015

Does Romeo and Juliet succeed as a romance? Discuss Propp's morphology, ideal romance, ideal hero/heroine, and convention/invention.

I don't know what Propp's morphology is (sorry), so I'm
going with Frye's archetypes (see below).


Romeo
and Juliet
is only border-line tragedy, as far as I'm concerned.  I would say
that it's half tragedy, one fourth romance, and one fourth
comedy.


Or, you can break it down by act: Act I and II are
romance and comedy, and Acts III, IV, and V are tragedy.  It's almost too plays in
one.


And, you can break it down by character: Mercutio and
the Nurse are in a comedy/romance, and Romeo and Juliet are in a
tragedy.


According to Frye's archetypal characters, you can
say that the play is a romance and that Romeo and Juliet are on a quest for love, though
I wouldn't say anyone is ideal.


So, the Hero
(Romeo) / Heronie (Juliet)
are aided by Helpers on the
Quest (Friar Lawrence /
Nurse).


Enemies of the
Quest
are not your typical giants, orgres, or evil madmen.  It is Tybalt,
obviously.  But also Fate ("star-crossed lovers") and the families' Hate, which could be
the same thing, really.


Sprits of nature
are the lark and the nightingale from Romeo and Juliet's bedroom scene
and all of the light, dark, night, and day imagery.  Enough
already!


Realistic
Counter Companion
who calls attention to
fear, the jester who deflates romantic ideals is Mercutio, obviously.  His Queen Mab
speech is an attempt to derail or counter the love quest.

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