ROMEO AND JULIET PAPER ASSIGNMENT:

By the end of the play, Romeo and Juliet are dead; the only cold comfort is that their deaths have brought what the Prince calls "a glooming peace" to their two families. But who or what is responsible for their deaths? To say with some members of the Elizabethan audience that it was the "stars," or fates, or simply a series of accidents that brought about the tragic ending of the play is to avoid the issue, for fault seems to lie more in the deficiencies of various characters in the play.

Imagine that you have been asked to read a five-minute paper to this class in which you explain the major character deficiencies that account for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet.  Remember that a character deficiency is not what a character does or doesn't do (e.g., someone is too hasty or someone fights too much); rather, it is the character trait (e.g., someone is too self-centered or someone is hostile) that causes the action.  Also, be sure to connect the character deficiencies you discuss as directly as possible to what happens in the play.

Write the paper that you would read; it should be no more than two double-spaced typewritten pages long (no smaller than 10-point type).  Do use an original title for the paper.  Don't write a long introduction; just start your paper with a context-setter such as this:  "By the end of the play, Romeo and Juliet are tragically dead.  Although it may look as if outward circumstances caused their deaths, in actuality the causes lie more in the deficiences of the characters in the play, especially in the deficiencies of Juliet's mother, Tybalt and Mercutio, and, most of all, of Romeo and Juliet themselves."

In writing the paper, be sure to document your ideas with examples from the play, i.e., what people do, what they say, how they look, etc.  If you need to give the source for a quotation or an example, do it like this: (1.2.123-125), which means taken from Act 1, scene 2, lines 123-125. Do not use long passages from the text as examples; rather work the pertinent part of the quote into the actual sentence in which you make your point, e.g., Romeo and Juliet are truly "star-crossed" lovers.