Structure

The play alters between comedy and tragedy

Just like a classical drama, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is structured into five acts. The play covers about four days, with the love story between Romeo and Juliet as the main plot. We also have subplots, though, such as the feud between the Capulets and Montagues or Lord Capulet’s wedding preparations.

If you read the entire play or a large extract, you will notice that it switchesbetween comical scenes and more serious ones. The play also frequently switches between slow-paced scenes and fast-paced ones.

There are several reasons for this alternation. It would simply be too much for the audience to have every scene be dramatic and filled with romance, fighting, and death. The comical or slow-paced scenes give the audience a chance to laugh, but they also build suspense because the audience may become impatient to learn what happens to the young lovers in the main plot.

Overall, however, the play could be called a comedy up until Act 3, Scene 1 and a tragedy after that. In Act 3, Scene 1, Tybalt shockingly kills Mercutio, and Romeo kills Tybal...