I think that Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy because it fits in to the description of a tragedy. A common description is that tragedy means that a main character is "brought to ruin or suffering especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances."

The first question to ask is whether Romeo or Juliet are guilty of "moral weakness." Romeo could be accused of being shallow. He describes himself as being strongly in love with Rosaline: "Under love's heavy burden do I sink", but we know that he quickly forgets this when he sees Juliet. Also, we note that his first judgement of Juliet is based on her beauty not her character: " Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!" He describes her beauty in strong terms, but we...