Deciding Factor In Romeo And Juliet

Choice the Deciding Factor

The two iconic lovers, Romeo and Juliet, by choice they both decide to remain together forever. In the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, the two lovers’ have the ability to change what the prologue says by changing their actions which would ultimately lead to their deaths. This is shown at the beginning, middle, and the end of the play. To begin, one can witness in the beginning of the play, choices made by Romeo and Juliet that lead to their demise. For instance, Choice can be seen when Romeo decides to go to the Capulet party with the rest of the guys Romeo says, “...But he that hath the steerage of my course direct my suit./ On, lusty gentlemen” (1.4.112-113). This quotation shows, that Romeo has a bad feeling about going to the party, but he chooses to go anyways. Another choice made in the beginning of the play is the rushed marriage of the two lovers. For example, Juliet says:

...Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow by one that I’ll procure to come to thee,/ where and what time thou wilt perform the rite,/ and all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay,/ and follow thee my lord throughout the world.

(2.2.143-147)

By Juliet saying this ,

The Shakespearean critic Harold Goddard states in his article, “If Romeo had only let those two firebrands fight it out both might have lost blood with a cooling effect on their heated tempers, or, if it had gone to a finish, both might have been killed, as they ultimately were anyway, or, more likely, Mercutio would have killed Tybalt… In any of these events, the feud between the two households would not have been involved” (Goddard 40). This shows, that Romeo could have just let the two fight it out and avoided the whole thing which in turn would have saved him from having to kill Tybalt and would have prevented his banishment and ultimately his