Examples Of Determinism In Romeo And Juliet

Millie Knoch
Jenny Jordan
H. English I
14 February 2023
Freely Chosen The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakesphere is arguably one of the most famous pieces of literature ever written- it has been cherished for centuries because of the frivolous acts of love committed by the two young lovers and the impossible circumstances they find themselves in. However, it is equally scrutinized; many readers and critics have attempted to decipher the deeper meanings within the writing. Thousands have tried to determine whether their colossal decisions were influenced by determinism or made out of free will, by destiny or by choice. While evidence can be found to side either argument, the answer is clear. In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and

He, knowing the consequences of his actions, kills Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, and is banished. This leads to Juliet, who is being forced to marry Paris, to go to the Friar in search of a solution to her problems. The Friar gives her a sleeping potion, saying: “Take thou this vial, being then in bed, / And this distilled liquor drink thou off; / When presently through all thy veins shall run / A cold and drowsy humor, for no pulse / shall keep his native progress” (Friar, IV. i. 93-97.), and promises Romeo’s kiss will wake her. He sends a letter to Romeo to inform him of this but the letter is never received. When she is falsely pronounced dead, however, Romeo chooses instead to drink a vial of poison to die with Juliet. Juliet wakes to see her husband dead and makes a choice to end their troubles for good. “Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! / Snatches Romeo’s dagger. / This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die. / She stabs herself and falls.” (Juliet, V. iii. 169-170.) Romeo and Juliet’s final decisions to kill themselves puts an end to the feuding between the houses Capulet and Montague; the grief they feel over their dead children shocks them into

The two young people were destined to fall in love and die so that their families would come to peace. While there is evidence to support this claim, the majority of evidence points to free will because Romeo, Juliet, and almost every other character makes constant and spontaneous choices throughout the entire story regardless of their circumstances. For example, when Romeo accidentally receives an invitation to Capulet’s masquerade, he is hesitant to attend. ”And we mean well in going to this masque, / but ‘tis no wit to go” (Romeo, I. iv. 47-48.) Despite his reservations, he still chooses to attend the party and ends up meeting Juliet. This is clear evidence of free will because although his current surroundings all tell him attending this party is a bad idea, he makes the decision to go anyway. As McLeod says, ”This does not mean that behavior is random, but we are free from the causal influences of past events. According to freewill a person is responsible for their own actions” (McLeod, p. 3.) Once again, Romeo has proved that while he is aware of the influence of his circumstances, he is still able to make conscious choices throughout the