Romeo is the one who was trying to avoid conflict, but Tybalt didn't care what anyone said or what would happen to him. Tybalt already knew he wasn't aloud to start any problems and if he did it would lead to death, and it did.
Romeo showed an act of free will by choosing to fight Tybalt. Romeo walked into a fight ending up killing Tybalt. He was mad at Juliet making him soft and gentle. Romeo says, “O sweet Juliet you've made me effeminate and in my temper softened valour's steel. ”(III, iii. 428).
At first, Romeo does not desire to fight Tybalt, but now does because his friend is dead. When Romeo says to Tybalt that he wishes to fight, Tybalt exclaims, “Thou, wretched boy, that didst consort him here/ Shalt with him hence.” (3.1.126-127). At first upon reading this quote, I was confused because the older English is difficult to understand, but Tybalt is basically saying that Romeo shall join Mercutio in heaven at the end of the fight. This is quite a bold statement, and furthermore supports the narrative that Tybalt wants to fight to defend his pride at all costs.
This turns out to be a fight that Tybalt would start and Romeo would finish. If Tybalt didn’t want to die, why would he send a message for a duel? A fight all started with a grudge that should never have happened. None of the other Capulets cared that Romeo was at the party, but Tybalt did. He wanted to fight, and Romeo didn’t.
Regardless, Romeo does not wish to fight and instead tries to make peace with him because of his marriage with Tybalt’s cousin. The fact that Romeo is not willing to fight back enrages Mercutio and leads to Tybalt killing him. Which then results in Romeo avenging Mercutio and killing Tybalt. Romeo then gets banished which causes Juliet to seek help from the Friar and so forth. Tybalt had no real reason to kill Romeo, but he did and because of his actions, he causes a chain reaction that contributes to the death of Romeo and
On page 428-429, Romeo and Tybalt fight, and Tybalt is the one who falls. Some might argue that Tybalt’s hot head and aggression is the reason the tragic ending occurred, but Romeo took his own decision to slay Tybalt, and also unknowingly aided the death of his friend, mercutio. Many might also argue that the Friar, for his options that he presents to the young teens, was to blame for the loss of the two. However, what he presented were only options, Romeo and Juliet were not forced to accept or execute any of plans. What they did was completely based on their own decisions.
Even though Romeo wanted no part in the fighting, he was dragged in once Tybalt killed Mercutio. If Tybalt hadn’t killed Mercutio, than Romeo wouldn’t have killed Tybalt. Romeo: “Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain? Away to heaven respective lenity, And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!” (Shakespeare,
Throughout everyone's life, decisions are made using free will. But in the end, fate is what determines the outcome of everything. In the book Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, there are decisions made by the characters using their free will, but no decisions could’ve stopped the tragedy of there love. All of the events leading up to Romeo and Juliet's death were not caused by free will, but they were caused by fate.
The Role of Fate in Romeo and JulietThroughout the play of the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the relationship between Romeo and Juliet has been thwarted by something that could be described as an “outside force.” The idea of fate is strong in the play due Capulets’ and Montagues’ ancient grudge against each other. Throughout the entire play, fate plays a powerful role against Romeo and Juliet’s relationship as their undying love is set to end in death and sorrow with the two “star-crossed lovers” having no control of what happened. In a religious aspect, fate is something that is uncontrollable and predetermines the courses of events that will take place. Both Romeo and Juliet are strongly religious and trust that fate is most definitely real.
After careful examination, free will had a greater impact on the characters’ destinies over the course of the story. One of the primary examples of free will having an impact on the character is when Romeo kills Tybalt. For context,
In the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet are at the mercy of the stars. This is shown through the fact that the two lovers are impacted by many circumstances beyond their control, essentially caused by the family feud between the Montague’s and the Capulet’s. However, Romeo and Juliet do choose to control their own lives by the decision’s they constitute and compose without the influence from someone else in the play, such as getting married in secret and taking their own lives. Despite this small amount of control they are still bound by fate shown by the reasons behind the secret marriage, Tybalts’ death and the suicides. Fate is one of the main thematic representations in the play Romeo and Juliet.
Death, tragedy, and fate are just some of the themes in the play “Romeo and Juliet”, by William Shakespear, but were the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet really fate? No, Romeo and Juliet deaths were not caused by fate. Their deaths were caused by their own free-will, shown by Romeo’s rash decision making, Friar Lawrence's poor planning, and Juliets bad decisions. Romeo’s rash decision making is a reason for his and Juliet's deaths. This is shown after Tybalt kills Mercutio and, “Romeo kills Tybalt for revenge (3.1.88-142).”
Love, fate, and free will are shown throughout Romeo and Juliet. Although fate plays a role, the Montague and Capulet family feud, Romeo falling for Juliet Capulet, the tragic deaths of several Monatgues and Capulets, miscommunication, and the devastating deaths of Romeo and Juliet are all tough choices they have made. In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, free will plays a more significant role in the tragic ending of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet meet at a party. Romeo came to this party having no idea who he was going to meet.
Was it fate or free will that killed Romeo and Juliet? In the prologue of this play, Shakespeare refers to Romeo and Juliet as “A pair of star-cross'd lovers.” Star crossed lovers are people whose love is destined to end in tragedy. Free will is when people are able to make their own decisions and have consequences based off their decisions instead of predetermined consequences. Fate was definitely the reason for Romeo and Juliet’s tragic deaths because of the unexplainable coincidences, uncharacterized choices, and conscious decisions that all lead to the same inescapable outcome.
The theme of Fate vs. Free Will is dominant in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; however the theme of fate is more significant than free will. In the play both Romeo and Juliet meeting was contributed by fate as Shakespeare mentioned in the prologue that Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers that were meant to meet, fall in love and their death would be the reason for the feud to end between the two families. Fate was the reason Capulet’s servant asked Romeo and Benvolio to help him read the invitation for him that contained all the names of the people that were invited to the ball Capulet hosted. “…If you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine.
