Throughout time, people have been governed by fate, things destined to happen. Fate is set in stone, making it unchangeable. The overall concept in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, one of his most well-known plays, is that significant events have no impact on an individual's ability to control their own fate. The protagonists are given an inescapable destiny as expressed in lines 6-10 of the prologue: A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, The future, predetermined and one that cannot be unchanged, is set in motion for young Romeo and his love, Juliet. …show more content…
The likeliness that the children would have ever met in the first place, had they not been destined by fate, is slim to none. It could be argued that our protagonists were destined to meet and fall in love, all for the sole purpose of bringing their families’ feuding to an end. Every significant event in the story was incorporated by Shakespeare as evidence to prove that no matter what stood in the way of fate, eventually it would turn out just as predicted. From Romeo’s encounter with Capulet’s servant where he initially learns of the guest list for the Capulet celebrations to Romeo’s dream of Juliet finding him dead, the play is filled with examples that fate is …show more content…
Capulet reaches out to his former adversary, “O brother Montague, give me thy hand. This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more can I demand.” (Act 5, Scene 3, Lines 296-298). It is an act of reprieve on behalf of Lord Capulet after recognizing what the feud has cost both families. Montague responds gracefully, “But I can give thee more; For I will raise her statue in pure gold; That whiles Verona by that name is known, there shall no figure at such a rate be set as that of true and faithful Juliet.” (Act 5, Scene 3, Lines 299-303). Fate has brought the feud to a close, although not without a very high price for both