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Fate In Romeo And Juliet

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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

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One reason that the tragedy was due to fate was because at the very beginning, Romeo met a servant of the Capulet family asking Romeo to read something for him. If Romeo hadn't met that servant, he wouldn’t have heard about the Capulets having a party tonight, him going and seeing Juliet. In Act 1 Scene 3, The servant says to Romeo “Now I'll tell you without asking. My master is the great rich Capulet, and if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray, come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry!”

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In a play like Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare which is a classic, dating back to the 16th century, it can be expected that discussions have happened based on the question: Did Romeo and Juliet cause their ultimate demise based on choices they made, or does fate take control of their life the second they meet? Because people are able to argue both sides of the case, there has never been a definite answer on whether or not fate, or poor choices takes place in this Shakespearean play. Although fate is something that definitely is shown in this play, poor choices ultimately cause the death of Romeo and Juliet. Every action that someone makes affects someone else, like dominoes that continue to fall until eventually, everyone has fallen. Whether or not they be intentional or accidental, every action has an equal opposite reaction.

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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.

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The fact that these two lovers still had the chance to cross each other’s paths despite the clash of their families, shows that fate was in full control of their lives. In the first act, a Capulet serving man comes across Romeo and Benvolio and unaware that they’re Montagues, he invites them to the Capulet party, “My master is the great rich Capulet, and if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine.” (l.ii.80-82). It is by fate that Romeo and Benvolio ran into the illiterate Capulet serving man who asked for their help and by gratitude, invites them to the party, at which Romeo is destined that he will meet his love, Juliet. When Romeo attends the party, he already foreshadows what destiny had in store for him, “With this night’s revels and expire the term/Of a despised life clos’d in my breast,/By some vile forfeit of untimely death.”

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Fate determines the course of events in Romeo and Juliet. The story of Romeo and Juliet began before they met. Before even Romeo was banished for killing Tybalt and Friar Lawrence’s plan failed, fate planned out Romeo and Juliet’s lives to be at its mercy. Fate is the puppet master behind closed curtains. It is unproven whether or not fate is real.

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The idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet is conveyed by Shakespeare in a series of events that coincidence occurs in. In Shakespearian time, society identified fate as Gods will. Because of this when a coincidence arises they believe that these are Gods intentions. We first see this in Romeo and Juliet when Capulets servant runs into Romeo and Benvolio, the servant cannot read so he asks these two boys to help him read the guest list to the party, where Romeo and Juliet are to meet and fall in love. The servant states "If you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a cup of wine".

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A Lack of Fate People are responsible for the events that take place in their lives; making fate a scapegoat created by those who find the repercussions are less than favorable. This can be seen in the many lives of the characters of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, an initial comedy turned tragedy. Set in fair Verona, a conflicted prince must counterbalance quarrels between the two wealthiest families; the Montagues and the Capulets. The children of the two houses, Romeo and Juliet, live their lives apart from one another, meeting when Romeo encounters Juliet at the Capulet ball, and are instantly smitten with each other and are engaged in a matter of a few hours. Their marriage ends in disastrous suicides when all of their other plans fail, but this brings together the feuding houses, all of which said to have been the work of fate.

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The whole plot for “Romeo and Juliet” was arranged by fate itself with Shakespeare’s intent and dialogue. As stated in the prologue, Romeo and Juliet fell in love, died and ended their families’ feud. “…pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life… [d]oth with their death bury their parents’ strife.”

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Due to this, their parents would never allow them together. One example of this is when in the prologue it says, “From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny/A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life/ Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife” (Shakespeare Prologue ). We are informed that the Capulets and Montagues have a long-lasting rage. And we learn that nothing can end it except for their kids' deaths. This shows fate because this event is far out of their control.

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William Shakespeare’s poetic writing (about Romeo and Juliet) portrays the tragedies that occurred to be caused by fate, however, in reality it is clear that they were caused solely by human error. Fate can be regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power, which in Romeo and Juliet’s case is claimed by Shakespeare as responsible for the characters actions and mistakes. It is evident throughout the play that the feud is responsible, not fate, and this is a big misconception as the faults are hidden. The characters are constantly blaming fate for what is clearly their personal errors, in order to not be the one accused.

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Have you ever sat down and thought that all the actions you make are written down and predetermined? In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare gives his audience a perfect example of how fate works and examples that it exists. In the story, the two lovers Romeo and Juliet are forbidden to love each other and so they decide to take their own lives. Both their families, the Capulets and the Montagues, are sworn enemies and when the two fall in love, the city of Verona is in shock. Their parents refuse for them to marry, but their love is too great that they can not listen.

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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.

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