Throughout William Shakespeare’s work, there is a common theme of the character’s sealing their fate through their own decisions. This was what happened in Romeo and Juliet. The impulsive decisions made by Romeo and Juliet, including the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, the Friar’s plan, and Romeo’s suicide, ultimately lead to the fate of many characters.
Romeo’s hot temper led to the death Mercutio and Tybalt by interjecting into an argument and then acting out upon his emotions. Romeo sees Mercutio and Tybalt fighting, and decides to get into their middle of it. He tries to calm both of them down by saying, “Gentlemen, for shame forbear this outrage! / Tybalt! Mercutio! The Prince expressly hath / forbid this bandying in Verona streets. / Hold. Tybalt! Good Mercutio!” (3.1.88-91). Tybalt had come to fight Romeo and Mercutio was defending Romeo. Tybalt becomes even angrier once Romeo arrives and tries to interfere. By convincing Tybalt and Mercutio that it was forbidden to fight in the streets, he ended up making the issue seem more serious than it originally was. This starts a duel between Mercutio and Tybalt, but once again Romeo tries to come between them. Mercutio is then killed under the arm of Romeo. Romeo quite literally gets in the way and Mercutio doesn’t see the sword coming. If Romeo had thought about the possible consequences, he may have realized that that would have been a poor decision before he committed it. The death of Mercutio, however, enrages Romeo