One of the most commonly asked questions in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is whether the story is controlled by fate or by personal choice. It has been up for debate for many years, and there still hasn’t been a confirmation on one or the other. Romeo and Juliet’s families despise each other, but the two still defy their parent’s wishes. By being together, these decisions lead to greater consequences in the end. Superstition and fate arise often throughout the story, but in the end, the decisions made by each character have the most impact. Romeo and Juliet ended their lives in spite of their love. In the end, if the two lovers had never met, the series of events to come after would have never occurred. It all started when Romeo decides to go to the party and says to himself, …show more content…
As for when Romeo says, “[his] own fortune is [his] own misery,” (1.2.59) when the servant needs Romeo read him the invitation letter; that could be seen as fate or destiny. Yet, in the end, it was still Romeo’s choice to go to the party and it was his choices that brought him to meet Juliet as well. After falling in love, the relationship moves quite quickly. Defying her family’s wishes, Juliet makes the choice to marry Romeo secretly. Juliet is aware of the consequences; “it is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden” (2.2.118). Although, being that their love has grown so quickly and their connection is so strong, so fast seems predestined. Juliet says, “And all my fortunes at thy foot I’ll lay,” (2.2147) which implies that she doesn’t care what happens, as long as she is with Romeo, everything will happen as it should. Yet again, the two lovers have still chosen to see each other and to not move on from one another based on the feud between both families. Romeo and Juliet aren’t the only characters making impulsive decisions. Friar Lawrence plays a large role in the two lovers’ deaths, with the crucial choice to secretly marry