Romeo And Juliet Fate Essay

Maddie Mattiucci

Mrs. Lepere

English 10H

3 April 2023

Contemplate Your Fate Before It Is Too Late “Do not be afraid; our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift” (Alighieri). Dante Alighieri illustrates the commonly held view of fate as both inescapable and valuable during the Elizabethan Era. People believed their fate was preordained, God planned their destiny, and they had no control over their life. Not only did people believe in fate, but they also accepted and embraced it. Romeo and Juliet, a love story ending in a tragedy of two star-crossed lovers is a representation of Shakespeare’s view on fate. Initially, fate supports and benefits Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, but quickly becomes a strong force working against them. Shakespeare’s

Stars serve as a guide and a map to help navigation, and in the play stars are mentioned repeatedly, representing both fate and guidance in each character’s life decisions. Romeo and Juliet meet and immediately fall in love, which is uncommon during this time period when most people are forced into arranged marriages. The two teenagers fall in love and quickly desire to be married, even though both of their families disapprove. Romeo admires Juliet as he states, “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars'' (II.II, 19-20). Romeo uses this metaphor to compare Juliet to the stars. He not only compares Juliet to the stars because of her beauty but also to show her control over his life. Similar to how the stars control fate, Romeo’s love and admiration for her ultimately controls his fate. Romeo’s love for Juliet consumes his thoughts and actions, resulting in him revolving his life around his fate, regardless of the consequences. Shakespeare portrays Romeo as blindly accepting his fate as his only option. When Romeo believes Juliet died, he is left distraught and heartbroken. His fate is to be with Juliet and once he is convinced she is dead, he decides his life must also end to join her eternally in death. Shakespeare conveys that the acceptance of fate destroys a person by the manner in

Romeo escapes the terrible control fate has over his life and his unfavorable destiny by taking his own life. Throughout the play, Romeo always accepts his fate, but after Juliet is dead he can no longer bear the burden of fate and decides to kill himself. Before Romeo takes the potion that will kill him, he declares, “O, here will set up my everlasting rest and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars” (V.III, 109-111). Romeo takes the potion saying he will now forever rest in death but more importantly he is choosing to embrace his fate while also escaping it. By the end of the play, Romeo can not accept the consequences of his fate that are now controlling and ruining his life. Romeo kills himself because he believes that is necessary. He presumes there are only two ways to deal with his fate, either accept, or escape it. If Romeo accepts his fate, which is to be with Juliet, he must die as well, to reunite with Juliet in death. To escape his undesirable fate, Romeo takes his own life, giving up on his destiny. Romeo’s death demonstrates how strongly a person’s fate influences their character. Romeo did not think free will was an option, he believed and trusted his fate, and completely relied on it until the point that it killed him. Shakespeare uses Romeo’s suicide to demonstrate acceptance of fate is