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The Role Of Fate In Romeo And Juliet By William Shakespeare

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In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare the recurring motif of piloting a ship shows up a few times illustrating the idea that teens in the 1500s thought that their life paths were chosen by fate which lead to negative outcomes. The audience first sees Romeo express how his life is piloted when he reveals a foreshadowing dream to his friends. After acknowledging that in his dream a party results in death, he pushes it aside and says, “But he that hath the steerage of my course / Direct my sail!”(1.4.119) In this context, the reader understands that Romeo refers to his life as a ship from the words “steerage” and “sail”. The phrase “direct my sail” is used because a sail moves the ship left or right based on the wind, like fate
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