What Role Does Fate Play In The Tragedy Of Romeo And Juliet

William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, written in 1594, is the story of two star-crossed lovers in the city of Verona, Italy, and the feud that keeps them apart. The feud, however, is only one of many aspect of their lives that separates them and causes the tragedy. This tragedy was primarily caused by fate, Romeo and his actions, and Friar Laurence and his actions. One of the aspects of life that make this play a tragedy is fate. Fate drives the Capulets to marry their only daughter, Juliet, to Count Paris (Shakespeare III.iv.12-21) after the death of Tybalt- but they are unaware she is already married to their rival’s son, Romeo. This causes further panic for Juliet after learning of Romeo’s exile from Verona (Shakespeare

Romeo decides to go to a Capulet party with Mercutio and Benvolio in masks in order to distract himself from thoughts of Rosaline (Shakespeare I.ii.84-103). This choice leads him to meet Juliet, the daughter of his family’s greatest enemy- the Capulets. They fall in love while dancing (Shakespeare I.v.93-110), but Romeo soon learns she is a Capulet (I.v.112-118). While fate may have caused Mercutio and Tybalt to duel (Shakespeare III.i.85-89), Romeo made a conscious choice to come back and avenge Mercutio by killing Tybalt. His actions get him exiled from Verona rather than killed, the only reason being that he was defending the honor of a blood relative of the prince (Shakespeare III.i.181-189). It was Romeo, after not receiving the Friar’s message and discovering Juliet’s body, who decided to kill himself with poison, bought from a merchant in Mantua (Shakespeare V.iii.110-120). If Romeo had not made the choice to end his own life, Juliet would not have killed herself (Shakespeare V.iii.165-170), and the couple may have escaped to

At the end of Act II, Friar Laurence marries Romeo and Juliet (II.vi.35-37). The Friar does not inform either of the parents, because while he initially agreed to marry the couple for the chance that “this alliance may so happy prove / To turn your households’ rancor into pure love” (Shakespeare II.iii.91-92), he is unaware that Juliet is to be married to Paris (Shakespeare III.iv.12-21). This causes a later argument which leads to Juliet willing to kill herself rather than be married off to Paris. In response to this, the Friar decides to give Juliet a poison that will appear to kill her (Shakespeare IV.i.93-108). This leads to Romeo discovering her, believing she is dead, and committing suicide (Shakespeare V.iii.110-120). If he had not given Juliet the poison and rather helped her escape to Mantua, she would not have committed suicide. The Friar leaves Juliet alone in the tomb with Romeo’s body, where she can then stab herself with Romeo’s dagger (Shakespeare V.iii.151-170). The friar’s choice to leave Juliet alone in a tomb with the corpse of her lover was an irrational one if he wished to send her to a convent (Shakespeare V.iii.155-159). The three driving forces of this tragedy were fate, Romeo Montague, and Friar Laurence. Their actions and the consequences of their actions resulted in the suicide of Romeo and