William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet tells of the romance between two young lovers who were doomed to die in order to unite their feuding families. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses celestial imagery such as the stars, sun and the moon, to describe the love between Romeo and Juliet. It is through this repetition that Shakespeare established the celestial bodies motif as a symbol of destiny and fate, suggesting it is a force that one can not escape.
The motif of celestial bodies is first connected to the idea of destiny and fate when the Chorus speaks in the prologue. In the first Shakespearean sonnet of the play: the prologue, the Chorus gives background and explains the basic plot of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Found in the second quatrain, it states “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.”
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Upon hearing of Juliet’s death, Romeo states “Then I defy you, stars!” Implying he will not live a life without Juliet, and will kill himself. This idea is stated again in scene three before Romeo’s death by saying “I set up my everlasting rest/And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars.” This means Romeo is attempting to control his fate by dying, hence, escaping his bad luck. It is here that Shakespeare plays with the concepts of dramatic irony and hubris. Romeo’s lack of arête and descent into hubris started when he believed he was able to control his own fate. The irony of the situation lies with the fact that death was his inevitable fate. The “stars” ultimately had the final decision in these two lovers lives, not the individuals themselves. The irony assists in focusing the difference between the intended outcomes and reality. The failure behind Romeo’s motives reinforced the reality that fate can not be escaped or
In every fairy tale, movie, story, and play there is always a ‘happily ever after’ but in not in this case. The star struck lovers, Romeo and Juliet, both from families who loathe each other, end up taking their lives because they rather die than live without one another. The play “Romeo and Juliet” written by, William Shakespeare, mainly focuses on how selfishness can lead to tragedy. The selfish personalities of the characters caused conflict, betrayal, and death.
In efforts to overcome such hindrances to their love, Juliet feigns her death as planned. However, as a result of miscommunication, Romeo takes the news seriously, and thus, being propelled by zealous devotion, both use death as the key to unity. A variety of themes are implicated throughout the play. Fate, in particular, is well demonstrated. By using the motif of stars and characters such as Friar Lawrence, Juliet, and Romeo, Shakespeare truly and masterfully conveys that fate is the inevitable, unalterable and omnipotent force that controls all actions unto their consequences.
There are many forces in the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet that are keeping the two young, passionate lovers apart, all emanating from one main reason. In this essay I will discuss these as well as how love, in the end, may have been the cause that led to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Their strong attraction to each other, which some call fate, determines where their forbidden love will take them.
In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, all the choices made by the star crossed lovers have consequences. The two lovers blame fate for their misfortune. They refuse to believe that fate does not determine the end result, only that they can do that. At the beginning of the play, Romeo is presented with a plethora of choices. The audience is introduced to Romeo as he sulks over his lover Rosaline.
Imagine living a tragic existence, not even two entire decades long. Imagine being controlled by an invisible, yet limitless puppet string conducted by “the stars”. When fate is your enemy and time reveals each unraveling tragedy to your dismay, you understand how it feels to be the protagonist’s of Shakespeare’s most famous love story, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Tradition, heredity, and ancestry symbolize the celestial psychology that is the stars. Controlling every miniscule detail of the play from human behavior to action sequences, to the ultimate climax of the tale. The power that fate has is surprisingly destructible yet inevitable to audiences as they come to realize the given characteristics that cannot be changed, even to avoid death. The moment Romeo and Juliet initially saw one another, they were sure their love was meant to be. This feeling was brought on because their love was the solution of the stars, or forefathers, to cure the rivaling families’ animosity. Fate contributes to the development of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by relating to astrological terms, human behavior, and fate as an agent of destruction.
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy mainly because of the downfall of the main characters through weakness or misfortune, which lead to their deaths but these flaws are not the only reasons for this tragedy, it is possible that their fate was “written in the stars” as there are many references made about these stars. Fate (the fact that life is already planned out and is out of human control) must be one of the key factors in causing the tragedy of the “star-crossed lovers” Romeo and Juliet. It is possible that there was “some consequence yet hanging in the stars”(I iv) that already had their lives scripted down and no matter how much Romeo wanted to defy them “I defy you stars”(I, vi) he could not. This must mean that Romeo’s life was already planned out. But fate was not only interpreted in the stars, somehow it seemed that some of the characters foreshadowed their own fate, like Friar Lawrence foreshadowed “love so gentle in [Romeo’s] view, should be so tyrannous in proof”(I, I), this meaning that Romeo may see the love he has now, as wonderful, but as it continues it causes trouble.
Which once again brings out the themes of love and fate. Romeo is blaming this tragic turn of events on fate.
Being one of the most debated texts in history, Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, has the power and ability to divide audiences. Throughout the play, it is seen that Shakespeare has left the audience to contemplate the underlying cause of the Romeo and Juliet tragedy. Shakespeare begins by showing the reckless actions and choices of the lovers, illustrating one of the main contributing factors to their deaths. Friar Lawrence plays a large role in the deaths of the lovers as he is the main instigator, greatly contributing to the deaths. Also, demonstrated through the play is that the lover’s destiny is written in the stars. Without
In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the lovers meet their doom, in scene iii of Act V. With their fatal flaw of impulsivity, Romeo and Juliet are ultimately to blame for their death. Contrarily, if it was not for the unintentional influence of the pugnacious Tybalt, the star-crossed lovers may have remained together, perpetually. To the audience, the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are already understood, for it is a Shakespearean tragedy. However, the causes, predominantly Romeo’s and Juliet’s fatal flaws of impulsivity and rashness, are as simple as Shakespearean writing. Though Romeo and Juliet are wholly to blame for their tragic suicides, in Act V scene iii, Tybalt is, in turn, responsible, as his combative spirit forced Romeo to murder him and Juliet to marry Paris.
This hasty action resulted in not only his death, but also the death of his love(r) Juliet. Therefore, through reading William Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet, the audience learns an important lesson — that impulsive behaviour will have negative consequences as seen through Romeo’s actions starting with him crashing the Capulet’s party with his friends, to his killing of Tybalt, and finally his haste in killing himself to reunite with Juliet, with each action leading to a different consequence for not only Romeo, but also those around him.
Romeo and Juliet is regarded as one of William Shakespeare’s most tragic love stories, which has its influence on many aspects of the entertainment industry. In the context of this play, there are uncertainties surrounding whether the fatalities occur as a result of free will or under the uncontrollable force of fate. Through Romeo and Juliet’s premeditated encounter, Shakespeare indicates that fate is primarily responsible for love at first sight. Simultaneously, Romeo and Juliet are also portrayed as victims of their own destiny which induces their misfortunes and deaths. Apart from being one of the major themes, fate is also a main contributor to the outcome of the play.
Ultimately, Romeo and Juliet become embodiments of impulsiveness. Through their rash words and actions in the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare sets forth that both are too hasty in their decisions, leading them into unfortunate events. As the plot unfolds, Romeo and Juliet’s futile love is torn apart by their family’s hate and animosity towards each other. Despite their constant struggle to let their love survive, it is doomed from the beginning of the tragedy. It is plain that lack of foresight and wisdom leads to disaster all around.
Due to these lines 6-11, it proves that Romeo and Juliet’s destiny was already written previously in the stars above, and the pair of lovers could do nothing but face it, together, hand in hand, with all that they had left. Soulmates, made for each other, meant to be, written in the stars, crafted by destiny, a pure product of passion… fate plays it’s role as well, as it is virtually destiny’s sister. Romeo and Juliet are undeniably perfect for each other. Their creator, Shakespeare, ha...
Romeo and Juliet, said to be one of the most famous love stories of all time, is a play anchored in time and fate. Some actions are believed to occur by chance or by destiny. The timing of each action influences the outcome of the play. While some events are of less significance, some are crucial to the development of this tragedy. The substantial events that inspire the conclusion of Romeo and Juliet are the Capulet ball, the quarrel experienced by Tybalt and Romeo, and Friar John’s plague.
The lovers of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Romeo and Juliet are perhaps the most famous pair of lovers in history. Their story has been told and remade in countless ways, with a variety of endings. The original piece however ends with tragedy in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Throughout Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, fate is the driving force in that the star-cross lovers are destined to have a tragic end. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses literary elements to reveal that our actions are not what controls our life, but it is fate that determines what will happen to us.