Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Free will versus fate in romeo and juliet act 1
Aspects of love in romeo juliet
Family Conflict in Romeo and Juliet
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Free will versus fate in romeo and juliet act 1
Two lovers lay dead on the ground. One with a wisp of poison on his breath, and the other with a dagger inside her. In the prologue, Shakespeare reveals to us that two star-crossed lovers die because of their families’ ongoing feud. When the two families discover what has happened and how they caused it, the families agree to end the feud and no longer quarrel. Was Romeo’s and Juliet’s death at the hand of the family in the form of fate, or did their choices cause this tragedy? In the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, free will is more dominant than fate in the outcome of the play and is shown by Juliet’s actions, Romeo’s actions, and the actions of others.
Free will is shown first through Juliet’s actions, most notably, when she is supposed to marry Paris, she drinks the potion to put herself in a coma and, when she chooses to kills herself. According to fate, Juliet was supposed to marry the county Paris. “Marry, my child, early next Thursday morn/The gallant, young, and noble gentleman/ The county Paris, at Saint Peter’s Church/ shall happily make thee there a joyful bride.” (3.5.117-120) Rather than making the socially acceptable choice (at the time) and giving in to her parents’ wishes, Juliet defies fate and consorts a plan with Friar Laurence. Juliet would let no one decide her life but herself. “Romeo, Romeo, Romeo!/ Here’s I drink to thee.” (4.3.59-60) Juliet drinks the potion to be encased into the depths of the tomb, thought as dead. She also had Friar Laurence deliver a letter to Romeo, against her parent’s consent, and against fate.“O happy dagger,/ this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die.” (5.3.174-175). This quote shows how Juliet has let go of any will to live. She is so in love with Romeo tha...
... middle of paper ...
...ths of the two lovers. No force of fate could have compelled him to do such an act. These actions of other characters in the play such as the death of Mercutio, the apothecary selling Romeo an illegal poison, and the Friar admitting that the death of Romeo, Juliet, and Paris are his fault are the final examples of how free will is more dominant than fate in the outcome of the play.
Romeo and Juliet made many choices out of their own free will, including an irreversible decision that ended in despair for all characters. “All are punished!”(5.3.305). In the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, the actions of Romeo, the actions of Juliet, and the actions of others prove that free will is more paramount than fate in the plot of the play.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. New York City, NY: Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992, 2011. Print.
Fate in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, written by the ever-famous William Shakespeare, is an eloquent story of passionate love between two teenage individuals of a time long ago. These individuals, Romeo and Juliet, fall helplessly in love with each other, in spite of the fact that their families, both upper class, have been enemies for generations. The two lovers therefore strive to maintain their ardent bond with each other in secret. They also encounter various obstacles along the way and suffer serious consequences, such as Romeo's banishment to Mantua and the obligatory marriage of Juliet to Paris.
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. Whole misadventured piteous overthrows Do their deaths bury their parents' strife? -Chorus As these words echoed through the hall of the Globe theatre, little did William Shakespeare know that this tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, would be examined and admired by playwrights for decades to come. So does fate play a major part in this tragedy?
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.
Inevitable Death in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet In Romeo and Juliet it is clear that fate plays a large part. There are many references in the play that refer to bad luck or misfortune, but it is argued that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are equally the fault of human error. The characters each have weaknesses that could be to blame like anger, ambition or ill judgement. Also some characters had premonitions or bad feelings that something bad would happen but they never did anything to stop this.
The human condition follows the path of fate. Everyone makes choices out of their own free will which affects their life at that time, but will ultimately lead to their pre- determined fate. People inflict their own wounds during their life by the choices that they make. This applies in Romeo and Juliet and plays a major role in Romeo and Juliet’s lives. "A pair of star-crossed lovers" (I, i, 6)
In society, people have varying opinions on fate. Many question whether life’s events are pre-determined by fate or whether people have a destiny to serve a greater purpose. Fate versus free will is an archaic topic among philosophers that is ultimately up for interpretation.The question on whether or not something else is controlling life’s events or if they are simply a coincidence faces us in some point of our lives. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays with the idea of fate and its control on the events in the play. He forces us to realize the destiny between Romeo and Juliet involves the fate between the two opposing households as well. Shakespeare blurs the line between fate and free will in his play Romeo and Juliet to show that the outstanding cause of Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy was not something decided- it was fate. It is evident by the events in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that fate was the main cause of the tragedy in the play, and that Romeo and Juliet held the destiny to finally end the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues.
Romeo and Juliet is widely known to be a tragedy, but what caused the atrocity for which it is so renowned? Some may argue fate was to blame for Romeo’s and Juliet’s deaths, that the situations these young lovers faced were depicted as being out of their control. Could Romeo have refused to attend the Capulet masque? Was Romeo destined to duel the raging Tybalt? Did Romeo and Juliet truly have to kill themselves? If one considers the specific circumstances and causes of these situations, the fact that all scenarios are the result of choice rather than chance, and the notion that the characters were never left without options, only one conclusion can be determined. It was unarguably the decisions made by characters, not those made by fate, that were responsible for the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet.
So it is likely that Shakespeare meant for fate to be the cause of Romeo and Juliet's death. I think that the family feud is the main cause for the death of Romeo and Juliet. If the families were not so hateful towards each other Romeo and Juliet would not have kept there love for each other a secret, and they would have no need for committing suicide. This also backs up the point that fate could be to blame for their deaths.
Shakespeare, through the dialogue and action of his characters, readily provides the evidence that both choice and fate are integral parts of human life. For example, Shakespeare illustrates fate through the words of Romeo who states, “I fear, too early, for my mind misgives some consequences, yet handing in the stars…” (I, IV, 116-117). Romeo believes that it is the stars that influence his life. It is not he who determines his life. He initially believes that his fate ultimately governs his choices, choices that cannot be controlled by humans. In addition, Shakespeare also reveals that choice plays a crucial role in determining fate. It is choice then that drives the decisions of the characters but these choices are made in the circumstance of their lives. And these circumstances cannot be removed from their consciousness. For instance, when Juliet says in her soliloquy before she drinks the sleeping potion, “Romeo, I come! This do I drink to thee” (IV, IV, 60) she is saying it is my fate and my choice to be with you. She chooses to drink the potion thus putting her into a coma-like sleep, and ultimately resulting in the death of them both. When Romeo declares, “Then I defy you, stars!” he is making the choice to challenge his fate of living without Juliet who he believes has died. Shakespeare has provided the evidence that fate and choice re so intertwined that they cannot be separated. Even the structure of his play alludes to this same perception.
Most people believe that their life is suppose to end a certain way. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the main characters end up killing themselves because of forbidden love. And the history of their family's fighting preventing them from being together. Resulting in personal choice having a greater impact on the characters in the play rather than fath.
Fate in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Before starting to decide to what extent fate was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, I should first decide what is fate? According to the dictionary, fate is the 'inevitable destiny or necessity destined term of life; doom.' This basically means, that fate can be described as a pre-planned sequence of events influencing ones life. In Romeo and Juliet, it is obviously true to say that fate was a contributor to the deaths of the young couple, but could it have been the sole contributor?
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 1997. Print.
...east, By some vile forfeit of untimely death”(shakespeare act 1 scene 5). which he's basically saying i will wait and see what fate has in store for me,also he saying he's destined to die.I think romeo believes in fate to much that he thinks that everything revolves around fate, even though some of it could've been his fault and other peoples faults.like when mercutio died (shakespeare act 3 scene 1) tybalt caused the fight not fate he could of just let it go but he persisted on fighting which caused the death of mercutio.Romeo also believed in fate to much he let it control his life,it was like a book to him like he had to follow code.As a result it got him into bad situations,in turn caused his own demise.If romeo believed in fate so much than he should of realized that him and Juliet weren't meant to be. these are examples why romeo is at fault for his own demise.
Have you ever wondered if something lasts forever, or does it just disappear? Although, the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, has many timeless topics within the story, I chose to write about whether our lives are determined by fate or free will. During a person’s life, they have to make many difficult decisions, and while there are some people that believe their life is predetermined by fate, others believe that a person controls the decisions that occur within their lifetime. Personally, I believe that both fate and free will have certain properties that can determine how a person lives their life.