Romeo and Juliet: A Story Written in the Stars

Over the centuries since William Shakespeare first wrote The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in the 1500s, many people have speculated over whether the story was controlled by fate or a series of bad decisions made by a variety of characters in the story. However, it seems as though fate has a serious power on the events of the story. No matter how hard a character may try to change his or her own fate, it never seems to have a positive outcome and simply adds to the gruesome passing of Romeo and Juliet in the end of the play. Fate even brought the two together at the Capulet’s feast. The individuals in Romeo and Juliet have little to no power in comparison to the power of fate in Romeo and Juliet.

Before the characters Romeo and Juliet are even introduced, Shakespeare tells us that they had no control over their own fate. Shakespeare directly states that the two are “A pair of star-crossed lovers” (Act I, scene i, ll. 6) This quote implies that their fate was written in the stars; no individual could possibly have the power to change their fate. Shakespeare admits that no matter what happened, Romeo and Juliet would still end up dead at the end of the play every single time. Although it may seem cliched to most people, Shakespeare based his whole plot on chance happenings and coincidences caused by fate.

Even Romeo and Juliet’s meeting was due to a great amount of chance. It just so happened that Rosaline had crushed Romeo’s heart, making him horribly upset and seemingly depressed. If Rosaline was not chaste, he would have no reason to go to the party and look at the other girls because he would have been so deep in love. Unfortunately this did not happen and Romeo fell head over heels in love with Juliet because she happened to b...

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...ers may try to change their fate, but the story is truly written in the stars. Romeo and Juliet are presented with obstacles that they need to overcome. At the time, these may seem minor and unimportant to the plot, but the ultimately add up and result in the death of the two young lovers. Although this seems desolate, it also completes the fate of the two feuding families, as they stop fighting. This fate presents the reader with a silver lining to the gruesome story.

Works Cited

Waters, D. Douglas. "Fate and Fortune in Romeo and Juliet." Upstart Crow 12 (1992): 74-90. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 81. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.” Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. 770 - 874, Print.