What Role Does Fate Play In The Elizabethan Era

Fate can be defined as the development of events beyond a persons control. Fate played a huge role in the Elizabethan era and in the book Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It is even questioned if fate is responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Although fate was the biggest belief, people also believed in fortune and astrology and they also impacted people greatly. In the Elizabethan era, people believed in and relied on fate for anything and everything. People from the Elizabethan era had many common beliefs. First was the Great Chain of Being. The Great Chain of Being was a hierarchical system that every existing thing in the universe had a place in. An objects place depended on the amount of spirit and matter it contained.

Mainly inanimate objects stood at the bottom of the chain. Above the inanimate objects were trees, plants, and flowers. Then came animals, then humans, then angels, and then above all of those was God. Inside this big hierarchy, there were smaller hierarchies that put items in one category in order of importance. The people believed that the Great Chain of Being was created by God, and they all believed in God, so they believed it was true. They believed that you could not break the chain and if you did, it would cause a universal disorder. The second common belief was the Order of the Universe. People believed that everything was assigned a place by God and that was the reason why the planets and people were in the position they were in. They believed that the Earth was the center of the universe and everything moved around it in their own specific routes. They believed this because, once again, everyone believed that God had given them their special places. The third and last common belief is the Wheel of Fortune. The Wheel of

Fate is referenced many times throughout the play. One example is when Romeo has slain Tybalt and says "O, I am fortune's fool."(act 3, scene 1, line 132). Here Romeo doesn't specifically mention fate, but fortune and fate are intertwined, so fate is indirectly mentioned. Another time fate is referenced is in the very beginning of the play when the chorus is speaking and says "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life," (prologue, line 5-6). The chorus says that it was fate that took the lives of Romeo and Juliet. A common question about fate in Romeo and Juliet is: "Was fate responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?" If someone was asked that in the Elizabethan era, the answer would be yes because they believed that fate was responsible for everything that happens to you, but if you asked someone from modern times, the answer would be much different. People today tend not to believe in or rely on fate, so they would say that fate wasn't responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet because every action leads to your ending, therefore it would be Romeo and Juliet's