“What's meant to be will always find a way,” claimed Trisha Yearwood on the theme of fate. “Romeo and Juliet” was undoubtedly one of the most well-known romantic tragedies written by William Shakespeare. It centred around two lovers from feuding families, who take their own lives. Their deaths ironically created an atmosphere where their love could freely flourish for it reconciled the two families. We were introduced to the play by a prologue that concretely mentions Fate’s influence on the course of the story. Attempting to antagonize destiny had proven to have been pointless throughout the tragedy. The greatest land mine prepared by Fate on Romeo and Juliet was the sudden plague in Mantua which triggered the finishing bombs to relentlessly explode, leaving not a single drop of hope in their lives. The cruise of Romeo and Juliet’s lives had never been theirs to decide from the beginning. They were merely little sailboats blown across the waters by a completely overwhelming force—Fate.
The Shakespearean sonnet established by the Chorus in the prologue precisely implied the extensive role Fate is playing on “Romeo and Juliet”. From the very start, the playwright informed us of Fate’s existence. It made the audience consider the extent Fate is going to meddle with the flow of the story. It caused the audience to wish that the words in the prologue would be twisted to form a much joyous end. However, in the end, the “pair of star-cross’d lovers” slid down their heartless doom. Everything stated in the Chorus, stayed true throughout the play. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet did “bury their parents’ strife”. It had all went thoroughly according to Fate’s desire. In “Romeo and Juliet”, William Shakespeare delivered the audience the id...
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...o and Juliet were nothing but little marionettes and tools controlled by the skilled hands of Fate. He had cunningly pulled their strings in rhythm with the fixed song composed in the stars. Though the marionettes were conscious of the puppeteer’s existence and made multiple attempts to break away from the wires which bind them to such a cruel end, their worthless endeavours were plainly laughed at by Fate. At the final twist and pull at the controls, it was known that Romeo and Juliet have been driven towards the corner of the stage and their inevitable double suicide has been ignited. If Fate had not been involved, no reconciliation between the families would have happened. Sooner or later, someone or something much powerful must intervene to prevent a much greater sacrifice as a result of Free Will.
Works Cited
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/romeo_juliet/full.html
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? Or does their blood stain the garments of civil hands? Could it have been the loyal Mercutio, who swore on both their houses?? Tybalt the hated enemy? or was it Friar Lawrence who tried to end the fighting between households. Or does the blame go on the ancestors who began it. Many would agree that the death of these lovers cannot be blamed on anyone but themselves. This question cannot be answered without looking deeply into each characters involvement in the tragedy.
“It lies not in our power to love, or hate, for will in us is over-rul'd by fate.” In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, it is clear that the leading theme is fate, as it is mentioned several times. Shakespeare allows the audience to see everything that happens “behind closed doors.” While some characters’ actions did affect the outcome of the play, fate is the ruling force.
The tragic play Romeo and Juliet, by playwright William Shakespeare, is about star-crossed lovers from feuding families that end up dying for the love of each other. The theme of fate as a controlling force is strong in the play in a way that one little coincidence can change two children’s lives that are really not meant to be. The play’s main theme brings the two closer and closer together until the unfortunate death at the very end which is foreshadowed by the chorus. Fate changes their lives by the servant unable to read a list of names and Romeo sees Rosaline, the girl whom he fell in love with first, on the list which makes him go and
A timeless topic--fate and free will--still captivates society today. Fortune cookies, physics, and horoscopes all contribute to the obsession people have with this controversial debate over who manipulates life; fate or free will. No one is sure who really pulls the strings, but everyone has an opinion on the matter. Many famous plays center on this topic, and one such play that features characters’ views on fate and free will is Romeo and Juliet. This legendary play, written by William Shakespeare, has been beloved by people for centuries, as they contemplate who is the guiding force in life? The play discusses just this, while depicting the lives of Romeo and Juliet: two desperate teenagers each trapped in their own worlds, seeking love and freedom. The two “star-crossed lovers” are from feuding households, and each has their own distinct problems. Romeo jumps from girl to girl, never finding anyone to reciprocate his feelings until he meets Juliet. She is hidden from the world, and with every decision being made for her, she wants to control her own life, which she does with marrying Romeo. Although fate and free will are both undeniably found in the lives of Juliet and Romeo, it is ultimately fate and the way it manipulates the events, time, and the characters that brings about the untimely death of the two iconic teen lovers.
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.
Fate can be defined as being “a power that determines and controls everything that is or happens,” (Newfeldt (Ed.) p.431) while destiny can be described as “what is predetermined to happen in spite of all efforts to change or prevent it.” (Newfeldt (Ed.) p.321) Therefore, fate is the entity that decides all that will occur, and destiny is the decision made by fate. Tragedy can be defined as the dramatic representation of serious and important actions that turn out disastrously for the main character. This indicates that the tragedies in Romeo and Juliet were the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, and to say fate and destiny were not responsible for these tragedies, is to say the characters of the play, rather than some intangible force, were aware and in control of the actions that caused Romeo’s and Juliet’s
Shakespeare uses the role of fate in Romeo and Juliet to show how love and bad decisions can change the ending of a story. First, fate brings these two “star-crossed lovers” together (R&J Prologue.6). The lovers are star-crossed because they are from two families (the Montagues and Capulets) that have had an “ancient grudge” (R&J Prologue.4). These two families hate each other so much their servants started a fight in the first scene just because they were from the other family. The fact that the lovers are star-crossed, yet they still love each other is a bad decision because it leads to their doom. Second, in the third act Romeo “slew Tybalt” because of fate (R&J 3.1.178). Tybalt hates Romeo for crashing the party where Romeo met Juliet and he also hates Romeo because he is a Montague. Paris hates Romeo even when Romeo did not get a choice in what family he was born into, it was fate. Then, Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel but Tybalt ends up killing Mercutio. In anger from Mercutio’s death, Romeo kills Tybalt which gets him banished to Mantua. Even though he was angry over his friend’s death, this action was a bad decision by Romeo because the banishment caused problems for the lovers. Then, they have to find a way to still be together. To even more complicate the plot, Mr. Capulet promised Paris that will Juliet “shall be married to” him (R&J 3.4.21). This arrangement happens because Juliet was sad about Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s banishment. The marriage forces the Juliet to fake her death, which is the reason for Romeo’s suicide. Romeo committed suicide because he did not her death was fake. This is a bad decision because Juliet and Friar Lawrence should have found a way to tell Romeo before she fakes her death. Fourth, “Romeo [is] dead and Juliet” is dead too (R&J 5.1.196). The lovers died because they are star-crossed.
Fate is a dominating force which operates the development of events. Most people believe that fate is predestined and nothing can be changed. But even a person 's fate is determined by a complex combination of conditions and factors. It includes the choices people make according to the tendencies of their own mind, each time they encounter a specific circumstance. In the play of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, the protagonists believe that their lives are controlled by destiny and luck. However, they had ability to choose what they wanted to do and change their fortune over their lives. Although fate seemed to influence what happened to Romeo and Juliet, their choices ultimately contributed to the result of tragedy because they made their
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a story of two young lovers. These two hearts, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet belong to feuding families. The family feud causes them to keep their love a secret and therefore only Romeo, Juliet, Benvolio, the Nurse and Friar Lawrence know of their love. Romeo and Juliet are able to look past the feud and let themselves fall in mad love with the other. They let themselves do almost anything for the other and at times it seems like too much to do, even for the one they love. Although fate and character traits play a key role in the play, ultimately Rome and Juliet’s personal choices lead to their downfall.Fate originates all of the conflicts in Romeo and Juliet, from when they met until they die.
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.
Romeo and Juliet is a riveting tale of two star-crossed lovers who uncover the dangers of passion and greed, and tragically end up dying, when the stars of fate refuse to line up in their favor. While fate may be guilty in the tragic outcome of the play, Lord Capulet’s greedy outlook upon his daughter Juliet, is the relationship that is most responsible for the untimely demise of the two lovers. When overwhelmed by greed and selfishness, Lord Capulet’s decisions drive Juliet to make risky, irrational choices out of desperation to avoid marriage to Paris, which ultimately lead to her, and Romeo’s, tragic end.
Reckless actions lead to untimely deaths. In Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”, both protagonists fight for their hopeless love. Bloodshed and chaos appear inevitable in fair Verona; Romeo and Juliet come from enemy households, the Montegues and the Capulets, who have sworn to defeat one another. The young and handsome Romeo weeps over his unrequited love for Rosaline, until he lays his eyes on Juliet. Strong and independent, Juliet seeks to escape her family’s will to marry her off to Paris, a kinsman of the Prince. Fate ties these adolescents’ lives together binding them to witness the ill-fortunes of Romeo and Juliet’s love. Romeo and Juliet prove themselves woefully impulsive through their words and actions, which ultimately lead them along a series of unfortunate mishaps.
In regards to Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare chose fate to be a strong underlying theme which constructs the basis of the story line. Fate has the ability to control the characters’ lives and one minor change in the way it had acted would have changed the entire outcome. Through Romeo and Juliet’s spontaneous encounter, fate was largely responsible for love at first sight alongside controlling the misfortunate events that occur as a result of their love. Apart from love and misfortune, Shakespeare suggests that Romeo and Juliet were destined to die the way they did, despite the fact that it was their choice to end their lives. The outcome of the play was a direct result of fate, which to a notable extent was responsible for the many events which were destined to occur.
Fate is the controlling force of the events that lead up to, and cause, the deaths of Rome and Juliet. It is no coincidence that Romeo meets the Capulet servant and is invited to the party. Fate brought him to the house of the Capel?s where he was destined to meet his future wife, Juliet. At the risk of being killed, the two lovers married their supposed loathéd enemy and consummated the marriage without even the slightest hint of detection from anyone who did not know of the wedding. Unfortunately, their sweet success would be short lived and their lives would be a downward spiral staring with Romeo?s banishment and ending with their deaths. Taking into consideration that Romeo and Juliet are predetermined to meet, love and die together, fate is clearly the dominant force of the play.
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.