Examples Of Free Will In Romeo And Juliet

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The idea of free will is well know around the world, for it’s meaning that people have the power to make their own decisions. While free will is realistic, is it really what determines your final outcome, or is it fate from the beginning? Every character in the famous Romeo and Juliet, each character makes their own decision while using their free will, but despite their decisions, their fate had already been set in stone and couldn’t be changed. In the play Romeo and Juliet the author, William Shakespeare, displays multiple uses of characterization and dramatic irony to convey the message to his audience, that fate cannot be altered by free will.

Shakespeare uses the characterization of Mercutio and Tybalt as reckless characters in his play …show more content…

While out, Tybalt had stumbled upon Mercutio and Benvolio. This broke out into a brutal fight and as Romeo arrives, he tries to stand between the two reckless characters, to keep the peace between his now equally loved houses. This allows Tybalt to easily kill Mercutio, which leads to Romeo killing Tybalt out of anger and the want to avenge his best friend, Mercutio Just like Mercutio, Tybalt is reckless and likes to be a troublemaker as well, and had been planning on starting a brawl will the montague in the first place. The readers find this out the act before while Mercutio and Benvolio were discussing it “Tybalt, the Kinsman to old Capulet, Hath sent a letter to his father’s house. A challenge, on my life.” (2 . 4 . 6-8) This news of Benvolio’s reveals to the reader, that they would have had a brawl either way. Mercutio had a choice to leave and prevent a fight or stay there with the possibility of a future fight. Mercutio being a …show more content…

One of the biggest pieces of dramatic irony is when no one knew that Juliet’s death was fake, due to her using a potion given to her from Frair, that would persuade people into believing that she had dramatically passed the night before her wedding, based on her soon deathlike qualities. Although, because of her decision to consume the potion, the deaths of Paris and Romeo later came as a result. The only people that had known about this plan of hers to pretend to die, were her and Fraire, he who was supposed to relay the message to Romeo. Paris was supposed to marry Juliet the day of her “death”, for Old Capulet hadn’t been informed of Romeo’s and Juliet’s previous marriage. Paris was also unaware of Juliet’s relationship with Romeo, leaving him completely devastated. With his heartful mourning for Juliet, it isn’t doubtful that he would get defensive and protective over her grave when a Montague came upon it, the Montague which killed her beloved cousin Tybalt, Romeo. He believes that Juliet had died from grief over Tybalt’s murder, after her father blamed her tears on it, which would understandably make him angry at Romeo for taking his bride from him. Upon the sight of Romeo, Paris says to him, “This is that banish’d haughty Montague that murdered my love’s cousin - with which grief it is supposed the fair creature died.”

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