Page 1
Sammie Smith
Dr. Wilson
English 1302
April 9th, 2014
Fate, Love and Sacrifice
For my exploratory essay, I chose a snip-it of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The reason for this was because I have always enjoyed Romeo and Juliet’s story. I have always been intrigued by William Shakespeare’s dark and gory personality when writing. I enjoy reading his work for pleasure however, this time I have decided to dissect his pieces to further grasp the meaning behind his works. I decided to take a closer look at crucial themes specifically throughout Act V, where Romeo meets his servant on the streets of Mantua. Balthasar, his servant, has delivered terrible news to Romeo that Juliet has died. Because of this horrific news, his emotional state eventually overpowers his intelligence and reason, and therefore Romeo commits suicide. Jumping to conclusions Romeo takes his life, just as Juliet awakens. It turns out Juliet did not in fact die, but rather she was drugged. Consequently, because her love for Romeo is so immense, she kills herself for real this time. Romeo knows only fate separated the two star crossed lovers to begin with, and because of this wealth of knowledge, Romeo tries to defy fate by killing himself to be with his true love for eternity. In doing this for love, they sacrifice their life for their love. Lets take a look closer at the key elements of fate, love and sacrifice as described above.
Page 2
Fate is defined by dictionary.com as “the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power.” In this scene Romeo feels just this. He feels as if himself is trapped by faith, and is almost unavoidable. He attempts to defy fate by killing himse...
... middle of paper ...
...nary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"Happy Science." Fate and Destiny. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"How the Brain Works." Johns Hopkins Medicine, Based in Baltimore, Maryland. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"Ironshrink." Why People Commit Suicide. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"Jung's Model of the Psyche." The Society of Analytical Psychology (SAP) -. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"Love." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"Sacrifice." Vocabulary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"Suicide and Suicidal Behavior: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
"What It Means To Love Someone." What Is Love? The 3 Values of Love. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
"William Shakespeare." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
In efforts to overcome such hindrances to their love, Juliet feigns her death as planned. However, as a result of miscommunication, Romeo takes the news seriously, and thus, being propelled by zealous devotion, both use death as the key to unity. A variety of themes are implicated throughout the play. Fate, in particular, is well demonstrated. By using the motif of stars and characters such as Friar Lawrence, Juliet, and Romeo, Shakespeare truly and masterfully conveys that fate is the inevitable, unalterable and omnipotent force that controls all actions unto their consequences.
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.
Love is dependent upon the slightest change, but it can cause the utmost drastic consequences. This is the truth of two lovers in William Shakespeare’s furthermost celebrated play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, love is inimical. Romeo comes from the family of Montague while Juliet comes from the family of Capulet. For reasons unknown, these two families are sworn enemies. However, Romeo and Juliet are not. In fact, they are in a secret relationship that only two others know about. The only two that Romeo and Juliet trust, the Nurse and the Friar. While the Nurse, Friar, and Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, all have good intentions, they are all responsible for the suicides of Romeo and Juliet in the
Some people may not believe that fate is something that truthfully exists in the world. This portion of the population doubts that there is anything that is actually meant to be or supposed to happen thinking that there is always a way around troubling predicaments, knowing that it isn't necessary to turn out just one certain way. They trust that whatever occurs in their lives comes as a result of the decisions that they make with their own free will. Others, however, believe that whatever happens during the course of their lives is inevitable and every event predestined and laid out before them like a roadmap to life; in other words, fate. William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet has fate as an exceptionally crucial force, pulling the characters into a more animated state. Because of fate, the play becomes tremendously thrilling and it is exactly what manages the two young lovers to meet each other in the first place. The moment that Romeo and Juliet meet is the exact incident that leads to their death, however unaware these "star-crossed lovers" are to that fact. Thus, fate is undoubtedly the most responsible influence for the couple's heartbreaking tragedy.
Fate is the outcome of inevitable events that are predetermined and usually lead to death, ruin, or misfortune. Fate played a huge roll in Romeo and Juliet’s death as it may have already been planned out therefore making their deaths
think this is the case as, in spite of his arrogance, he does care for
"Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge brakes to new mutiny, / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. / From forth the fatal lions of these foes / A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parent’s strife. / The fearful passage of their death-marked love, / And the continuance of their parent’s rage, / Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove…" -The Prologue, Romeo and Juliet (by William Shakespeare).
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a love story that has been read for hundreds of years and is still studied today. The story is about a young boy and a young girl who are in love with each other but both of their lives end in tragedy. Many of the play’s character’s actions affect the outcome of the play, but no character can be put to blame of the outcome. The one thing that these events can be credited to is fate. Fate did many things in the play, such as caused Romeo and Juliet to meet and it caused Romeo to believe Juliet was dead.
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.
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?
Suicide and Depression: Risk Factors and Warning Signs of Suicide." WebMD. WebMD. Web. 14 May 2014
Romeo and Juliet is regarded as one of William Shakespeare’s most tragic love stories, which has its influence on many aspects of the entertainment industry. In the context of this play, there are uncertainties surrounding whether the fatalities occur as a result of free will or under the uncontrollable force of fate. Through Romeo and Juliet’s premeditated encounter, Shakespeare indicates that fate is primarily responsible for love at first sight. Simultaneously, Romeo and Juliet are also portrayed as victims of their own destiny which induces their misfortunes and deaths. Apart from being one of the major themes, fate is also a main contributor to the outcome 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.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. Print. The. Suicide and Suicidal Behaviors. Suicide : Medline Plus.