“We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, never to be undone,” American philosopher, William James, may not of been directly referring to The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, but his very well-known quote definitely applies to this heart-wrenching story. Considering, that this famed tale holds the theme ¨Fate vs. Free will” within its words, it can be debated that it is one that fate has an abundance of control within. Fate has an influence in the lives of not only the notorious Romeo and Juliet, but it has footholds in the lives of every person who has ever laid eyes upon the two star-crossed lovers. At the commencement of this maudlin saga, Romeo and Juliet know nothing of one another’s existence. However, the events that occur leading …show more content…
Shortly after his marriage to his beloved, Romeo finds his friend, Mercutio, and his newly obtained relative, Tybalt, on the brink of a brawl. Due to his matrimonial union to Tybalt’s cousin, Juliet, and companionship to Mercutio, Romeo feels obligated to put an end to their fight before it begins rather than defend a single party. In his attempt to suppress their fighting, Romeo allows a fatal blow from Tybalt’s sword to slip under his arm and strike Mercutio. As Tybalt leaves, Mercutio begins to slip farther and farther away. Once all life has left his body and Romeo hears of his death, he does not hesitate to initiate a deadly braw once Tybalt returns. In order to avenge his comrade, Mercutio, Romeo slaughters Tybalt during their fatal duel. Considering, Romeo murdered Tybalt, he was banished by the Prince of Verona rather than sentence to death, due to Tybalt’s equivalent crime towards Mercutio. His banishment is a key piece in the road towards his and Juliet’s destruction as it will influence their decisions, just as the previous incidents have. This proves fate has and will continue to be a key factor in their lives …show more content…
However, fate’s large influence in our lives is just as concrete as it was in the lives of our two star-crossed lovers. Fate has a hold on each and every one of our destiny’s. A hold we will never be capable of understanding. For instance, I realized how fate has guided the course of my life over the years, just recently. At the age of a mere 18 months old, my family and resided in a trailer-park home in the more poverty ridden area of Florida. Due to our house’s age and quality, the front door was unable to be locked properly and with a simply jiggle, even from infant-like hands, it would open with ease. One night, at the early hour of 3 o’clock in the morning, as my mother’s future fiancé left to go to work, he, unknowingly, left the door to our house open just enough for an 18 month old Kayla Klemens to slip through and into the night. Meanwhile, lying awake in my crib, I hear the sound of my soon-to-be step-father leaving our house. Immediately missing his presence, I triumphantly creeped out of my crib and towards the open door. Once there, I slipped out into the trailer home covered dirt road to a very busy Florida highway. An hour later, my miniature legs had toddled my body to the end of the road and I was now conquering the single ditch that stood in the way of a fatal highway. Luckily, as I reached the roadside and became closer and closer to the asphalt, a man by the name of
Poor choices can cause tragic outcomes. Fate, on the other hand, is beyond someone's control. Many people believe that regardless of their actions, fate and destiny determine the outcome of their lives. However, in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, the outcome of Romeo and Juliet's lives were controlled by the choices that they made. Although the deaths of Romeo and Juliet were mentioned in the prologue of the story as star-crossed lovers, the tragic ending of the couple was determined by their free will as a result of unwise decisions.
“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.
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.
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
The human condition follows the path of fate. Everyone makes choices out of their own free will which affects their life at that time, but will ultimately lead to their pre- determined fate. People inflict their own wounds during their life by the choices that they make. This applies in Romeo and Juliet and plays a major role in Romeo and Juliet’s lives. "A pair of star-crossed lovers" (I, i, 6)
The play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic drama about two star-crossed lovers meeting and falling in love. The lovers are members of two opposing families, and it is only through their deaths that the feud ends. In the play, Tybalt’s role is portrayed as Romeo’s foil, and as a malevolent and violent Capulet who is determined to end the Montagues. As the evidence will clearly state, the court should find Tybalt guilty for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and he warrants the charge of second-degree murder for the killing of Mercutio, a close friend of Romeo. Even though Tybalt hadn’t planned on taking the life of Mercutio, a charge of second-degree murder is expected as a consequence of Tybalt intentionally taking his life. Tybalt’s choice in this action caused Romeo to act with revenge, killing Tybalt, and resulting in the banishment of Romeo from Verona. This instigates a new plan of action, leaving Juliet alone, which ultimately results in the tragic suicide of both Romeo and Juliet.
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.
Capulet and Romeo Montague, face a bigger problem; forbidden love. Taking place in Verona, an ignorant Romeo first meets a childish Juliet at the Capulet’s party. Romeo and his kinsman, Benvolio, attend the party masked, searching for his first love, Rosaline. Coincidentally, Romeo meets Juliet, a new beauty, and falls in love with her not knowing the fact that she is a Capulet. The feud continues, leading one mistake after another, until both families realize their selfishness at the last minute. The unfortunate tragedy of two “star-crossed lovers” is ironically caused by the impetuosity of Romeo and Juliet themselves (Shakespeare 7).
After killing Mercutio, Tybalt’s inflated confidence and rising aggression leads him to fight his new, unknown cousin, Romeo. Consequently, Tybalt plants his own seed of fate with his aggression. Due to self-defense, Romeo kills Tybalt and then gets banished for his actions by the Prince. This marks the beginning of the end for Romeo and Juliet’s love. It presents the biggest challenge for the star-crossed lovers because it is their separation, and due to the strong love they are too young to handle, they self-destruct, both committing suicide.
Shakespeare in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet depicts the conflict between fate and free will through use of his characters’ actions and beliefs. Fate is the main driving force between the demise of the two main protagonists. Because of it, superstition, the actions of others, and the idea of chance are allowed a main role in the play building up to events that lead to a tragic end.
Accidentally, incidentally, unintentionally, intentionally; no one ever really knows, but we are for certain one thing: “the heart isits own fate.” For Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare’s masterpiece play ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ this holds especially true. Romeo and Juliet’s “misadventure piteous overthrow” is fueled by their love for each other and their determination to be together, no matter what. Romeo and Juliet’s love with stands the hate surrounding them. Thus, fate is undoubtedly the most responsible influence for the two young lovers’ heartbreaking tragedy.
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.
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.
Some people may not believe that destiny is something that truthfully exists in the world. These people doubt 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 is not 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 believe that whatever happens during the course of their lives is inevitable and every event is laid out before them like a road map to life, in other words, fate. William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet has fate as an exceptionally crucial element which makes fate as important as any character in the production. The events leading up to and during the party were definitely caused by fate. 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 tragedy.
To begin with, the theme of fate over freewill is brought up recurrently in the catastrophic play, Romeo and Juliet. Before the beginning of the play, Shakespeare introduces the idea of fate within the prologue. “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life [sic]” (Shakespeare, Act 1 Prologue L.6). The term “star crossed lovers” is used to...