To what extent does fate play a role in Romeo and Juliet?

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.

Shakespeare implies that love occurs as a result of fate which to a large extent, is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s encounter. In the first few scenes of the play, there are several events which suggests that fate is responsible for the destined events which instigate their love. The servant is predestined to tell Romeo “come and crush a cup of wine” (act 1, scene 2, 79) due to the fact that Romeo would never have met Juliet if he was uninformed of this party. It is also fate which causes Romeo to attend the party and defy his instincts despite knowing that the event could “forfeit [his] untimely death” (act 1, scene 4, 113). Due to their fate, Romeo who plans to see Rosaline states “I ne'er saw true beauty till this night” (50, act1, scene 5) when he falls in love at first sight with Juliet. Shakespeare suggests that fate has the ability to control love, through the predetermined events which led to Romeo and Juliet’s encounter.

To a great extent, the misfortunes in Romeo and Juliet occur as a consequence of fate, which controls both luck and disaster. ...

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...meo’s death and Juliet’s awakening, fate also played a primary role in Paris’s ordained death.

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.