Victims of Fate?

As a child did you ever dream of having a relationship like Romeo and Juliet? Believed to be one of the most romantic loved stories ever wrote, the question still arises as to whether it was really fate that killed them at the end, or their continuous bad choices throughout the play that ultimately ended in death? In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, throughout the story they both made many detrimental decisions that have always been long debated as whether it was fate or just bad choices. Believing in fate has been deliberated for many years and to whether or not fate played a role in what ultimately happens to Romeo and Juliet or could their poor choices have contributed more than fate alone.

When Romeo and Juliet first met was it truly by fate, an accident, or the beginning of an uncertain outcome? First of all Romeo and Benvolio come across two servants who mention the party at the Capulet house and invite Romeo and Benvolio to come. The first mistake Romeo makes is when he decided to attend the party even though it is the party of their rivals, the Capulets. Romeo decides to go because Rosaline will be there and he plans to wear a mask so no one will realize he is a Montague. Pursuing this further Romeo arrives at the party with a heavy heart and is searching for Rosaline. While searching for Rosaline, Romeo is blindsided by Juliet’s grace and beauty, which causes him to suppress the thoughts of Rosaline. Romeo unable to control himself says, “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!/It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night” (I.V.17). Finally Romeo was recognized as a Montague by Tybalt, the nephew of Lord Capulet. Tybalt reaches for his sword to confront and kill Romeo in front of all of the g...

... middle of paper ...

...ilies agree to put up golden statues of the star crossed lovers in memory of their extraordinary love. The play ends with Prince Escalus’ grief-stricken words. Ultimately their deaths were derived from their own choices and not up to fate, it was their choices that put them there in the end.

The belief in fate is up to the individual considering it, there are many attributes that play a role in the decision on whether or not there is fate, but before you consider it fate, think about your actions. The actions that played a role in this play included Romeo and Juliet’s love at first site at the party and then Romeo deciding to pursue Juliet and to marry her. They were so in love that they decided it would be better to die together than live without each other. Even though they were young it was their actions, not fate, that chose the course of their lives.