Fate in Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is classified as a beautiful yet tragic love story told in the form of a play. Romeo, from the house of Montague, is a passionate and impulsive lover that falls head over heels for young Juliet, house of Capulet . Through a series of unfortunate events, their tale ends with both of them committing suicide over the star-crossed love for the other. It comes down to the question, who is responsible for the lovers’ death? The reader can put the blame on Romeo’s faulty actions or Juliet’s inactions; One can also go on to blame the more minor characters like the lovers confidants, the Nurse and the Friar. Almost every person in this story could be held accountable for the play’s tragic ending but maybe the answer is not a person or action. Maybe the answer is simply fate. Even though one can make a compelling argument that every character in Romeo and Juliet is responsible for the young lovers deaths, Shakespeare tells the reader from the very start that their love was doomed because of fate.

From the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare foreshadows that the story is meant to end horribly. The chorus, the prologue before the reader even gets into the story itself, says “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes” (Prologue. 5). The foes being the Capulets and the Montagues . This line leads the reader to believe that the two teenagers were always meant for a tragic death since the moment they were born into their families. The next line we see that strengthens the argument of fate is, “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” (Prologue. 6). This implies that the lovers are Romeo and Juliet and now knows that these two will be committing suicide some point in the play. The star-cr...

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...omeo and Juliet’s romance is constantly reminding the reader that it was no ones fault but fate itself.

In conclusion, even though the reader can make a compelling argument that every character in Romeo and Juliet is responsible for the young lovers deaths, Shakespeare tells the reader that the relationship would never work out, completely based on fate. He reminds the reader in the prologue, before Romeo and Juliet even meet each other and the moments before and after their secret marriage. Even when they are dying, the reader is reminded that fate has everything to do with why the story has gone so terribly awry. The love of Romeo and Juliet did not fail because of their mistakes or the mistakes of others but rather the fate that was in store for them right from birth. Romeo and Juliet were fated to love, to fall, and to die for the greater good of Verona.