Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Theme Of Fate Potrayed By Romeo And Juliet
Fate in romeo & juliet
Fate and tragedy in Romeo and Juliet
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Theme Of Fate Potrayed By Romeo And Juliet
Fate in Romeo and Juliet Essay
Dictionary.com defines fate as, “the universal principle or ultimate agency by which the order of things is presumably prescribed or the decreed cause of events.” This view of fate is one of the most prominent themes in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
As early as the Prologue, the chorus speaks “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;” (Prologue 5-6), informing the audience that the fate of the couple is predetermined. Erin Reynolds in her essay “Defying the Stars” points out that Shakespeare presents the idea “that the two foes have fatal loins, a play on the word “fatal with its double meaning of lethal and concerning fate.” The chorus also states,” the fearful passage of their death-marked love/ And the continuance of their parents’ rage/which, but their children’s end, naught could/remove,” (prologue, 9-12). By this passage the idea that the families’ feud is fated to be ended only by the doomed love of their children.
Throughout the play both Romeo and Juliet sense that their destiny is being controlled by forces too great to imagine. After his victory in his duel with Tybalt to avenge Mercutio he utters the words, “O, I am fortune’s fool” (III i 138)! This when interpreted is taken to mean that he is Fortune, otherwise known as fate, is merely toying with him such as a child’s plaything. Romeo and Juliet each at different times refer to” the stars” determining their fate and the direction of their relationship. In act 1 Romeo has a premonition that the flow of his life is being directing by some force. It is stated by him when he says, “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars/shall bitterly begin his fearful date” (I iv 107-...
... middle of paper ...
...s Romeo’s visit to the grave. Romeo misses Juliet’s reawakening by mere minutes. Once again if he had been just a few minutes late Paris would not have fallen, nor would have Romeo and Juliet.
Fate is a necessary and extremely impacting element in Romeo and Juliet. It works through Romeo and Juliet and the people around them to end this long time family feud and bring the peace that comes with it to Verona. Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet have statements of extreme intrigue into this mysterious force that seems to shape and even end their lives. It is this extreme impact of fate that drives and shapes the plot and details of Romeo and Juliet’s story.
Bibliography
"Definition of Fate." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. .
Reynolds, Erin. "Defying The Stars." Defying the Stars (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
Since the beginning of the play, the existence of fate has been leading Romeo and Juliet to their deaths. This is first evident in the play’s dialogue when the Serving man asks Romeo to help him read the guest list for Capulet’s party. Shakespeare writes, “God’I’ good e’en. I pray, sir, can you read?/ Ay, mine own fortune in my misery” (I,ii,58-59). This demonstrates the theme of fate because Verona is a large city and the Serving man can be in any street in Verona asking any individual to help him read, but he coincidentally encounters
Throughout the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare constantly utilizes the motif of stars to convey and develop the prominent theme of fate. Even as early as the prologue, the words, "A pair of star-crossed lovers..." reveal Shakespeare's intent in conveying the association of fate with this motif. Like stars, fate exists in the heavens. Both are untouchable and unalterable, and as seen in this line, it is inev... ... middle of paper ... ...
At the end of the fight when Romeo kills Tybalt and then realizes what he has done he yells out, “O, I am Fortune’s fool!” (Shakespeare.3.1.143). And he and Juliet both are little toys for fate. But, they never give up on their love.Romeo and Juliet’s traits cause them to go along with their fate and contributes to their downfall.
The reader realizes this when the prologue states, “Two households, both alike in dignity/ In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,/ Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean./ From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life” (I 1-6). This translates to say two families have been rivals for many years. Romeo and Juliet are two from separate rivaling families that fall in love. The reader can acknowledge that these two individuals meet one another due to fate. However, they know that because of their parents’ hatred of each other, they can never be together. “My only love sprung from my only hate!/ Too early seen unknown, and known too late!/ Prodigious birth of love it is to me,/ That I must love a loathed enemy” (I v138-140). A decision is made that the only way to be happy is to take their lives. As soon as the play begins, the audience can foresee a tragic ending because of the language used.
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
Imagine living a tragic existence, not even two entire decades long. Imagine being controlled by an invisible, yet limitless puppet string conducted by “the stars”. When fate is your enemy and time reveals each unraveling tragedy to your dismay, you understand how it feels to be the protagonist’s of Shakespeare’s most famous love story, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Tradition, heredity, and ancestry symbolize the celestial psychology that is the stars. Controlling every miniscule detail of the play from human behavior to action sequences, to the ultimate climax of the tale. The power that fate has is surprisingly destructible yet inevitable to audiences as they come to realize the given characteristics that cannot be changed, even to avoid death. The moment Romeo and Juliet initially saw one another, they were sure their love was meant to be. This feeling was brought on because their love was the solution of the stars, or forefathers, to cure the rivaling families’ animosity. Fate contributes to the development of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by relating to astrological terms, human behavior, and fate as an agent of destruction.
...cides. Romeo and Juliet were fated to serve a greater purpose: Despite attempts at controlling their destiny, they ended the feud between their families with death, revealing the story was destined to become a tragedy from the start. From the prologue, every event Romeo and Juliet fell into led to their unavoidable deaths. However, if the two had not killed themselves, the Capulets and the Montagues would have most likely kept fighting forever. The “star-crossed lovers” (I.I.VI) served a greater purpose, and created finer days for the generations of Capulets and Montagues thereafter. Not many individuals choose to conform to their fate in order to serve their purpose, but in the end, we must succumb to our fate, despite any circumstances we have. Our destiny is not always revealed to us, as in Romeo and Juliet, yet the stars always finds a way to fulfill our destiny.
In the prologue, Shakespeare uses phrases such as “death-marked love” and “star-cross’d lovers” to show that fortune and fate are responsible for the tragedy. Shakespeare also describes Romeo and Juliet’s defiance of their parents as “misadventured piteous overthrows.” This description suggests that the lovers’ efforts to be together will be hopeless against what fate has in store for
Fate can be defined as being “a power that determines and controls everything that is or happens,” (Newfeldt (Ed.) p.431) while destiny can be described as “what is predetermined to happen in spite of all efforts to change or prevent it.” (Newfeldt (Ed.) p.321) Therefore, fate is the entity that decides all that will occur, and destiny is the decision made by fate. Tragedy can be defined as the dramatic representation of serious and important actions that turn out disastrously for the main character. This indicates that the tragedies in Romeo and Juliet were the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, and to say fate and destiny were not responsible for these tragedies, is to say the characters of the play, rather than some intangible force, were aware and in control of the actions that caused Romeo’s and Juliet’s
From the beginning of the play it is clear that Romeo and Juliet are doomed to die, They are considered victims of circumstance but the question is did they have responsibility for their fate? Could things have been different? Was it a bad series of events, was it a coincidence that fate was against them, were outside forces against them, It is not just a coincidence the language used in the prologue 'star-crossed lovers' and 'death-marked love' shows that it was all meant to happen from the beginning of the play, the words 'star-crossed' refers to an astrological outlook on destiny that was widely accepted in the period the play was written in, reference to this so early in the play creates a sense of anticipation for the audience and from the start they know what is going to be the outcome of the play but the question left on their minds is 'Why?' and 'How?'
Throughout the play, it is clearly shown that fate has a huge role in the “star-crossed lovers” dire downfall. This is written in the prologue to foreshadow the ending. The prologue provides the audience with Romeos thought provoking promotion further warming the reader of the omnipresent force of fate which is looking over him, “Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars.” Here Shakespeare use literary techniques such as a metaphor to demonstrates that there is a deathly consequence written in fate for Romeo. Overall this provides the reader with the knowledge of what Romeo is thinking and foreshadows the end of the story. Shakespeare uses clever diction to imply that Juliet’s death is inevitable, "If all else fail, myself have power to die.” This clearly illustrates that fate is involved in the upcoming disaster. Not only have the lovers realized that there is a greater fore involved, but Friar Lawrence has too realized, “a greater power than we can contradict, hath thwarted our intents.” This shows that fate is a subjugate factor in the lover’s untimely
To a great extent, the misfortunes in Romeo and Juliet occur as a consequence of fate, which controls both luck and disaster. ...
Fate is the controlling force of the events that lead up to, and cause, the deaths of Rome and Juliet. It is no coincidence that Romeo meets the Capulet servant and is invited to the party. Fate brought him to the house of the Capel?s where he was destined to meet his future wife, Juliet. At the risk of being killed, the two lovers married their supposed loathéd enemy and consummated the marriage without even the slightest hint of detection from anyone who did not know of the wedding. Unfortunately, their sweet success would be short lived and their lives would be a downward spiral staring with Romeo?s banishment and ending with their deaths. Taking into consideration that Romeo and Juliet are predetermined to meet, love and die together, fate is clearly the dominant force of the play.
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...