Fate in William Shakespeare´s Romeo and Juliet

Belief is a fickle thing. You really don’t get any physical benefit or lack thereof simply for belief. Psychologically, however, belief can be a very powerful thing. It can also be so in ways that we are simply incapable of understanding with our limited knowledge. But in any case, I would have to say that simply believing in fate is not enough to avoid physical consequences, but can occasionally lift some psychological burden off one’s metaphysical shoulders. This theme comes time and time again in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The characters in the play often believe strongly in fate, using it to avoid psychological burden, but more often than not, their belief is in vain.

In a nutshell, fate is the concept that everything is predetermined, and that human beings have no control over what happens in their future. We as people either deny fate or use it to defend ourselves against life, but in either case, consequences are often unavoidable. Take the case of Romeo, when he kills his cousin-in-law, Tybalt. Romeo, who kills vengefully kills Tybalt for slaying his friend Mercutio, cries out, “Oh I am fortune’s fool!” when he sees Tybalt dead. This line is obviously Romeo blaming fate for the fact that his sword impaled Tybalt. In this case, it is clear that all the fate blaming in the world will not save Romeo from the Prince of Verona’s doom. Romeo is thereafter banished for slaying Tybalt, getting lease from the punishment of death only because Tybalt himself was a murderer. Romeo faces the consequences of his actions and heads off to Verona, where thereafter a couple failed plots and some plague or another lead to him and Juliet dying. Romeo, despite a concrete belief in fate, ends up still dealing with the consequences of kill...

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...sing Juliet pain and when she “dies”. So in reality, Romeo not only fails to avoid physical consequences but also metaphysical ones as well.

In conclusion, fate is not effective way of avoiding physical consequences, and only an occasional way of avoiding metaphysical ones. Even a firm belief in fate will not relieve all guilt. In fact, such a firm belief may often lead to a state of doom, depression, and fear. Fate can be used to avoid racking guilt and remind oneself that not everything is your fault. But in the end, what you deal with in life will not be related to your position on whether or not fate exists. There is no amount of belief that will deter banishment or any consequence of any action you have done. You will have to deal with what comes, and fate cannot help you change that. However, it can change your outlook into it, for better, or for worse.