Fate is thought of as an unstoppable force that controls the outcome of people’s lives. This force is explored in story of Romeo and Juliet written by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. This tragic drama narrates the life of two rivaling families -Capulet and Montague- and their two children who fall in love. Throughout this play the unforgiving force of fate determines the couple 's future before their story even begins. This fate being their untimely death as “A pair of star-crossed lovers” (1.prologue.6) described by the prologue. After this point there are many times in which this force has been evident. The illiterate servant from the Capulet household is a perfect example of fate and chance encounters. Peter’s, the servant, When this letter was not delivered it caused Romeo to believe that Juliet was truly dead provoking him to go to her tomb and kill himself in order to defy fate when in reality he was doing the exact opposite. This chain of events is first seen as biased when Friar John decided to visit another who was staying with the sick. Assuredly, at some point, Friar Lawrence must of told this man that the letter was very important, so why would he take the time to visit his friend during the trip. Especially one looking after the sick, where he would be compelled to help and delay the letter further. It was because of this trip that the Friar was unable to deliver the letter for they thought he was plagued in his words “So fearful were they of infection” (5.2.17). A rather odd thing to think if one only spent a small period of time with the unwell. Secondly, the Friar Lawrence knew how important this letter was and made it evident to the reader by how swiftly he made his way to the tomb after hearing about the failure in deliverance. For that reason, why would the Friar entrust the excruciatingly important letter to another. Lastly, you can detect fate working with the apothecary when Romeo met him for the poison after the failed transfer of the letter. In the town of Mantua, where the apothecary was located, selling poisonous drugs to others was illegal, however, this man was extremely poor and could use all the money he could get. As a result, when Romeo offered a large sum of money for the poison he reluctantly took the proposal. If it had been any other apothecary who was stable Romeo’s plans would have ended there, and yet he was fortunate enough to quickly find a man in such dire situation that he was willing to take the money. In any event, these are the reason the reader may spot the helpful hand directing the characters to stop the deliverance
In efforts to overcome such hindrances to their love, Juliet feigns her death as planned. However, as a result of miscommunication, Romeo takes the news seriously, and thus, being propelled by zealous devotion, both use death as the key to unity. A variety of themes are implicated throughout the play. Fate, in particular, is well demonstrated. By using the motif of stars and characters such as Friar Lawrence, Juliet, and Romeo, Shakespeare truly and masterfully conveys that fate is the inevitable, unalterable and omnipotent force that controls all actions unto their consequences.
“It lies not in our power to love, or hate, for will in us is over-rul'd by fate.” In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, it is clear that the leading theme is fate, as it is mentioned several times. Shakespeare allows the audience to see everything that happens “behind closed doors.” While some characters’ actions did affect the outcome of the play, fate is the ruling force.
Friar Lawrence does not have very much time on stage, but the time he does have is crucial to the plot line. Through his words, Friar Lawrence demonstrates that he is well intentioned, yet sometimes shortsighted, and is not afraid to take risks to help others. He may do something out of the ordinary, if he thinks the outcome will help someone for whom he cares. For example, when he says "In one respect I'll thy assistant be;/ for this alliance may so happy prove, / to turn your households rancor to pure love" (II.iii.97-99), he is saying that the only reason he will marry Romeo and Juliet is that he hopes that the marriage will end the hostilities between the two houses. When he says "Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, / and hither shall he come; and he and I/ shall watch thy waking, and that very night/ shall Romeo bear thee to Mantua" (IV.i.116-119), his intention is clearly to comfort and reassure Juliet.
think this is the case as, in spite of his arrogance, he does care for
Juliet is to drink a potion to make her appear dead, and later wake to be free of the shame of marrying Paris. Here, Friar Lawrence is assuring Juliet that he will send a letter to Romeo, explaining their plan. Romeo doesn’t receive that letter, and he does not know what is to happen. Free will comes with great consequences. Friar Lawrence and Juliet inflicted their own wounds by not telling Romeo of their plan. If they had taken the time to make sure that Romeo got the information, their plan might have succeeded, and Romeo and Juliet would be free to marry each other. A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents. (V, iii, 154-155)
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.
In society, people have varying opinions on fate. Many question whether life’s events are pre-determined by fate or whether people have a destiny to serve a greater purpose. Fate versus free will is an archaic topic among philosophers that is ultimately up for interpretation.The question on whether or not something else is controlling life’s events or if they are simply a coincidence faces us in some point of our lives. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare plays with the idea of fate and its control on the events in the play. He forces us to realize the destiny between Romeo and Juliet involves the fate between the two opposing households as well. Shakespeare blurs the line between fate and free will in his play Romeo and Juliet to show that the outstanding cause of Romeo and Juliet’s tragedy was not something decided- it was fate. It is evident by the events in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet that fate was the main cause of the tragedy in the play, and that Romeo and Juliet held the destiny to finally end the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues.
Romeo and Juliet is widely known to be a tragedy, but what caused the atrocity for which it is so renowned? Some may argue fate was to blame for Romeo’s and Juliet’s deaths, that the situations these young lovers faced were depicted as being out of their control. Could Romeo have refused to attend the Capulet masque? Was Romeo destined to duel the raging Tybalt? Did Romeo and Juliet truly have to kill themselves? If one considers the specific circumstances and causes of these situations, the fact that all scenarios are the result of choice rather than chance, and the notion that the characters were never left without options, only one conclusion can be determined. It was unarguably the decisions made by characters, not those made by fate, that were responsible for the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet.
From the beginning of "The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet", the reader knew how the story was going to end, hence the title of the story and the explanations in the start. After reading through the story, there were multiple frustrating moments where events could have gone one way but ended up going in another. Every act in the story added onto the total tragic ending. The things that happened could have been because of fate, but everything had to start somewhere. Everything had to start somewhere. Everything that occurred in the story would not have been possible if it was not for the Friar who had agreed to the marriage.
He also tells Juliet that "Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, and hither shall hem come; and he and I shall watch thy waking, and that very night shall Romeo bear thee to Mantua" (Act 4, Scene 1.) Unforeseen to neither the Friar nor Juliet that an error such as the one of Friar John’s would prove to be deadly. Poor Romeo was not able to receive the letter. Friar Lawrence plays a significant role in the plan for Juliet to "sleep."Friar Lawrence plays an important rule in the actual deaths of Romeo, Juliet, And Paris. Friar Lawrence is unable to reach Romeo with the news of Juliet’s "death." Romeo, thinking Juliet is dead rushes to Verona, but not before buying some fast poison.
There is a huge risk that John will find a companion that has to be quarantined due to the sickness, which is the case in the story. Kriegel announces regarding the Friar’s impulsiveness, “Had Friar John left the city immediately in the company of a “safe” member of his order, he would never have been delayed and would have been able to send the letter to Romeo.” Now, the Friar is mindful that his plan is destroyed and he needs to do everything he can to repair his fault. In Shakespeare's tragedy, John explains to the Friar how he was unable to deliver the letter, and Friar Laurence replies, “Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood/
Fate in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Before starting to decide to what extent fate was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, I should first decide what is fate? According to the dictionary, fate is the 'inevitable destiny or necessity destined term of life; doom.' This basically means, that fate can be described as a pre-planned sequence of events influencing ones life. In Romeo and Juliet, it is obviously true to say that fate was a contributor to the deaths of the young couple, but could it have been the sole contributor?
The letter was revealed after it couldn’t be delivered to be “not nice” (864) and that “neglecting it may do much damage” (848). What Friar Lawrence meant when he told Friar John this is that the letter was about a very serious matter, litterally life or death, and that by not delivering it to Romeo, someone just died. You would think that if something was that important, you would develop the “if I want something done right then I have to do it myself” mentality and take the letter to Romeo yourself. Or, maybe you track Romeo down and talk to him face to
When the Friar’s plan was executed, his letter to be sent to Romeo was undelivered because his messenger was detained for suspicions of being infected with the plague, causing the Friar to go to the Capulet tomb to take Juliet to a nunnery once she wakes up (in approximately three hours). Romeo receives news of Juliet’s “death” once his servant Balthasar informs him that Juliet lies in the Capulet family tomb, causing him to hurry to Verona and buy poison to commit suicide in case Juliet was truly dead. According to the text: “John. I could not send it - here it is again - Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, So fearful were they of infection. Laurence. Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood, The letter was not nice, but full of charge, Of dear import, and the neglecting it May do much danger.” (Shakespeare, 470). This excerpt shows that the Friar’s inability to deliver his letter to Romeo commenced a domino effect that caused Romeo to arrive too early for Juliet to awaken. Therefore, since Romeo thought that Juliet was dead, he drank his potion to kill himself, and when Juliet saw Romeo
All the messengers and workers that Friar John tries to get to take the letter won’t because they are afraid of getting sickness. You can hear it in the Friars voice when he says, “ Now must I to the monument alone.Within this three hours will fair Juliet wake. She will beshrew me much that Romeo Hath had no notice of these accidents. But I will write again to Mantua, And keep her at my cell till Romeo come. Poor living corse, closed in a dead man’s tomb,” that this was not the ideal plan that the Friar had either, however if the plan was thought out more and the Friar would of made sure that it got to Romeo then Romeo would have never heard news from Balthazar and would not have had to take matters into his own hands.