Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

655 Words2 Pages

Throughout the entirety of Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare is hinting at the “star crossed” deadly fate of the lovers spoken of by the chorus in the prologue. Romeo and Juliet are also constantly mentioning their uneasy feelings and how they can sense that something bad will happen, which confirm the aforementioned conclusion. This foreshadowing not only tells us this tragedy planned, but there must be pawns of fate that have to drive Romeo and Juliet together, while at the same time leading them to their death. In Romeo and Juliet, their deadly destiny was written by the universe and characters along the way, such as Capulet, Montague, Nurse, Friar Lawrence, Friar John, and Mercutio.
The two main forces driving Romeo and Juliet together while simultaneously pulling them apart are the Capulets and the Montagues. As is typical with all teenage romance, parents who don’t approve of their child’s love will do everything they possibly can to keep them apart (in Juliet’s case, it’s trying to marry her off to someone else). But while these efforts are noble on their parents’ part, teenagers have a natural tendency to go against what their parents say, especially when it comes to something that will make them happy or their “true love”. In the instance of Romeo and Juliet, whether this was true love or simply lust, the Capulets and Montagues were made to be the barrier between them, causing sad, lovelorn children. Acting as barrier between them also forces Romeo and Juliet to see each other in secret, and Romeo’s walk of shame after their “honeymoon” night was what got Romeo into the whole ordeal with Tybalt later on in the play.
While Capulet and Montague are the forces of fate keeping them apart, characters like Friar Lawrence and the Nur...

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... John. Even though Friar John is one of the smallest roles in the play, he inarguably is the cause of the deaths of R&J. If it weren’t for his moral standards forcing him to stop and help the family in need,, Friar John would have delivered the message to Romeo, and he and Juliet could have lived happily ever after. Unfortunately, the fates did not have that in plan for them, and they employed Friar John to be their death bringer, in a way, making the story of Romeo and Juliet a tragedy.
In no way were Romeo and Juliet ever destined to live a happy life together, where their families were no longer feuding and Verona was finally at peace. Instead, it was written in the stars that their fate would be tragic, and the actions of those around them who tried to keep them apart and those who tried to keep them together would eventually lead to their untimely demise.

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