Is it free will or fate that is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?
In Shakespeare’s famous 1597 play Romeo and Juliet, the two-star crossed lovers die tragically. Famous for the simplicity of its characters and the language, the play analyses the ramifications that are set upon the two main protagonists. This is correspondingly due to the ongoing conflict between both families, the Montagues and the Capulets. The deaths of the two characters circulate around the concept on whether it was free will or fate. However, the resultant consequences of events for the characters in this tragedy was highly affected by the hands of fate, and not by freewill. It is evident that fate is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet due to the
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In act 1, Romeo’s decision to attend the Capulet ball unintentionally made him fall in love at first sight with Juliet. When Romeo first spoke to Juliet, their words had powerful contentment; they had strong love for each other that they could be together forever. Juliet questioned whether Romeo is married or not and states that if he is married to “Go ask his name: if he be married. My grave is like to be my wedding bed” (I.vi.130) Before Juliet even knows Romeo’s name, she is already obsessed and fears that he may’ve been married to someone else. Juliet uses strong expressions to contrast her wedding as death, which eventually occurs later in the play. This also reflects that fate has also controlled where Juliet is going to ‘stay’ until the end of her life. Premonitions were given to Juliet showing the audience how the lovers destinies are preordained from the moment they met displaying that fate was responsible for their …show more content…
If only Romeo had known the true state of Juliet, he would not have killed himself. Fate has misguided the letter and Romeo had no way of knowing that Juliet was in fact, alive. Instead of knowing about what the Friar’s plan, Romeo is informed by Balthazar about Juliet’s ‘death’. By fate, Balthazar comes to Romeo and tells him what he believes to be true, but the piece of information he tells Romeo is a cause of fate. Unable to control his feelings, Romeo is full of anger and his only intentions is death. Fate has sent Romeo to Mantua where he finds the man who will unknowingly help Romeo kill himself, and indirectly kill Juliet in the process. Friar Lawrence's plan is also ruined because Friar John is unable to deliver the message to Romeo: "I could not send it (here it is again) / Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, / So fearful were they of infection."
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.
Poor choices can cause tragic outcomes. Fate, on the other hand, is beyond someone's control. Many people believe that regardless of their actions, fate and destiny determine the outcome of their lives. However, in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, the outcome of Romeo and Juliet's lives were controlled by the choices that they made. Although the deaths of Romeo and Juliet were mentioned in the prologue of the story as star-crossed lovers, the tragic ending of the couple was determined by their free will as a result of unwise decisions.
Romeo and Juliet is a play by William Shakespeare that tells the tale of two young lovers who come from opposing families. At first they don’t even know that the other exists; However, that all changes one night at a party that Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, throws. Romeo and Juliet fall madly in love and rush to get married. Sadly, these two don’t get a happy ending, and one question remains: who or what is to blame for the lovers’ tragic end? Is it fate or human choice?
“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.
As these words echoed through the hall of the Globe theatre little did William Shakespeare know that this tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, would be examined and admired by playwrights for decades to come. So does fate play a major part in this tragedy? Or does their blood stain the garments of civil hands? Could it have been the loyal Mercutio, who swore on both their houses?? Tybalt the hated enemy? or was it Friar Lawrence who tried to end the fighting between households. Or does the blame go on the ancestors who began it. Many would agree that the death of these lovers cannot be blamed on anyone but themselves. This question cannot be answered without looking deeply into each characters involvement in the tragedy.
In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, all the choices made by the star crossed lovers have consequences. The two lovers blame fate for their misfortune. They refuse to believe that fate does not determine the end result, only that they can do that. At the beginning of the play, Romeo is presented with a plethora of choices. The audience is introduced to Romeo as he sulks over his lover Rosaline.
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)
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?'
Friar Lawrence is the primary instigator for the death of Romeo and Juliet’s death. He is regarded as the guiding light for salvation in the town of Verona as he supposed to act as the moral compass for the Veronese; however, he does not carry out his moral responsibility to help the disillusioned Romeo. When Romeo approached him with the intent to marry Juliet, Friar Lawrence replies, “I’ll thy assistant be” (2.3.90) in attempt to “turn [Romeo’s] households’ rancor to pure love” (2.3.93). Regardless of the fact that Friar Lawrence is fully aware of Romeo’s superficial love for Juliet as Romeo clings to any beautiful woman he sees, he still sees this as an opportunity to reconcile the burning hatred between the Capulets and Montague, disregarding the fact that their dangerous infatuation might bring misfortune and misery for the two misguided youth. He continually acts on idea of the greater good, neglecting the safety of the two star-crossed lovers. When Juliet is forced to marry the county, Juliet “long[s] to die” (4.1.68), and as a result, Friar Lawrence gives Juliet a sleeping potion where “[her] pulse… surcease” (4.1.99) to make her seemingly dead to reunite her with Romeo. To avoid bigamy, Friar Lawrence acts impulsively rather than rationally as he concocts a dangerous plan, giving a deadly potion in the hands of an innocent girl without consid...
In Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the lovers meet their doom, in scene iii of Act V. With their fatal flaw of impulsivity, Romeo and Juliet are ultimately to blame for their death. Contrarily, if it was not for the unintentional influence of the pugnacious Tybalt, the star-crossed lovers may have remained together, perpetually. To the audience, the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are already understood, for it is a Shakespearean tragedy. However, the causes, predominantly Romeo’s and Juliet’s fatal flaws of impulsivity and rashness, are as simple as Shakespearean writing. Though Romeo and Juliet are wholly to blame for their tragic suicides, in Act V scene iii, Tybalt is, in turn, responsible, as his combative spirit forced Romeo to murder him and Juliet to marry Paris.
There are many contributing factors to the death of Juliet and her Romeo. The omnipresent feud was the catalyst for the secrecy of their marriage, for Friar Lawrence's mechanisms in using them to form a hard peace between the families, and for the public fight that resulted in Mercutio and Tybalt's untimely deaths and Romeo's banishment. Fate, also, plays cruelly with the couple. Friar John being unable to forward Friar Lawrence's note to Romeo to explain his plan and Juliet's parents' misunderstanding of her grief over Romeo's banishment and pushing forward the marriage to Paris in unnatural haste as a sort of balm for her flagging spirits serve as examples of fate's intervention. The chief culprit, however, in the deaths of Juliet and
Romeo and Juliet made many choices out of their own free will, including an irreversible decision that ended in despair for all characters. “All are punished!”(5.3.305). In the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, the actions of Romeo, the actions of Juliet, and the actions of others prove that free will is more paramount than fate in the plot of the play.
Romeo and Juliet is regarded as one of William Shakespeare’s most tragic love stories, which has its influence on many aspects of the entertainment industry. In the context of this play, there are uncertainties surrounding whether the fatalities occur as a result of free will or under the uncontrollable force of fate. Through Romeo and Juliet’s premeditated encounter, Shakespeare indicates that fate is primarily responsible for love at first sight. Simultaneously, Romeo and Juliet are also portrayed as victims of their own destiny which induces their misfortunes and deaths. Apart from being one of the major themes, fate is also a main contributor to the outcome of the play.
The lovers of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Romeo and Juliet are perhaps the most famous pair of lovers in history. Their story has been told and remade in countless ways, with a variety of endings. The original piece however ends with tragedy in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Throughout Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, fate is the driving force in that the star-cross lovers are destined to have a tragic end. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses literary elements to reveal that our actions are not what controls our life, but it is fate that determines what will happen to us.
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...