Examples Of Free Will In Romeo And Juliet

The idea of free will is well know around the world, for it’s meaning that people have the power to make their own decisions. While free will is realistic, is it really what determines your final outcome, or is it fate from the beginning? Every character in the famous Romeo and Juliet, each character makes their own decision while using their free will, but despite their decisions, their fate had already been set in stone and couldn’t be changed. In the play Romeo and Juliet the author, William Shakespeare, displays multiple uses of characterization and dramatic irony to convey the message to his audience, that fate cannot be altered by free will.

Shakespeare uses the characterization of Mercutio and Tybalt as reckless characters in his play

to portray to readers that predetermined fate can’t be altered by freewill. At the beginning of act three Mercutio, Romeo’s best friend and a loyal friend to the Montague, and Tybalt, Juliet’s beloved cousin and nephew to old Capulet, have a brawl. It had been a hot day and Benvolio warned Mercutio that with all of the Capulets out, that there could possibly be a fight between houses, but Mercutio doesn’t back down, for he likes fighting with them, and despite the Prince’s warning of a death punishment for the next fight between the houses, he still was looking for trouble. While Mercutio had been given the option to leave before the fight by Benvolio’s warning saying “Good Mercutio, let’s retire. The day is hot, the capulets abroad, and if we meet we shall not escape a brawl” (3.1.1-3). Despite this warning, Mercutio is reckless and enjoys fighting so he had chosen to remain where he was with the knowledge of the possible fight. Likewise to Mercutio’s recklessness, Tybalt is also portrayed as a reckless character. Readers can easily acknowledge this, when despite his knowledge of the Prince’s warnings, he had gone out particularly searching for Romeo to fight him over his unexpected appearance at the Capulet’s party.

While out, Tybalt had stumbled upon Mercutio and Benvolio. This broke out into a brutal fight and as Romeo arrives, he tries to stand between the two reckless characters, to keep the peace between his now equally loved houses. This allows Tybalt to easily kill Mercutio, which leads to Romeo killing Tybalt out of anger and the want to avenge his best friend, Mercutio Just like Mercutio, Tybalt is reckless and likes to be a troublemaker as well, and had been planning on starting a brawl will the montague in the first place. The readers find this out the act before while Mercutio and Benvolio were discussing it “Tybalt, the Kinsman to old Capulet, Hath sent a letter to his father’s house. A challenge, on my life.” (2 . 4 . 6-8) This news of Benvolio’s reveals to the reader, that they would have had a brawl either way. Mercutio had a choice to leave and prevent a fight or stay there with the possibility of a future fight. Mercutio being a

troublemaker would have wanted to stay for the fight anyways. Either way though, if for some chance he decided to listen to Benvolio, the fight would take place anyways because Tybalt had already sent the Capulets a note asking for a fight, as he also is a troublemaker. This characterization of both characters, proves to the reader that despite being able to control freewill, our fate is already set in stone for us. Our characteristic, factor in our everyday decisions. This helps freewill to be unable to affect our fate, because it is nearly impossible to change who we are, meaning that people would still choose the same decision either way, based off our persona

Similar to the way Shakespeare’s uses characterization in his play, his use of dramatic irony also reinforces that fate cannot be altered by free will.

One of the biggest pieces of dramatic irony is when no one knew that Juliet’s death was fake, due to her using a potion given to her from Frair, that would persuade people into believing that she had dramatically passed the night before her wedding, based on her soon deathlike qualities. Although, because of her decision to consume the potion, the deaths of Paris and Romeo later came as a result. The only people that had known about this plan of hers to pretend to die, were her and Fraire, he who was supposed to relay the message to Romeo. Paris was supposed to marry Juliet the day of her “death”, for Old Capulet hadn’t been informed of Romeo’s and Juliet’s previous marriage. Paris was also unaware of Juliet’s relationship with Romeo, leaving him completely devastated. With his heartful mourning for Juliet, it isn’t doubtful that he would get defensive and protective over her grave when a Montague came upon it, the Montague which killed her beloved cousin Tybalt, Romeo. He believes that Juliet had died from grief over Tybalt’s murder, after her father blamed her tears on it, which would understandably make him angry at Romeo for taking his bride from him. Upon the sight of Romeo, Paris says to him, “This is that banish’d haughty Montague that murdered my love’s cousin - with which grief it is supposed the fair creature died.”

Not only was there dramatic irony when Paris didn’t know that Romeo had loved and married Juliet, but he was also oblivious to the fact that the whole death of Juliet was an act created just so she could be with this Romeo. Lastly, he believes that Juliet’s “death” was caused by her grief over her dead cousin, when in actuality, she wasn’t mourning for him, but for Romeo’s banishment. Paris and Romeo fight over Romeo’s right of presence at Juliet’s grave, and Paris winds up dying in the end. He couldn’t have completely and truthfully considered all of his options for his choices in the moment, because he was so contained within the lies going around in the story, that he hadn’t actually known what was actually going on to make the right decision based off of that. In the end, he died because of fate and despite him having a choice of what he did that night, he still wouldn’t have been able to change his fate due to his obliviousness to the real situation. Romeo’s fate is also predetermined due to dramatic irony. He is unaware, that Juliet is actually alive and just took a potion to make her appear dead. With Romeo being oblivious to her death being planned as a fake, he kills himself upon seeing her so called “dead” body. Despite calling out her human like qualities, he’s too engulfed in the thought of his lover being dead that he believes it’s just her natural beauty. ”Thou art not conquered. Beauty’s ensign yet is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks. And death’s pale flag is not advanced there.” (94-96) While the audience knows that Juliet is not really dead, Romeo is unaware as well as everyone in the story, minus the Frair. This strikes a completely emotional depression for Romeo and by impulse he kills himself. Despite him being the one who chooses his actions with his free will, with him being unaware of everything that is actually going on, he would’ve died anyways. We have seen Romeo, as one to make quick decisions, and very dramatic and depressed. With him not knowing of her planning to appear dead, and trick her whole family, he would’ve taken the quick action to end his life either way, from being depressed and looking for the quickest way out of the situation.

Shakespeare’s uses of characterization and dramatic irony in his famous play Romeo and Juliet helps to convey to his audience, his message of despite being able to choose one’s one’s own opinions, fate cannot be altered by free will. Throughout the play, the uses of these effective devices are used to convey this message to the readers, because while the characters have and use free will, their characteristics and the dramatic irony makes these choices unable to control their final outcome.