Fate in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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"Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge brakes to new mutiny, / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. / From forth the fatal lions of these foes / A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows / Doth with their death bury their parent’s strife. / The fearful passage of their death-marked love, / And the continuance of their parent’s rage, / Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove…" -The Prologue, Romeo and Juliet (by William Shakespeare).

Fate plays a major role in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The prologue describes Romeo’s and Juliet’s fate, which we see come up many times later on in the play. Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet unwittingly realize they cannot exist in such reality and that a tragic fate awaits them. The two families, the Montagues and the Capulets continue being rivals all the way to the end of the play until the inevitable event takes its place.

In the play, there are many pieces of evidence that further present the prologue’s sad foretold reality. Even as early as the first scene of the play, we already see some evidence to back up the prologue. "[Romeo]…And makes himself and artificial night." (I, i, 38) This passage can be seen as the foreshadowing of Romeo’s suicide. Another line said by Montague, which is "Unless good council may the cause remove" (I, i, 140), also is evidence of Romeo’s tragedy. In the first act, Romeo is introduced. His great sadness is shown right away and the theme of love is seen as well. Through Romeo’s mellow mood we see how desperate he is for love. Romeo is in love with Juliet, which is the daughter of an enemy to the house of Montagues. Fate is definitely involved here, and this innocent love is the first step in a chain of events that lead to the fate driven tragedy. In the same scene, Tybalt is infuriated with Romeo. He is ready to kill him and believes that Romeo is his sworn enemy.

Tybalt. This, by his voice, should be a Montague
Fetch me my rapier, boy. What, dares the slave
Come hither, covered with an antic face,
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity?
Now, by the stock and honor of my kin,
To strike him dead I hold not a sin.

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