Foreshadowing In Romeo And Juliet

Have you ever loved someone so much to the point where you’d lose your life just to be with them? That is how Romeo and Juliet felt about each other in the play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Long ago, Shakespeare wrote a romantic classic that is still being taught in classes today. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story of two lovestruck teenagers who are forced to hide their newfound relationship due to their families’ seemingly never-ending feud. Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet take risky actions that lead to their deaths. Other characters in the play, create a clear marker of separation of the two families. However, no matter what choices they made, one might argue that they were always destined

to be together and die together.
The characters, Romeo and Juliet were not meant to be together. It was a known but unwritten rule that their families were supposed to avoid each other. Romeo was a born into the Montague household, one of the wealthy families in Verona, at that time. The Montagues were in an intense feud with another family. Guess who? Juliet’s family, the Capulets! The Capulets were another wealthy family in Verona and were just as engaged in the feud as much as the Montagues were. Their supposed separation is announced at the very beginning of the book, the prologue, it states, “Two households, both alike in dignity/ (In fair Verona, where we lay our scene), /From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, /Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” (Prologue.1-4) In this short passage, it shows how both of the families were in a quarrel. Romeo and Juliet should’ve avoided people of the opposing family. When Shakespeare says, “from ancient grudge” it shows that the two families have been feuding for a very long time, even before the teenagers’ time. They should’ve respected their parents’ feud and avoided one another. When he says, “where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” it shows that the feud between the families was a dirty one. There was nothing that could’ve fixed it that wasn’t blood. In the end, Romeo and Juliet knew they weren’t supposed to be together however, they decided to ignore the families and do what they wanted to do.
The blame for the deaths cannot be placed only on the victims, Romeo and Juliet, it should also be placed on the “parents” of Romeo and Juliet. Juliet has a prospective suitor, Paris, that her parents have already accepted into the family. After the death of Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, the Capulet’s assume that the best remedy for Juliet’s heartache is marriage. However, Juliet, who is already married to Romeo, refuses (rightly so) and her father, Lord Capulet, is livid. This play shows here, “CAPULET: Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!/Or never after look me in the face./My fingers itch.—Wife, we scarce thought us blessed/That God had lent us but this only child. (3.5.166-175)” When Capulet calls his own daughter, “disobedient wretch” it shows how much respect he has for his daughter. Juliet didn’t want to marry Paris for two reasons: 1. She wasn't attracted to Paris at all. 2. JULIET IS MARRIED TO ROMEO. So, she had valid points as to why being wedded to Paris should not be an option for her. Earlier in the book, Capulet explained to Paris that it was Juliet’s blessing that decided their marriage. Now, Juliet has refused, he tells her, “My fingers itch.” This statement exclaims how violent Capulet is towards those who go against his word, even his own daughter. His hostility towards Juliet’s choice against Paris drives Juliet into the arms of her rightful husband, Romeo. Although Romeo and Juliet did do some risky things in order to be with each other, Lord Capulet threatening and insulting Juliet aided her to escape from the confines of tradition that was placed by the feuding families.
In contrast, many characters foreshadowed Romeo and Juliet’s death throughout the play.

Even the main characters, Romeo and Juliet, foreshadowed their deaths. Romeo has just been banished from his hometown, Verona, for killing Tybalt. Before he serves his rightful punishment, he decides to pay a “final” visit to his wife, Juliet. After their beautiful night, the couple begins to say their goodbyes but, Juliet utters some appalling words. She says, “O, think'st thou we shall ever meet again?/Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, /As one dead in the bottom of a tomb./Either my eyesight fails or thou look'st pale. (3.5.)” Juliet has just turned this beautiful but sorrowful occasion into a very dark scene. When Juliet says, “as one dead in the bottom of a tomb” she shows a dark side of her. She imagines herself buried in a tomb, dead. When she says, “thou look’st pale” she reveals an image of a dead body. When people die their skin gets pale so, Juliet is hinting that her skin will turn pale at the bottom of the tomb. This shows that she already knows she is going to die. She knows that it’s something that’s not going to stop or slow down. In conclusion, although Romeo and Juliet could’ve taken steps to avoid their deaths, they hinted they knew of it all

along.
In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet were not quite meant to be together. Throughout the play, both main characters could've taken steps to avoid one another by valuing and respecting their family’s relationships with other people. If certain characters, Juliet’s father, would’ve acknowledged Juliet’s rightful decision of not marrying Paris, then, he wouldn’t have forced her to fall into the arms of Romeo. However, Juliet knows how she will die alongside with Romeo and doesn’t deny it anymore. Fate isn’t the only thing determining the heart stuck teenagers’ tragic story.