FATE AS A CONTROLLING FORCE IN ROMEO AND JULIET: THE TRAGIC FATE OF STAR-CROSSED LOVERS: (Rough Copy) The tragic play Romeo and Juliet, by playwright William Shakespeare, is about star-crossed lovers from feuding families that end up dying for the love of each other. The theme of fate as a controlling force is strong in the play in a way that one little coincidence can change two children’s lives that are really not meant to be. The play’s main theme brings the two closer and closer together until the unfortunate death at the very end which is foreshadowed by the chorus. Fate changes their lives by the servant unable to read a list of names and Romeo sees Rosaline, the girl whom he fell in love with first, on the list which makes him go and fortunately fall even harder for Juliet. Also, the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt which causes Romeo to be banished leading up to the point where a letter from Friar Lawrence is not delivered to Romeo causing the tragic deaths. …show more content…
This is very important showing fate because Romeo is in love with Rosaline and it just so happens that her name is on the list. Now that Romeo knows this, it makes him want to go to the ball just to see her. Although the theme of fate is shown throughout the play, it is however ironic that Romeo shows up just as the servant has trouble reading the quest list. Also, it is a Capulet ball, the very last name of a young, innocent Juliet who he meets. “... I pray, sir, can you read?”(Shakespeare 1.2.57) At this point, fate brings the two together that the servant is from Capulet and he cannot read so he has to ask Romeo. Even though Rosaline’s name is on the list, he will cross paths with Juliet where fate will continue on. To conclude, Capulet’s servant starts off the fate with the asking of the reading bringing the two
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a story of two young lovers. These two hearts, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet belong to feuding families. The family feud causes them to keep their love a secret and therefore only Romeo, Juliet, Benvolio, the Nurse and Friar Lawrence know of their love. Romeo and Juliet are able to look past the feud and let themselves fall in mad love with the other. They let themselves do almost anything for the other and at times it seems like too much to do, even for the one they love. Although fate and character traits play a key role in the play, ultimately Rome and Juliet’s personal choices lead to their downfall.Fate originates all of the conflicts in Romeo and Juliet, from when they met until they die.
Since the beginning of the play, the existence of fate has been leading Romeo and Juliet to their deaths. This is first evident in the play’s dialogue when the Serving man asks Romeo to help him read the guest list for Capulet’s party. Shakespeare writes, “God’I’ good e’en. I pray, sir, can you read?/ Ay, mine own fortune in my misery” (I,ii,58-59). This demonstrates the theme of fate because Verona is a large city and the Serving man can be in any street in Verona asking any individual to help him read, but he coincidentally encounters
Fate is the controlling force of the events that lead up to, and cause, the deaths of Rome and Juliet. It is no coincidence that Romeo meets the Capulet servant and is invited to the party. Fate brought him to the house of the Capel?s where he was destined to meet his future wife, Juliet. At the risk of being killed, the two lovers married their supposed loathéd enemy and consummated the marriage without even the slightest hint of detection from anyone who did not know of the wedding. Unfortunately, their sweet success would be short lived and their lives would be a downward spiral staring with Romeo?s banishment and ending with their deaths. Taking into consideration that Romeo and Juliet are predetermined to meet, love and die together, fate is clearly the dominant force of the play.
In Act 1 scene 2, a Capulet servant is walking along the streets of Verona trying to hand out invitations to a party. The only problem with this is the servant can't read. He runs into Romeo and Benvolio on the street. They read the list for him and decide to go to the party that the Capulets are throwing. This is fate because if the servant had run into any other person on the streets of Verona, Romeo would never even know about the Capulet party. Benvolio told Romeo to "Go thither and with untainned eye compare her (Rosaline's) face with some that I shall show". He wants Romeo to go look for someone at the party to get over his first love Rosaline. This is a bad thing for them since when Romeo and Juliet meet they don't know they are enemies. The servant running into Romeo and Benvolio is fate. If they hadn't run into each other, Romeo would've never met Juliet.
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.
It is not merely a coincidence that Romeo and Juliet meet in the first place. A serving man comes across Romeo and Benvolio in the first act, unaware that they are Montagues, and informs them about the Capulet party: "My master is the great rich Capulet, and, if you be not / of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a / cup of wine" (I ii, 86-88). It is by fate that Romeo and Benvolio run into the Capulet serving man and discover the party. It is not just a simple accident that the serving man tells the two cousins about the party at which Romeo is destined, yet unaware, that he will meet his love. Furthermore, before Romeo attends the Capulet party, he says, "Some consequence yet hanging in the stars / shall bitterly begin this fearful date" (I iv, 114-115). Romeo already predicts what the fates have in store as he says something bad might transpire if he dares to show up at the party, where he will meet Juliet.
Romeos friend Mercutio fights Tybalt instead. but is killed by him. Romeo then kills Tybalt. The price banishes Romeo from the game. Romeo goes to see Juliet but has to flee, Juliet is told she has to.
...eads to him falling in love with one of his enemy and causing trouble with another. Friar Laurence help to bring Romeo and Juliets together, knowing they are suppose to be enemies. His action did not result in the peaceful uniting of the families as he hopes, but instead three people die as the result. Juliet exaggerates her feelings, which leads to more drama for her and others. Her suicidal tendencies and depressing mood causes her father to then marry her a stranger. All three actions conducts by Romeo, Friar, and Juliet contributes to the death of Romeo and Juliet themselves in the end. Fate is just another possibility. If Romeo, Juliet, and Friar knows better to think more about their actions, they could avoid their fate.
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?'
The story of Romeo and Juliet had many tragic, yet meaningful events that somewhat constructed what we know today as, “The tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet.” In fact, all of those ‘tragic yet meaningful events’ are all the deaths of Mercutio, Tybalt, Romeo, and Juliet. All of the tragic, meaningful events show what theme the story portrays. Romeo and Juliet itself is a well-known so called ‘love’ play/story, but when you really ‘dig deeper’ into it you will soon come to realize that it is more of a death play than a love play. Romeo and Juliet could be considered more of a death play than a love play because, majority of the events that happened were violent and the violence resulted in death; the only two people who showed ‘love’ throughout the story was Romeo and Juliet. It is clearly shown that death brought nothing but sorrow, sadness, and problems to Romeo and Juliet from beginning to end. Analyzing the story, it is obviously shown that death is written all over Romeo and Juliet, and that all the deaths of certain characters formed Romeo and Juliet itself. Therefore, with that being said, the theme that will be most strongly portrayed is death.
Throughout the play, it is clearly shown that fate has a huge role in the “star-crossed lovers” dire downfall. This is written in the prologue to foreshadow the ending. The prologue provides the audience with Romeos thought provoking promotion further warming the reader of the omnipresent force of fate which is looking over him, “Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars.” Here Shakespeare use literary techniques such as a metaphor to demonstrates that there is a deathly consequence written in fate for Romeo. Overall this provides the reader with the knowledge of what Romeo is thinking and foreshadows the end of the story. Shakespeare uses clever diction to imply that Juliet’s death is inevitable, "If all else fail, myself have power to die.” This clearly illustrates that fate is involved in the upcoming disaster. Not only have the lovers realized that there is a greater fore involved, but Friar Lawrence has too realized, “a greater power than we can contradict, hath thwarted our intents.” This shows that fate is a subjugate factor in the lover’s untimely
Romeo and Juliet is the story of two star-crossed lovers who are placed in the difficult position of choosing their true love or their relevant families. The play is considered one of the greatest love stories of all time, complicated by fate, youthful inexperience, but mainly adult interference. Romeo and Juliet were on an already determined course of action that they were meant to follow. Romeo and Juliet were impetuous when it came to their actions. The adults in Romeo and Juliet’s life had some control over what the lovers were allowed to do, and played an influential factor in their lives, which led to their demise.
“What's meant to be will always find a way,” claimed Trisha Yearwood on the theme of fate. “Romeo and Juliet” was undoubtedly one of the most well-known romantic tragedies written by William Shakespeare. It centred around two lovers from feuding families, who take their own lives. Their deaths ironically created an atmosphere where their love could freely flourish for it reconciled the two families. We were introduced to the play by a prologue that concretely mentions Fate’s influence on the course of the story. Attempting to antagonize destiny had proven to have been pointless throughout the tragedy. The greatest land mine prepared by Fate on Romeo and Juliet was the sudden plague in Mantua which triggered the finishing bombs to relentlessly explode, leaving not a single drop of hope in their lives. The cruise of Romeo and Juliet’s lives had never been theirs to decide from the beginning. They were merely little sailboats blown across the waters by a completely overwhelming force—Fate.
With his companions Mercutio and Benvolio, Romeo conveys “I fear, too early: for my mind misgives/ some consequence yet hanging in the stars/ shall bitterly begin his fearful date/... But he that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my sail” (1.4. 113-119). Considering Romeo is a romantic, the knowledge that his love Rosaline, will be attending the party allows him to overlook “some consequence hanging in the stars”. The acceptance of the “stars”and the allowance of them to “direct [his] sail” demonstrates how Romeo is more reliant on destiny than his own judgement. Alongside that, the avoidance Romeo has towards the idea that the party “shall begin his fearful date”, shows the conformity to fate or the “stars”.
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.