Influencing Fate In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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People unknowingly influence fate and destiny through the decisions they make. This is best shown in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, where both couples' lives have already been destined for a tragic demise once love loomed between the two. Their love is controlled by actions that they and other characters have taken throughout the play. Actions done in the present will determine the future, ultimately influencing fate. There are multiple instances of foreshadowing of Romeo and Juliet’s death, which demonstrates how they were destined to die from the start. This would unfortunately lead to unfavorable outcomes for the couple, which will later lead to a domino effect that precedes Romeo and Juliet’s tragic deaths. The domino effect is supported …show more content…

This delay in communication unfortunately had to happen when the Friar was sending an important letter to Romeo, which details the plan of Juliet’s “death” to escape from her marriage with Paris. This would later lead Romeo to believe that Juliet has truly died after hearing from his servant, Balthasar. Here Romeo expresses his defiance against fate, literally saying “Then I deny you, stars!” (Shakespeare V.i.25). Stars during this era symbolize fate, which he directly goes against as he can not bear the death of his Juliet. This illustrates how ill-fated timing plays a role in this tragedy, which causes Romeo to make the fateful choice to commit suicide in despair. Another instance of ill-fated timing occurs when the Friar arrives at the tomb seconds after Romeo kills himself beside Juliet. If he arrived at the tomb earlier, he believes he could have prevented this outcome, as he says “Ah, what an unkind hour / Is guilty of this lamentable chance!” (V.iii.150). He blames the circumstances of timing that results in this tragedy, as he believes that this was caused by a series of

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