Shakespeare's Romeo and Juiliet Shows the Forcefulness of Love and Fate

“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. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.” The “star-cross’d lovers” spoken of in the monologue of Romeo and Juliet, are, of course, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. It is fate which seems to bring these two lovers from rival families together. The eventually fatal attraction between these two lovers contributes strongly to Shakespeare’s overall theme of love. The strong connection between Romeo and Juliet help to show the forcefulness of both love and fate.

Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is very strong. It is fate that brings them together, or so Shakespeare portrays by showing that the characters believe this is true. When Romeo shouts “Is it even so? Then I defy you stars!” (Act 5, Scene 1) he is referring to fate and saying that he is in opposition to the destiny of him and Juliet’s relationship. The love between Romeo and Juliet is young, irrational and passionate. Lustful love, which is basically love for sexual pleasure is brought up within the play but it does not define the love between Romeo and Juliet. The love shared between Romeo and Juliet is youthful, which is one of the many reasons why their love grows intense very quickly. It is cl...

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.... The changes that both Juliet and Romeo undergo show that love is strong enough to change a person’s beliefs and feelings. Shakespeare also shows the forcefulness of loving through Romeo and Juliet’s actions at the end of the story. Romeo’s feelings for Juliet are so strong that he poisons himself when he thinks that she is dead, and the feelings are returned by Juliet, shown by her decision to take a dagger to her heart when she sees that Romeo has poisoned himself.

Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is one of youthful, passionate love. They are “soul mates”. Their interdependence on each other emotionally allows Shakespeare to develop this plot. Shakespeare uses this relationship between Romeo and Juliet to portray his beliefs about love. The changes that Romeo and Juliet undergo and the strong connection they share help to show how forceful fate and love can be.