The Downfall of Romeo and Juliet

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In William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” a lot could have been done for Romeo and Juliet to avoid their tragic deaths. The play would have ended very differently if the characters had made better informed decisions. William Shakespeare portrayed the characters as being very impulsive. He also demonstrated that fate is a factor that influences our decisions, but in the end it is ourselves who decide upon our proceedings. If Romeo and Juliet had taken their time with their relationship then the events of the play wouldn’t have been so hectic. Therefore Romeo and Juliet probably wouldn’t have killed themselves. Romeo and Juliet were irrational and could have thought of other solutions to their problems rather than committing suicide. Fate and their own stupidity were to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s demise, but so was Friar Laurence. If the Friar had been more honest then Romeo wouldn’t have killed himself. If the characters in the play were more honest and less impulsive then the tragic end of the play would have been avoided.

Fate brought Romeo and Juliet together and gave them a challenge to overcome which they failed to do. While roaming the streets, Romeo and his friends overcame a messenger saying “I can’t read rah rah rah” this was an act of fate that they stumbled upon this guy and that Romeo met Juliet that night. Romeo and Juliet believed that they had “foreseen” their deaths and that it was an act of destiny. Beliefs during the Elizabethan times were heavily swayed toward destiny, witchcraft and love. This is what Shakespeare wrote about because he knew it would appeal to the viewers. Who knows wether or not Shakespeare believed it, but he made the characters believe it. He made them believe that fate brought them toget...

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...had known about Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, then it wouldn’t be a secret and Juliet wouldn’t have gone to the Friar desperate and putting her life on the line.

It is clear that Shakespeare portrays the idea of “fate” in the play Romeo and Juliet. But is fate just an idea that we use to shift the responsibility for our actions? Clearly Romeo uses fate to avoid the consequences of his actions saying he is “fortune’s fool”. Romeo may or may not have “foreseen” what was going to happen to him and Juliet, however both he and Juliet were ultimately responsible for their own proceedings. Fate and other characters may have played a minor part in the down-fall of Romeo and Juliet, but ultimately they chose to take their own lives. Romeo and Juliet both took their lives in a burst of irrationality as a way to show their grief without contemplating it properly.

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