Unavoidable Destiny in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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Romeo and Juliet is a story of two young lovers, whose love was destined for destruction. They could never have imagined that their love would lead to the tragedies that befell them. These two young people had done nothing wrong, unless it is wrong to fall in love with a person whose family is feuding with one’s own. Three aspects of the destruction of Romeo and his lovely Juliet included: the feud between the two families, the nurse and her betrayal of Juliet, and the most important aspect of all, fate. The feud between the two families was one factor that contributed to the love of Romeo and Juliet being destined for destruction. "From ancient grudge break to new mutiny" (Prologue.3). The two families, Montagues and Capulets, had many problems. There was hatred between the two families, so much so, that even the servants hated each other. This feud would have caused many problems for Romeo and Juliet. These two young lovers knew this and that is why they did not disclose their marriage. If their parents had discovered their secret, they would have made their children's lives miserable and Romeo and Juliet would not have been permitted to see each other. Both of these families were very stubborn and there was probably nothing that would have made them become friends. In the prologue, we learn that the only way the "strife" could be ended was by the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. "Doth with their death bury their parent's strife" (Prologue.8). Neither the Montagues nor the Capulets would have accepted the marriage. Therefore, keeping it a secret caused Romeo and Juliet to turn to other people for help and, sometimes these people gave them the bad advice, or just betrayed them. The Nurse was one of these characters who betrayed the young couple. The Nurse, who had been Juliet's friend, turned against her at a very crucial time and told Juliet that it would be best if she married Paris. "I think it best you married with the county" (III.v.230). This betrayal by the Nurse left Juliet alone. She was a wise young woman but it still would have been beneficial for her to have the help of the Nurse. Juliet was left on her own to make some very important decisions. I believe that if the Nurse had been around to help Juliet, things may have turned out differently.

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