Essay Fate or Choice

In William Shakespeare's tragic play Romeo and Juliet, there are four quotes about fate and choice. The characters in the play choose their own fate, it happens because of their choices or actions. First, in the beginning of the play Romeo and Juliet are referred to as 'a pair of star-crossed lovers' (Romeo and Juliet, Prologue). Second, Romeo explains to Mercutio how he has a dream that if he goes to the Montague party he will die, but Romeo chooses to go to the party anyway. Third, Romeo kills Tybalt right after his marriage to Juliet. Fourth, Romeo decides to commit suicide because he hears of Juliet's death.

The theme of fate and fortune in Romeo and Juliet is shown by the line ‘A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life’. The word, ‘star-cross’d’ portray that the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, will meet because the stars are aligned for them. This shows that fate is a concept in Shakespeare's play. Fortune was a big part of the Elizabethan world and was believed to be the main controlling force in life. From zodiac signs to the wheel of Fortune, Elizabethan’s believed in fate and the

In the opening Prologue of the Chorus refers to the title characters as “star-crossed lovers,” an allusion to the belief that stars and planets have the power to control events on Earth. This line leads many readers to believe that Romeo and Juliet are inescapably destined to fall in love and equally destined to have that love destroyed. However, though Shakespeare’s play raises the possibility that some impersonal, supernatural force shapes Romeo and Juliet’s lives, by the end of the play it becomes clear that the characters bear more of the responsibility than Fortune does.

In the play, Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, is about two “star crossed” lovers who are destined to end in a tragic accident. Fate is the path that leads to the future and cannot be altered no matter the outcome. Set in Shakespearean time, fate was believed to be in control of people’s lives. The fact that Romeo and Juliet would never live a peaceful life, none of the tragedies would have not taken place if they had not met. In the prologue of the play, Shakespeare outlines that “two star’d crossed lovers take their life”. This foreshadowing creates the sense that fate shall claim superiority. The powerful nature of Romeo

Many events have happened to the “star-crossed lovers,” before Juliet’s alleged death, and none of the events were caused upon themselves. Waters also articulates the thought of fate controlling the lives of Romeo and Juliet, and how Romeo knows his fate has been ill-determined by the stars. At the start of Shakespeare’s play he reveals the plot to the play, “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life:/whose misadventur’d piteous overthrows/doth with their death bury their parents’ strife” (I.i.5-8). From the very beginning the reader already knows that the two lovers are doomed by fate to their death, which will resolve the families ongoing feud. Shakespeare uses “To the degree that the lovers are ‘star-cross’d’ and their love is ‘death-marked’” (Waters). “Star-cross’d lovers,” are two lovers who are ill-fated by the stars, and because they are lovers, their love has been cursed with

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, we meet the characters and how their actions led to a tragedy. Romeo and Juliet met, end up falling in love, and – since both cannot dream of living without the other – take their lives. While the play ends in a tragic death for both characters, it was their own reckless decisions; though others might believe that it was destiny that played a large role in the lovers’ downfall. However, the majority of the text evidence points to them making their own choices leading to their demise.

Many people blame fate for the death of Romeo and Juliet. One reason being that Romeo and Juliet’s meeting at the party was determined by fate. However, Romeo went to the party because of love, and he wanted to see if he could find some else better than Rosaline. He saw Juliet and found a new love. Therefore, love is a stronger competitor than fate for their meeting. Moreover, another argument is that the prologue calls Romeo and Juliet “star-crossed lovers”, also known as lovers who are doomed because of outside forces (such as fate). While Romeo and Juliet may have had tough circumstances regarding their relationship, their doom was their own decision. They killed themselves in the name of love, not because of chance or

this pair of lovers are meant to be together and it is written in the

In the play of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, William Shakespeare explores the idea of fate, through the characters experiences. The play was taken place during the Elizabethan Era where the social norms were completely different to those today and the idea of fate was well and truly believed by the society. Shakespeare incorporates this concept of fate in different ways, he makes references to celestial bodies, employs premonitions and orchestrates events where Romeo and Juliet have no prior knowledge off. He introduces the two young lovers as ‘star-crossed’, which means their relationship is destined to end in tragedy and this is supported by events that occur in the play. Specific events

Fate can be thought as life being predetermined for the entirety of your days. From the early writings of Homer, specifically in the poem, The Iliad, there is a clear representation of whether it is free will or fate after all. Although we may never know whether there is a predetermined path or rather just free, it can only make one wonder. For most Greek Mythology, it is been evident that most of people’s decisions were not free will but rather fate itself. While people think they have free will, it may just be fate after all.

Firstly, Romeo's downfall was caused by Tybalt, and not his tragic flaw. Tybalt caused Romeo's downfall because he stabbed and killed Mercutio, which made Romeo stab him, which got him banished. After Benvolio explained what had happened to the Prince and the two families, the Prince says, “And for that offense/ Immediately we do exile him hence.” (3.1.193-197) This shows that Tybalt caused Romeo's downfall because Tybalt stabbing Mercutio, caused Romeo to avenge Mercutio's life by killing Tybalt, which in turn forced the Prince to exile him as punishment. Like a domino effect, Tybalt's killing caused Romeo's exile, which leads to Friar Lawrence's plan to sneak Juliet out of Verona, which caused Romeo to kill himself to forever lie with Juliet.

For many, opportunities often arise that lead people to take the necessary actions in order to take control of the world around them. But without even realizing it, people are often forced into these situations through the actions of others, hinting the presence of fate. In the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the two constantly make hurried decisions as they are pushed into situations that are out of their control from a greater power other than their own. Shakespeare clearly portrays Romeo and Juliet as “star-crossed” lovers because while they often do make their own decisions, it is the actions and choices of others that inevitably lead them to their own fate.

In the very first act of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare clearly states that the play is controlled by fate. In the prologue, it states that "a pair of star-cross 'd lovers take their life" (I. Prologue. 5-6). Shakespeare refers to them as star-crossed lovers because they are doomed due to the position of the planets when they were born. In other words, he is saying that these two lovers will die because of fate and will have no way of preventing it. Later in that act, shortly after meeting Juliet, Romeo says,

Would Romeo have saved his own life if he had only stopped and thought rationally? Unfortunately, when Romeo received news of Juliet’s death, via his servant Balthasar, Romeo quickly inflamed with anger and bolted to the Capulet tomb to view her. If he would have thought logically, he would have dashed to Friar Lawrence instead. Due to Romeo’s illogical thinking, he sacrificed himself in the hopes of reuniting with his beloved wife, Juliet. However, this does not become true until Juliet awakes from her slumber, and commits suicide. Thus, in Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, Romeo should not have rushed to Verona for multiple ethical reasons.

In the play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, are illustrated as being “star-crossed.” To be “star-crossed lovers”, both members in the relationship must love each other so dearly that the only outcome is catastrophe. This definition is demonstrated at the end of this tragicomic play, where Romeo and Juliet take their own lives. William Shakespeare particularly incorporated the concept of fate into his play in many instances. The party where Romeo curiously spotted Juliet at was a vital example of how an event triggered a supposedly predetermined course. On a personal level, I find myself unable to believe in any sort of predestined outcome in life. I feel as though that the fact that one can make