Did Romeo and Juliet Die Because of a Predetermined Fate, or Was their Death the Result of Their Actions?
Many people debate whether it is written fate or free will that decides the outcome of everyone’s lives. William Shakespeare poses this question in his romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Set in Verona around the thirteen hundreds, the play is about two teenagers who fall in love and come from a pair of families that are arch enemies. Shakespeare uses the theme of fate or free will in many parts of the play to show how the lives of the main characters are controlled by their spiraling, uncontrollable fate. Shakespeare sends the message that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet were the result of fate because of the foreshadowing text of the play,
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Shakespeare uses foreshadowing in the text of the play to reveal what will happen later on, this gives the reader a feeling that the outcomes of Romeo and Juliet’s actions are predetermined. An example of this is in the prologue where the narrator states “A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life” (Shakespeare Prologue). The prologue takes place after the events of the play, however it is the first part of the story that is presented to the reader. Shakespeare is implying that their love and their suicide is meant to happen from the beginning. He is telling the reader that they are meant to meet each other from fate, and eventually fate kills them. Another reason the foreshadowing in the text shows that fate kills Romeo and Juliet are the feelings both the characters get at times in the story. Both Romeo and Juliet have bad instincts on what is about to happen. Again, The text predicts future events when Romeo is about to enter the Capulet ball. “For my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date” …show more content…
A case of this would be Tybalt killing Mercutio, which causes Romeo to avenge Mercutio and kill Tybalt. As a result, Romeo is banished from Verona and sent to Mantua. If Tybalt never killed Mercutio, Romeo would never be sent to Mantua, it would be easier for Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet to think up a smarter plan for Romeo and Juliet to be together. Tybalt’s actions were out of Romeo and Juliet’s hands and yet they still affect Romeo and Juliet in the grand scheme of things. Another instance of others’ actions affecting Romeo and Juliet are the decisions of Juliet’s parents. They have shown to pressure Juliet in areas of her life, especially marriage. Juliet’s mother talks to Juliet about marrying Paris and imply that it was not a choice, she would have to. Later on, Juliet’s father forced Juliet to marry Paris and if she does not he will banish her. This put a heavy weight on her shoulders and it causes her to break down and threaten to kill herself. Marrying Paris was not Juliet’s decision. If Juliet never married Paris then she would not have to plan to escape to Verona and fake her death by drinking the potion. Similarly, Friar Lawrence makes a very rushed solution for Juliet to drink the potion and send letters to Romeo explaining the plan. If Friar Lawrence sent the letters to Romeo prior to Juliet drinking the
Free will has a greater influence on characters in Romeo and Juliet as indicated by the many instances in which Romeo and Juliet decided that they wished to end their own lives. One such instance was when Romeo speaks to Friar Lawrence after having killed Tybalt. He states,“...--O, tell me, friar, tell me,/ In what vile part of this anatomy/ Doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack/ The hateful mansion.” (Shakespeare III.iii.114-117) As this quote helps to illustrate, the power of free will can be quite harmful if used with malintent. If Romeo had been left to his own devices he would have chosen to stab himself. His decision to “sack/ The hateful mansion.” (Shakespeare III.iii.116-117) would have been of his own choosing, but it
At the beginning of every Shakespearean play their is a prologue. The prologue basically tells the audience what is going to happen throughout the play. Within the prologue of Romeo and Juliet it states, “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star crossed lovers take their life.”(prologue. 5-6) The story of Romeo and Juliet is quite unfortunate. With twists and turns of “death-marked love”(prologue. 9). With joy and loss. With events of love, fight, of death. All leading up to the doom of lovers Romeo and Juliet. In this story, I believe the lovers are not to blame for their death, but instead the blame lies in the hands of their loved ones.
Fate has always been of interest to society, and even today, people continue to question whether someone’s life is destined for a certain fate, or if it is shaped by their own free-will. Such thoughts come into play throughout various acts and scenes of Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare’s play often strongly suggests that Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is built upon fate and free-will. There are many critics who argue fate is what makes up this play in its entirety due to the various fate related ideas evoked throughout it. Although fate does indeed play some roles in the shaping of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, overall, it is free-will that plays a much greater role throughout their tragedy and is ultimately at work in this play.
Fate is a powerful thing, people see have fate in many movies such as Final Destination, where death is unstoppable. Every decision and action made by the characters can be fated by the universe. William Shakespeare clearly shows fate in this play Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare uses foreshadowing to illustrate the idea of predetermined death. Others may say that the feud and Paris are responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet but it’s clear that fate is responsible.
A timeless topic--fate and free will--still captivates society today. Fortune cookies, physics, and horoscopes all contribute to the obsession people have with this controversial debate over who manipulates life; fate or free will. No one is sure who really pulls the strings, but everyone has an opinion on the matter. Many famous plays center on this topic, and one such play that features characters’ views on fate and free will is Romeo and Juliet. This legendary play, written by William Shakespeare, has been beloved by people for centuries, as they contemplate who is the guiding force in life? The play discusses just this, while depicting the lives of Romeo and Juliet: two desperate teenagers each trapped in their own worlds, seeking love
When considering the role of both fate and free will in the demise of Romeo and Juliet, freewill has a stronger influence. In Romeo and Juliet freewill has a stronger influence than fate because, Romeo's decision to pursue his love for Juliet, despite the longstanding feud between their families. Another reason Romeo risks his life by secretly marrying Juliet after just meeting her. The last and final reason after Mercutio Romeo sought revenge and killed Tybalt. In Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, while fate plays a role in the lovers' tragic end, it is their own choices driven by freewill that ultimately shape the outcome of the story.
To summarize the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo meets Juliet at the Capulet’s party, decides to marry her, and goes to Friar Laurence for help. Shortly after their marriage, Romeo gets in a fight and kills Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, resulting in Romeo’s exile. After Tybalt’s death, Juliet’s parents arrange her marriage with Count Paris. Juliet initially refuse but after going to the friar for help and creating a plan to fake her death, she agrees to get married. Her decision makes her father very happy and he changes the wedding date, ruining Juliet’s plan. To improvise, Juliet takes the poison a day earlier than she had planned. Taking the poison early eliminates the time needed to inform Romeo of the plan. This means that when Romeo hears of Juliet’s death, he believes she is actually dead and decides to kill himself at her tomb. Shortly after Romeo’s suicide, Juliet wakes up. The play ends with Juliet killing herself with a dagger after seeing Romeo’s corpse and the two families discovering their remains. Whether the outcome of Shakespeare’s play was a result of fate or free will is much debated but, imagine the ending of the play if Romeo, Juliet or Friar Laurence made a different decision and it is likely the result would not be a tragedy. This is why even though fate brought the protagonists together, the outcome of the play was a result of free will.
Was Romeo and Juliet written in the stars or an act of freewill? Many argue that Romeo and Juliet's death was fate taking its course, but I disagree. Romeo and Juliet in my opinion was not an act of fate, but an act of freewill because of many things the characters could have done to stop the tragedy that was their undoing. In general, Romeo and Juliet's deaths were not an act of fate, but free will because of the choices the characters got throughout the story and the horrible judgement Romeo and Juliet had.
In the play, “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, fate is utilized to control the actions of society throughout the play, ultimately causing the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, through foreshadowing, allusions, and symbolism. Shakespeare utilizes fate to foreshadow future events in the play. Before the party, where Romeo eventually would meet Juliet, he discusses a dream to Mercutio, “ Some consequence yet hanging in the stars/ Shall bitterly begin his fearful date/ With this night’s revels and expire the term/Of a despised life, closed in my breast/
The play Romeo and Juliet was one of the most famous love tragedies ever written. This love story unfortunately had a fatal ending. Many people argue over why the lovers had died, was it over Free Will or Fate?
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
Fate, for better or worse, interrupts everyone’s daily life, whether he/she chooses to acknowledge it or not. Thinking about fate conjures up different feelings for different people; some people believe strongly in it, some people think of fate as ridiculous, and some do not care one way or the other. However, in many instances, such as in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, far too many coincidences occur to be strictly coincidental. Fate creates a powerful effect throughout the entire play, starting in the prologue, continuing as Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love, and tragically ending in the lovers’ deaths.
Romeo and Juliet rely heavily on the concept of predetermined fate, with many examples revealed throughout the story, the first being early in the story when the chorus states, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life;/Whole misadventured piteous overthrows/Do with their death bury their parents’ strife” (Prologue, i, 6-8). This foreshadows the death of Romeo and Juliet as well as the ending of their parents’ feud. They continue to develop this idea even further in the prologue, throughout lines 10-11, “And the continuance of their parents’ rage,/Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove.” These lines further foreshadow the burial of their parents strife. These lines also reveal that it was absolutely necessary for Romeo and Juliet to perish, stating that nothing would
One's character and actions leads to their downfall, an inevitable fate. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a story about teenagers who fall in love, despite that their families despise each other. In the end, the two lovers kill themselves for each other. Their lives seem to revolve around fate and that they were destined to meet each other, and die. Through the romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows fate is inevitable through foreshadowing and the actions of characters.
Many people don 't believe that fate even exists. These people feel that one controls his or her own future. But in the case of the play, Romeo and Juliet written by Willian Shakespeare, this is not true. Romeo and Juliet is a story about two "star-crossed lovers" who ultimately die due to their fate. Since the moment they first time they met, things began in motion. These two lovers could not have done anything to change their course of fate, thus, why the story of Romeo and Juliet is a story controlled by fate, rather than a tragedy.