As Albert Einstein once said, “...life and death flow into one, and there is [no] destiny; only Being.” Even somewhere such as an Elizabethan play can be an example of this philosophy. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare proves the absence of fate in the main characters’ love lives, familial relations, and deaths. Although one could argue that Romeo and Juliet’s meeting is love at first sight, and thereby fated, they are both perfectly in control of every moment after they lay eyes on each other. It is not fate for Romeo to “smooth [his] rough touch with a tender kiss” (Shakespeare 1.5.96) when first meeting Juliet, but both of them giving into their lust. Less than 24 hours later, the two have to put in genuine effort and plan for them
Decisions and choices- an act of or need for making up one's mind, and the right, power, or opportunity to choose. Fate- a four letter word, a noun defined as the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as being determined by a supernatural power. These are what many can believe as the most powerful forces that shape our future. The playwright, William Shakespeare, wrote a tragedy of two youngsters in love. This tale was filled with drama, mixed-emotions, laughs, heartbreaks, and affection. Written as a tragedy, the play had ended like other Shakespearean tragedies had ended; in death. The death was inevitable because of decisions and choices made fates were shaped and had played a part in the events that blossomed the love of two star-crossed lovers. As an illustration, picture two families at war with each other, a feud that everyone gets caught in the crossfire. For instance, when innocent citizens are tired of watching their supposed ‘peaceful’ streets get disturbed by the feud, and as the prologue states, “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.” (Prologue.6) The feud was poison for the city of Verona and its citizens. Besides crummy choices were made, therefore a cursed destiny was created for two naive lovers.
Romeo did not just stumble upon Juliet, these repeating coincidences intertwining Romeo and Juliet’s destiny can only be acknowledged as an act of fate. Another sign Romeo and Juliet met as an act of fate is because as soon as fate brought the two together, it tested their love with challenges outside of either of their control to change or stop. One way fate tested Romeo and Juliet’s love was by making their relationship even more difficult than just having opposing families; Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, kills Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, and Romeo retaliates by killing Tybalt. Another way fate tested Romeo and Juliet’s love was by forcing Paris to be so eager to marry Juliet. The challenges and strong love Romeo and Juliet are presented with were never part of their plan and therefore must have been an act of fate.
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.
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.
Fate is a hidden, but unavoidable force that leads to certain consequences in people’s lives. The theme of fate plays a crucial role in the main characters of the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet share a destiny that dooms them to tragic deaths immediately after the exchange of their zealous love. Despite their resolute attempts to challenge their destiny, the lovers still succumb to the inexorable powers of fate. In the Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet, the principle of fate propels the lovers together with infatuation, tears them apart through a bitter demise, yet, ensures peace in Verona for many future generations.
The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, published in 1597. It is a story about how, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers [Romeo and Juliet] take their lives…/The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love…” (Prologue of Romeo and Juliet, 6-9) as they are forbidden to be together due to a long lasting and ongoing feud between the Montague and Capulet families. Their deaths are the results of many characters’ actions and fate, and there is not one distinctive person that can be blam¬ed for the young lovers’ deaths. Friar Lawrence is not to blame for these deaths as fate played a major role in their demise, he warned Romeo of his impulsive and unwise decision making, and his intentions were to abolish the ongoing feud between the two families. Further examination will prove that Friar Lawrence is innocent and his intensions were far from the passing of the two lovers.
In the book Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare, fate plays a large role in moving the plot along. It does this by bringing people together. Fate also plays a role in a couple people’s deaths, including the main characters, Romeo and Juliet.
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
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
Everyone wants to marry the love of their life. Seeking the approval of our family and friends, we all look ahead fondly at the idea of living a long and happy life with our soulmate. Unfortunately, in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet this is not the way life played out.
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.
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
Fate is uncontrollable no one really knows how fate happens but it does it is supernatural. In romeo and juliet it was fate that romeo seen juliet it saids in the text “ Romeo- Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? Juliet- Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. Romeo- O, then, Dear saint, let lips do what hands do! They pray:grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. Juliet- Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake. Romeo- Then move not while my prayer’s effect i take. Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purged.” and fell in love with her,if romeo was to never have seen juliet and fell in love with her he would have never known that she was his true love. On the other hand,
It is because of fate that they meet because Romeo says it himself. The final deaths of the lovers is the "consequence" that he is talking about and the bitterness that starts the pathway to their ultimate tragedy is their first encounter, since they are supposed to be opposing enemies. It is also evident that Romeo cannot make intelligent decisions for himself when he says: ?Tut, I have lost myself. I am not here. / This is not Romeo. He?s somewhere else.?(Romeo and Juliet I i, 205-206). Romeo says he is not himself and that his mind is off somewhere else. As fate would have it, Romeo rushes head on into situations that were out of his control .For these reasons, Romeo and Juliet's first meeting was sure to happen, fate being the most powerful force at work, determining their future.
Most of Shakespeare's plays are conceived around a foundation in either tragedy or comedy, this polarity of themes allowing him to experiment with the full range of human emotions. Typically, an integral part of a Shakespearean tragedy is love, which is frustrated by a breakdown in order, or the character of the hero, due to some human limitation. The play Romeo and Juliet has all these typical characteristics. However, the resultant conclusion of events for the characters in this tragedy is adversely affected by the hands of fate, and not solely the product of human limitations. Fate in fact has a decisive role in the events of the play; it is a series of rapid coincidental events, which lead to the final tragedy.