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Theme Of Fate In Romeo And Juliet

Decent Essays

Nowadays, the ideas of fate, destiny and “star-crossed lovers” are ubiquitous in many fictional pieces. This wasn’t always the case though. After William Shakespeare first coined the term star-crossed lovers in his play, Romeo and Juliet, this idea gained popularity. This term and the idea of fate, as well as destiny, play a major role in the story of Romeo and Juliet as it unfolds. In fact, this term is used to describe Romeo and Juliet in the sixth line of the play. This illustrates how important the role of fate is to this story; if it wasn’t present, it would likely be completely different. Most of the characters in this play make a reference to fate, so it is clearly a crucial element in this piece. Shakespeare uses foreshadowing as well as the speech of his characters as a way to integrate a sense of destiny into his work. To me, the most prominent integration of the idea of fate into Romeo and Juliet is when a character talks about his or her own. In lines 114-118 of act one scene four, before attending the Capulet’s party, Romeo says, “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars Shall bitterly begin his fearful date With this night's revels, and expire the term Of a despisèd life closed in my breast By some vile forfeit of untimely death.” This quote is significant in a few ways; first, in saying this, Romeo is hinting at his own death. He is saying that something that is going to happen at the party that will end in his own death, but he seems to think there is

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