In this essay I am going to discuss the importance of fate in the Shakespearean play of Romeo and Juliet. There are many important points in the play, where I believe fate influenced certain people to make certain choices which affect the chain of events leading to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. Even Romeo’s dying influenced Juliet to die – and I believe that that is what fate had intended. In this essay I will attempt to convey my point, that fate acted upon their love, punishing them for their actions (they tried to love across hate, a hate which was bound between each of their houses.). Shakespeare bases many of his plays on a simple rule – If a person should do something wrong, as a result they shall be punished, e.g. In the play Macbeth, Macbeth himself tries to kill the king and dies himself as a result. (147/150)
Firstly, fate itself is known now-a-days as something we all take for granted. Most people see it as something that is there but doesn’t directly affect our lives. It is commonly used casually in our language to exclaim a possibly sarcastic view of disbelief of extraordinary events. Other than in casual speech, fate is thought of as a point for argument. It could be said that we all have our fates already decided, that we are already destined for a certain thing which has already been decided. It could be argued against, but we cannot really prove either way. It is also a subject we should be careful discussing, in that it could be said to border on blasphemy upon individual religions. (122/150)
Some people believe that fate is ‘hidden in the stars’ (a point which Shakespeare refers to,
‘A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;’ (I, prologue, li. 6)
Which is a reference to how astrology is related to fate in that they took their own lives through love.) Fate is loosely related to predictions of the future, of which is brought across in many famous quotes throughout the play. One subject Shakespeare enjoys referring to is the astrological conception that our own fate is hidden in the stars. This was a popular idea when Shakespeare was writing the play and presumably is why he made so many references to it. (110/150)
The feud plays an important part in the deaths of the two for the following simple reason. If there were no feud between the two houses, then Romeo and Juliet’s marriage would not have to be so difficult and so secret, and it would not end up causing both of their deaths. (52/50)
It could be said that fate has no part at all in the Romeo and Juliet play, that it all happened of it’s own accord, and this could be possible. Personally, I think that too many things would have had to happen consequentially for it to all happen by chance – I still believe that Shakespeare was still hinting at the prospect of justice; that wrong doings will be punished in some way or other.
‘O I am fortunes fool!’ (Romeo, III. i, li.132)
(83/100)
There are many sections throughout the play where the play metaphorically changes direction. These are known as ‘turning points’, one of which can be identified as Mercutio’s death. When he dies, many things happen. Firstly, Romeo is incited to kill Tybalt, through revenge for his friend, especially because he was killed “under Romeo’s arm”. Also at this point, as Mercutio is the main comic of the play, most of the entire comedy element is destroyed. After Romeo kills Tybalt, he is then exiled as a murderer. It could be said that Romeo caused all this mishap, because by trying to protect Mercutio, he stopped him from seeing the strike from Tybalt that killed him; it could also be said that if Romeo hadn’t intervened then nobody would have died. When Mercutio gives his final soliloquy, he states clearly in one of the play’s most famous lines that his dying brings a curse upon both Capulet and Montague houses,
‘A plague on both your houses!’ (III. i, li. 95)
(168/150)
Basically, I think that Romeo found true love, and paid the price for trying to get everything he wanted. He was initially put into a very difficult situation, from which an unfortunate chain of events couldn’t be stopped from arising. From my essay I can conclude that from the many references to stars and from the consequential sequence of events, that I thoroughly believe that Shakespeare intended to clearly state that fate had a definite part in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. I also, therefore, fully believe in fate’s existence throughout the play. (94/100)
