Shakespeare uses fate in his plays to make the scenes and play more dramatic and interesting. Fate is usually determined by god so if god wants it to happen, then it will. I think that time is an additional factor of fate. Time is what controls everything in this story. For example, if Romeo hadn’t been in the street at the exact time that the servant was passing invitations to the party, he never would’ve found out about the party, never met Juliet, and the story wouldn’t have happened. In the prologue Shakespeare tells us the storyline in iambic pentameter. He also states in the prologue “death marked love”. This means that Romeo and Juliet’s love will have death written all over it. At first the prologue sounds like Shakespeare is going to ruin the play but he talks about fate in it. I also believe that fate bought us, the reader to read the play. Why did we choose this book read? Coincidence or fate?
My first reason as to why Shakespeare uses Shakespeare was in act 1, scene 2. In this scene, benvolio and Romeo are in the streets of Verona when they see a servant in the street with invitations. Romeo and benvolio are asked by the servant to read the invitation list out for a Capulet party. Romeo and benvolio have an idea to go to the party and try to gate crash it. I think that this is a great source of fate because if Romeo and benvolio never ran into the servant than Romeo would have never met Juliet at the party and the love story would have never existed!
My next reason is just before Romeo heads over to the Capulet ball, where he falls in love with and meets Juliet, he tells us that he has a funny felling. He fears that something “hanging in the stars” will be set in motion that night. This is a great evidence of fate written all over because he kind of knew something was going to happen but didn’t know what. However, we knew something was going to happen because it stated in the prologue” two star crossed lovers take their life, whose misadventure piteous overthrows. This means two people from different environments fall in love with each other and their pettiness.
my next piece of evidence is when friar Lawrence is getting romeo and Juliet married together. “these violent delights have violent ends and in the triumph die, like fire and powder which as they kiss, consume the sweetest honey is lonesome in his own deliciousness and in the taste confounds the appetite therefore love moderately long live doth so too swift arrives as tardy as too slow” friar juliet is saying romeo and Juliet will love each other tat the start but when later on in the relationship, they will begin to hate each other. he is comparing them two as fire and powder. juliet is the fire and romeo is the powder. he means that they romeo will burn out. also when he talks about the honey. at first, honey is nice and sweet but when you have too much you get sick of it and start to hate it.
Romeo has a dream that Juliet finds him dead. This is foreshadowing to the already destined event these two lovers will soon face death. This is yet another example where fate has a role in the lives of Romeo and Juliet it is something that they cannot control.Romeo learns that Juliet is dead. He says that he defies fate, by saying that he defies what is written in the stars. He refuses to accept that Juliet is dead. What Romeo does not realize is that he has no control over his destiny. No matter how angry or motivated he is to change what is written in the stars, he cannot. It is already predetermined. However, we know Juliet is not dead because she had a potion that would makes her sleep because before she was meant to marry Paris because he had a lot of money and her parents wanted her to so she faked her death but Romeo doesn’t know that she done this.
Following on, fate is seen when Romeo goes to Juliet’s tomb to see her. He is heartbroken to see that she is dead(but she’s not). Romeo then gets a poison to kill himself where he is going to lie with Juliet forever. Juliet wakes up from her sleep and Romeo drinks the position but it’s too late. Romeo dies in Juliet’s arms and she lays him on the bed. Juliet is destrought so gets Romeos gun and shoots herself through the head. This is the biggest piece of fate because their marriage bed was both of their tombs.
In Romeo and Juliet, we see many examples of fate. It was said to be about fate itself and how fate brings people together and apart for many different reasons.
React!