Romeo And Juliets Fate Essay, Research Paper

William Shakespeare wrote many great plays in his day. His tale of Romeo and Juliet portrays a tragic love. This play ends with the deaths of the key characters Romeo and Juliet, because of their forbidden love. Many factors contribute to their demise. The scene of when they first meet, the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio, and the final death scene all reveal why the two of them cannot be together in the end. Romeo and Juliet are ultimately killed because of their decisions and fate. The effects of Romeo and Juliet s decisions and fate are first apparent in the scene when they first come together. When Romeo says to Juliet in the Capulet party, “Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purged” (I,v,108), and then he kisses her, it obviously exhibitions how they exercise their choice to love each other. After discovering each other s identities, Romeo proclaims, “My life is my foe s debt” (I,v,119), and Juliet states, “My only love sprung from my only hate” (I,v,140). These lines foreshadow that there will be many impediments keeping them apart and eventually killing them both. It might be thought that the tragic ending is caused by them choosing to love each other. However, if fate does not bring them together in the first place, they will never have the opportunity to establish their love. Romeo and Juliet are affected by their choices and fate right from the beginning. Romeo s actions and chance also cause the chaos in Romeo and Mercutio s fight scene with Tybalt. When Romeo replies to Tybalt when he is first insulted and threatened on the street, “I do protest I never injure thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise” (III,I,67-8), it means he does not mean Tybalt any harm and is walking away from the fight. Then, Mercutio steps in for Romeo and starts fighting with Tybalt. Romeo gets between them, which allows Tybalt to kill Mercutio, and later results in Romeo killing Tybalt. It is very easy to point the finger at Romeo and accuse him of allowing Mercutio to be killed. His decision directly allows Tybalt to stab Mercutio, but he is trying work it out so no one will be injured, like peer mediation. Although he has no clue that he will do more harm, Romeo is actually trying to help. That s where fate affects him. Also, it can be said that Romeo is entirely responsible for killing Tybalt. When Romeo exclaims to Tybalt after he comes back from killing Mercutio, “And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!” (III,I,123), it shows how he is furious and wants to fight. A lot of people say that Romeo has no need to fight, but what if he does not? Didn t something horrible happen the last time he walked away? Maybe Benvolio will start a fight with Tybalt and be killed as well. So fate does have a role in deciding the outcome. It is hard to conclude that everything will be all right for Romeo if he does not fight Tybalt. In this sense, the fight scene shows how fate and Romeo s decisions are responsible for two deaths and banishment. The final scene itself shows how Romeo and Juliet s decisions and fate lead to their deaths. Their destiny “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. . . doth their death bury their parents strife” (1st prologue, 6-8), stated in the prologue, describes how they are foretold to die and many people agree that it is fate that ultimately causes their deaths. If the friar in Mantua arrives earlier to deliver Friar Lawrence s message or if Romeo arrives just a few minutes later in the Capulet tomb, it s possible that the finale would change. Even though fate will allow Romeo and Juliet to carry out their plan, they are the ones who decide to commit suicide in the first place. Juliet speaks to herself before she drinks the friar s potion: Come, vial. What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning? No, no! This shall forbid it. Lie thou there.” (IV,iv,21-3) After speaking, Juliet lays a dagger down beside her and that displays how she is prepared to kill herself instead of not seeing Romeo again. Also, Romeo says to the nurse in Friar Lawrence s cell, “Doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack the hateful mansion” (III,iii,107-8) and offers to kill himself. Since there is virtually no chance of them being able to live together happily ever after, Romeo and Juliet have ultimately chosen to die. Romeo and Juliet s decisions and fate affect them to the very end. Romeo and Juliet are not able to live happily ever after because of their decisions and fate. Though it is chance that brings them together in the first place, it is their decision to choose loving each other. Romeo s actions cause the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt, and finally his own banishment. Whereas, if he does not act that way, he might suffer some worse fate. The death scene might not happen if there would be a change in fate. However, Romeo and Juliet have already planed to kill themselves if they cannot see each other again. Even if the plan does work, they will still encounter many other obstacles. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet shows how fate and decision making affect their lives and probably has some relation to real life. Shakespeare might have been trying to show how much people can control their own destiny.

334