At the end of act II, Romeo and Juliet are married and unaware of the trouble to come. What evidence can you find in the play, which gives clues to the tragedy, which lies ahead?

Sarah Lancaster

At the end of act II, Romeo and Juliet are married and unaware of the trouble to come. What evidence can you find in the play, which gives clues to the tragedy, which lies ahead?

In the modern world, most people choose to believe that they have a sense of responsibility and can control their own lives. They suppose that their problems are caused by the actions of themselves or those influencing them. From one viewpoint, it is true to say that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet were caused by the mistakes made by themselves and others; the influence of fate was almost nonexistent. Four characters in the play intensely manipulate the tragic path of the young couple; (apart from Romeo and Juliet themselves) Mercutio, the Nurse, Tybalt and the Friar.

Mercutio, one of Romeo’s friends and a supporter of the Montague household, changed the course of events by encouraging Romeo to go the Capulet’s masquerade and duelling with Tybalt in town. If Mercutio had not encouraged Romeo to go to the Capulet’s dance, the couple would never have met and their deaths would have been averted. But was Romeo destined to meet Juliet, regardless of the actions of others?

If Mercutio had not taunted Tybalt in town whilst out with Romeo and Benvolio, Romeo would never have got into his fight with Tybalt and therefore would not have been banished. Perhaps, however, the fight initiated by Mercutio that hapless day was inevitable: could it be that Romeo was somehow destined to be exiled?

The Nurse, Juliet’s committed servant who treated her almost like a daughter, changed the course of events by going behind Lord and Lady Capulet’s backs. If the Nurse had not performed Juliet’s bidding and acted as her messenger, it is possible that Juliet would have given up on the idea of her marriage to Romeo and the couple’s deaths would have been averted. However, there is a strong possibility that regardless of the Nurse’s influence, the couple would still have gone ahead with their doomed marriage once they had fallen in love.

The Friar, Romeo’s friend and assistant of Juliet in her final plan, changed the course of events by helping the young couple in their plans to marry and assisting Juliet in her scheme to be with Romeo once again. If the Friar had not agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, it is possible that the couple would have given up on the idea of being together. On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet may have been fated to marry and would have partaken in the ceremony one way or another no matter what the Friar’s decision.

If the Friar had not suggested his dramatic plan to the desperate Juliet, she may never have seen Romeo again and the couple would have stayed alive, albeit in depression! Perhaps, however, that if Juliet had not had the chance to see Romeo again she would have committed suicide anyway. The couple may have been doomed regardless of the Friar’s decision to involve Juliet in his elaborate plot.

Tybalt, the cousin of Juliet and hotheaded enemy of the Montague household, changed the course of events by agreeing to fight Romeo in town. If Tybalt had not deliberately started to make fun of Mercutio, the two would not have got into their duel and Romeo may have been safe from the threat of banishment.

Romeo, the youngest son of Lord and Lady Montague and Juliet’s husband, was in fact a major influence on the events leading up to the deaths of him and his young wife. Romeo acts too hastily throughout the play: he shouldn't have asked Juliet to marry him so suddenly, and he should have thought more carefully before rushing back to Verona after hearing of Juliet's death. Romeo also acted violently and without thinking when he killed Tybalt and, later, Paris. Perhaps if he had thought about what he was doing a little more before acting, the deaths of him and his fair Juliet would have been averted.

Juliet, the beloved daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet and Romeo’s lover, was also a major influence on the events leading up to the deaths of her and her husband. Juliet shouldn't have deceived and disobeyed her parents, and, like Romeo, she was too hasty in rushing into marriage. She was already engaged to marry Paris at the time of the ball, and until then, had been very happy with her parents choice. If Juliet had not been so fickle as to fall in love with Romeo on the night of the masquerade, they both may still have kept their lives.

Nowadays, most people do not have much time for the theory of fate. They like to believe that they are in control of their own destiny, and that any difficulties arising from their actions can be sorted out. But what if all our actions are already planned out, and no matter what we do the ultimate consequence will be the same? Some people argue that Shakespeare wanted us to believe this was the case in Romeo and Juliet, and several quotations from the play can support this view.

The first example of a reference to fate is in the prologue, at the very start of the play.

‘From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.’

This quotation implies that even from the very beginning, the young couple were doomed. ‘Star-crossed’ refers to the astrological outlook on destiny that was much more widely accepted when Shakespeare wrote his tragedy. By including this line so early in the book, Shakespeare creates a sense of anticipation in the audience. From the start they know what the eventual outcome will be, but the questions of ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ are only answered as the play progresses.

Another example of one of the characters from the play referring to fate is when Mercutio attempts to make Romeo go to the Capulet dance. Romeo eventually agrees, but he still feels uneasy:

‘I fear, too early: for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date’

This second reference shows that Romeo never felt happy with the idea of going to the Capulet party in the first place. If he had trusted his instincts and refused to go, the deaths of the two lovers may have been averted. By including these foreboding lines, Shakespeare suggests to the audience that the ultimate destiny of Romeo and Juliet was, in fact, fated.

After the Capulet masquerade, Juliet refers to fate once realising that Romeo is a Montague:

‘My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathed enemy.’

Juliet suggests that the meeting of the two young lovers was perhaps too extraordinary to be solely based on coincidence. She acknowledges the paradoxical situation of her ‘only love’ sprung from her ‘only hate’. By including these lines, Shakespeare increases the tension in the audience by giving a clue as to how the lovers will meet their demise.

When Juliet talks to the Nurse after finding out about Romeo’s banishment, she again cries out an exclamation based on fate.

‘Alack, alack, that heaven should practise stratagems
Upon so soft a subject as myself!’

This remark demonstrates Juliet’s anguish upon hearing of her lover’s banishment. She remarks upon ‘heaven’s stratagems’, or in other words, fate. By including these lines, Shakespeare attempts to make the audience pity the doomed couple, especially the innocent, young Juliet, but at the same time realise that their unhappy destiny cannot be changed.

Friar Lawrence refers to fate when he is told that Romeo did not receive his vitally important letter.

‘Unhappy fortune! by my brotherhood,
The letter was not nice but full of charge
Of dear import…’

This quotation displays the worry of the Friar as he realises the disastrous consequences that could unfold if Romeo does not receive his letter in time. Shakespeare could have phrased this sentence differently to place the blame upon the messenger, but instead he expresses it as though it was the fault of fortune. This is a prime example of the beliefs concerning fate in the 16th century.

A final example of one of the characters from the play referring to fate is when Friar Lawrence is talking to Juliet shortly before she stabs herself:

‘A greater power than we can contradict
Hath thwarted our intents.’

The ‘greater power’ that Friar Lawrence refers to is, of course, fate. His statement does not make Juliet feel any better however, as she promptly commits suicide! Shakespeare again chooses to place the blame on a higher power rather than an individual, signifying his desire to make the audience believe that no one person or thing was responsible for the deaths of the ...

At the end of act II, Romeo and Juliet are married and unaware of the trouble to come. What evidence can you find in the play, which gives clues to the tragedy, which lies ahead?

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