Friar Lawrence plays a large part as he agrees to help Romeo and Juliet with their marriage. If he hadn’t, they would not be married and things would probably carry on as normal. The Friar believes their marriage will end the feuding between the families and does anything he can to help them. “So smile the heavens upon this holy act that after hours with sorrow chide us not.” Pg99 L: 1.
Romeo tends to rush into things and this cause many dilemmas. When he kills Tybalt, he doesn’t think about what he is doing or the consequences that are going to follow. Just after Romeo and Juliet get married, Romeo has extremely bad luck of being banished. This makes it all the more harder for them to be together. If Romeo had thought about his actions, he wouldn’t have killed Tybalt and wouldn’t be banned from Verona. Friar Lawrence tells him that his is married to misfortune. “Affliction is enamoured of thy parts, and thou art wedded to calamity.” Pg127 L: 2.
Another part of the play that shows fate is when Juliet goes to see the Friar. Juliet doesn’t know what is going to happen and she leaves it for fate to decide. “What must be shall be.” Pg159 L: 21. The Friar decides to help Juliet by giving her a poison. If he hadn’t done this, she would probably have had to marry Paris. Juliet knows that her fate is up to the starts because she hopes that her prayers will look favourably upon her situation. “For I have need of money orisons to move the heavens to smile upon my state.” Pg171 L: 3.
Shakespeare shows that Romeo thinks that his life is controlled by the stars in various parts of the play. He blames everything bad or unlucky that happens not on his own actions, but on the stars. As he finds out about Juliet’s death, he accuses the stars of being the reason for her death. “Is it e’en so? Then I deft you, stars!” pg191 L: 24.
The next part of the play cannot be blamed on anything other than fate. The plague suddenly hits the village that Friar John has to pass through to deliver the message about Juliet’s plan to Romeo. It is no ones fault that the message could not reach him, it is simply bad luck. Friar Lawrence explains what “unhappy fortune” pg107 L: 17, Romeo and Juliet have had.
Shakespeare shows that the play is all about fate when Romeo is about to kill himself. Friar Lawrence arrives only seconds after Romeo drinks the poison. This scene points out how it was Romeo and Juliet’s destiny to die. Romeo is aware that his life is filled with bad luck and the only way he can escape it is death. “O here will I set up my everlasting rest, and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from their world-wearied flesh.” Pg205 L: 111. Friar Lawrence also realises that the stars have control over their lives when he sees Romeo lying dead before him. “A greater power than we can contradict hath twarted our intents.” Pg209 L: 153.
At the end of the play, Shakespeare uses the Prince to conclude that fate had everything to do with their deaths. He tells the fathers that the punishment for the hatred between them caused the deaths of their own two children. “See what a scourage is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys of love.” Pg217 L: 292.
The blindness of young love is another large theme in the play. Shakespeare shows this through the love Romeo and Juliet share. At the beginning, Romeo thinks he is so in love with Rosaline and that he will never love anyone else, “one fairer than my love? The all-seeing sun ne’er saw her match since first the world begun,” pg27 L: 96, but just a few hours later, he has already fallen in love with another girl. Romeo describes Juliet as a white dove in a crowd with other girls that look like crows, which completely contradicts what he has said before. “So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, as younder lady o’er her fellow shons.” Pg45 L: 49
When they find out their new loves are their own families enemies, they both feel dreadful. Although Romeo has only just switched from loving one girl to loving another, after only spending a few minutes together, both teenagers think they have fallen in love. Romeo-“Is she a Capulet? O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt!” pg51 L: 118. Juliet-“My only love sprung from my only hate.” Pg51 L: 139.
Without thinking, Romeo and Juliet are both ready to give up their names for someone they have only just met. This is the first time they have been in love, yet they are willing to do anything for one another. Juliet-“Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” Pg63 L: 35. Romeo-“Call me but “Love”, and I’ll be new baptised; henceforth I never will be Romeo.” Pg63 L: 50.
Romeo decides that he hates himself because he has a name of which his love despites. He thinks that because he is so in love, he should do anything for Juliet, including risking his life for her. “My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself because it is an enemy to thee.” Pg63 L: 55. “And but thou love me, let them find me here, my life were better ended by their hate than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.” Romeo claims he would rather die if Juliet did not love him, which is a big thing to say to someone he’s only just met.
The two teenagers take a big step when they decide to get married. They have taken things very quickly seeing as they have only met the day before. Juliet says to Romeo that her love for him will be everlasting. “If that thy bent of love be hounourable, thy purpose marriage.” Pg69 L: 143. They are young and don’t think about the consequences of their actions. The two of them don’t really care about the feuding going on between their families and are ready to risk being cut off from them.
Juliet could have gotten married to Romeo for the wrong reasons; she did love him but also wanted to lose her virginity. Being so young, she thought that the only way to do that was to be married and in love with that person. “And learn me how to lose a winning match.” Pg119 L: 12.
Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet tell each other they will do anything for one another because they are so in love. When they do die, they die for each other. Romeo-“Here’s to my love. O true apothecary. Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.” Pg205 L: 120. Juliet-“O churl! drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after?” Pg 209 L: 163.
Shakespeare shows that the play is all about fate and the blindness of young love with all the quotes he has included. The beginning and the ending of the play both state that fate has something to do with the deaths of Romeo and Juliet who died of love for one another. This is proclaimed repeatedly throughout the play. The plot and the things that happen all link to fate and young love. Shakespeare saw his play as two themes: fate and young love, as he constantly replicates it throughout the story.
