Romeo is a adolescent who was born into a rival family called the Montages', The Montage's have been having a feud with the copulates for generations. Romeo who unfortunately falls in love with Juliet, a Capulet whose family is bitter enemies of the montages. He blames fate or misfortune for nearly all that goes wrong: after he kills Tybalt, he then realises the consequence of his action but prefers to blame the stars father than himself.
"O, I am fortunes fool"
Juliet is an immature young 14 years old; she is kind, trustworthy, obeys her parents and thinks for herself. When she first meets Romeo she falls for him instantaneously. She is levelheaded in that she swiftly asks Romeo to marry her which would be against her parents’ control as they want her to marry Paris who she does not love. She is also like Romeo in that she does not think of the consequence of her actions. She is faithful to Romeo, as she is worried about him getting caught.
The first appearance of fate can be seen when Benvolio tries to persuade Romeo that love for Rosaline is false.
"Be rul'd by me, forget to think of her." Benvolio sees his chance to help Romeo “go thither; and with unattained eye compare her face with some that I shall show, and I will make thee think thy swan is a crow."
It is either pure chance that the servant arrives when he did or, it is fate intervening.
Also fate exists when Romeo and Juliet meet at the party and they fall in
Love with each other. This is the party that Paris has attended to look at
Other girls and Romeo has gone by a suggestion by Benvolio.
Mercutio, one of Romeo’s friends and an ally of the Montague family, changed the route of events by encouraging Romeo to go the Capulet’s pretence 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, in spite of the actions of others?
If Mercutio had not taunted Tybalt in the town whilst out with Romeo and Benvolio, Romeo would never have got into his brawl with Tybalt, than Romeo would not of been banished. Perhaps, the fight initiated by Mercutio that unfortunate day was foreseeable: could it be that Romeo was destined to be banished? A further example of fate intervening is when Romeo kills Tybalt and recognizes that fate has been using him as a toy.
Quote Act 3 Scene 1 lines 136
This act causes Romeo's exile, which enables fate to interfere later.
"Who now the price of his dear blood doth owe?"
An additional example of fate intervening is during the scheduling of the wedding between Paris and Juliet. Juliet is in morning over the loss of her cousin Tybalt and for losing her new husband Romeo to exile. The day is agreed for Thursday.
Quote Act 3 Scene 4 Lines 19-20
Monday’ ha ha well, Wednesday is too soon.
Another example of fate being evident is when the servant turns up at the same time as Romeo and Benvolio are talking to each other.
The servant was told by Capulet to deliver the invitation but couldn't read them.
I do not think there is one single person who is wholly to blame but Friar
Laurence plays a large part in the tragedy, mainly through his complicated Plans, which needed precise timing, and in the end simply did not happen. Romeo did not receive the letter, so when he heard the bad news from Balthazar, he thought Juliet was really dead.
In my conclusion, Romeo and Juliet killed themselves because their judgment told them it was the only thing to do. As a result it was not entirely fate that leads to Romeo and neither Juliet committing neither suicide, nor chance, nor a Decision made by a particular character, but a combination of many Factors. We are not offered a simple solution in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, and whether it was their destiny, misadventure, coincidence, or Choices made by certain characters, we cannot blame the deaths of Romeo and Juliet on one aspect.
