Right from the start of the play, in the Prologue, Romeo and Juliet are portrayed as “star-crossed” and their love is “death-marked”. This tells the audience that during the course of the play, all will not run smoothly, and for Romeo and Juliet, the outcome of their love will be tragic.
Act 1 Scene 2 contains the first example of Fate. Romeo reads a list of invites to a party of the Capulets. It just so happens that the servant had news of the party. This is actually quite an important part in the play. It leads to Romeo meeting Juliet.
Toward the end of Act 1 Scene 4, an example of fate and destiny is mentioned by Romeo: “I fear, too early: for my mind misgives
Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars,”
This is showing that Romeo believes a turn of events is going to turn to his tragic death. A point of key diction in this is “fear”. He fears something. “Mind misgives” is another piece of key diction, saying he is unsure of something. Bearing in mind that the stars supposedly control fate of people, he says, “hanging in the stars”. The stars have something planned.
In Act 1 Scene5, Romeo and Juliet meet and talk in a sonnet form:
ROMEO: If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy Shrine, the gentler sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss
The rest of what is said forms a sonnet, a typical love poem, used to express lover’s words. This is love at first sight, which shows that there is going to be fate and tragedy as main themes in the play. Religious imagery is used to add to the impact of love at first sight.
Romeo uses light imagery toward Juliet in Act 2 Scene 2. A quote: “What Light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” He compares Juliet to the sun in order to express his love towards her. It’s as if she is as valuable as the sun to him.
Juliet’s nurse unknowingly states warnings of the future about Juliet in Act 2 Scene 4. She talks of Juliet being pale, as if she were dead: “she looks as pale as any clout in the versal world” She also links Romeo with rosemary, the flower of remembrance: “Doth not `rosemary` and `Romeo` begin both with a letter”. These are references to fate as they actually do end up happening, and these events would seemingly not be a coincidence if they were already mentioned before they happen.
Act 3 Scene 2, has Juliet saying another reference to fate:
“Give me my Romeo; and when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine”
This gives the thought that Juliet believes Romeo is going to die by destiny.
Tybalt killing Mercutio in Act 3 Scene 1 is an example of fate in the play. It is set on a mercilessly hot day, where tempers are frayed and fiery Tybalt is out looking for a fight with Romeo. Fate is involved in Mercutio’s death. After all, he was not the man Tybalt set out to kill. Because Romeo had just got married, Mercutio thought he was being cowardly and had a fight with Tybalt to defend Romeo’s honour. If it hadn’t been for Mercutio beginning this brawl, perhaps Romeo would not have ended killing Tybalt, and therefore starting the events, which led to the conclusion.
Upon Romeo killing Tybalt, in the same Scene, Romeo says, “O, I am fortune’s fool.” This emphasises Romeo’s belief that the Stars are controlling his actions.
When Friar Lawrence helped Juliet over her problem with Paris, he ended up leading to both of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. If it hadn’t been for Juliet’s parents wanting her to marry Paris, then she would not have had to take the potion. It was her parents wanting her to marry Paris that made her have trouble.
Romeo gives a reference to fate in Act 5 Scene 1. He yells, “Then I defy you, stars!” By saying this, he means that he does not believe that the stars, which are supposed to be controlling fate, have let this happen. This is a very important point in the play.
To answer the question, “Is the tragedy of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet a matter of fate or coincidence?”, the references to fate that the characters mention is very useful. The answer here is, the tragedy is a matter of fate. Although it was started off by one coincidence, the rest of the events were pointing in the direction of fate. Each event happened with some sort of reason shown earlier in the play. It is also possible to question, would Shakespeare write a play based on coincidence rather than fate at a time when fate was so widely believed in?
