All the way throughout the play we are told via comments by Romeo and Juliet that their life is going to end in death; for instance in Act III Scene V, where Juliet unwittingly predicts exactly what will happen in the play:
"Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb".
And also in Act II Scene VI, Romeo rashly challenges death while talking to Friar Laurence about the marriage of himself and Juliet:
"Then love-devouring death do what he dare"
These are all examples of dramatic irony from the play. Romeo and Juliet do not realise that what they are saying is the eventual outcome of their lives. Similarly, another example would be when Romeo talks about a dream which he had while in Mantua:
"I dreamt my lady came and found me dead"
Romeo unquestionably believes in fate, and is often very superstitious throughout the play. When he is on his way with his friends to the Capulet’s party, he has a premonition that something dreadful will ensue if he attends the party:
“ My mind missives some consequence yet hanging in the stars, shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this night’s revels”
Romeo believes that the things which he does in the course of life are not under is control. He seems to believe that he is destined to do certain things. An example of this would be when Romeo has his revenge on Tybalt for killing his best friend, Mercutio. As soon as Romeo has killed Tybalt, he realises that what he did was fate, and that he was destined to kill him. He feels as though is purely a puppet and is just acting out the things which he is fated to do:
“O, I am fortune’s fool.”
Romeo often tries to defy the stars and change the course of his life throughout the play. For instance in Mantua, when Balthasar delivers the sad news of Juliet’s death, Romeo’s response is swift and simple, “Is it even so? Then I defy you, stars!” This shows that in an instant, Romeo has made his decision. He is defying fate by refusing to mourn his lover’s death. He will win a victory in his struggle with the stars by joining Juliet in death.
Another example of this would be when Romeo is in the Capulet tomb lying with Juliet. Moments before he kills himself, Romeo gazes upon Juliet and says, “O, here, will I set up my everlasting rest. And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars. From this world-wearied flesh.” This means that Romeo will take his chances on death, where he hopes to be at peace, his body free at last from the doom of the baleful stars.
In the play, Juliet often unwittingly predicts the future without her knowledge. For instance when Capulet’s party is breaking up, Juliet sends the nurse to find out Romeo’s name. As the nurse chases after Romeo, Juliet says, “If he be married, my grave is likely to be my wedding bed.” She means that if Romeo is married, she will die unmarried, because she will never marry another, but she is also unknowingly foreshadowing her fate, in which her grave does become her wedding bed.
Romeo and Juliet’s lives were told to be fate, but if certain characters made different decisions throughout this story, Romeo and Juliet may have not died at all. If things were done differently this play may not have ended the way it did.
Mercutio could have been blamed for the tragedy. The reason he could have been blamed is for convincing Romeo to go to the ball. Romeo at first did not want to go to the ball as he dreamed that it wasn’t a good idea to go to the party, but the continuous teasing from Mercutio forces Romeo into reluctantly agreeing to attend the party.
Romeo: ‘I dreamt a dream tonight.’
Mercutio: ‘And so did I.’
Romeo: ‘Well what was yours?’
Mercutio:’That dreamers often lie.’
If Romeo had not been persuaded into going with Mercutio to the ball he would not have seen Juliet that night and their deaths could have been avoided.
Juliet's Nurse could also be blamed for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse had a very close relationship with Juliet, even closer than the relationship Juliet had with her mother so it was obvious Juliet would listen to the Nurse very closely. Yet the Nurse failed to give young Juliet guidance on her infatuation with Romeo. An example of this would be when the Nurse informs Juliet of Romeo’s plans of a secret marriage in Friar Laurence’s cell.
“Then hie you hence to Friar Laurence’ cell. There stays a husband to make you a wife.
If the Nurse had told Juliet not to go through with the wedding with Romeo, Juliet may have listened to her because of the closeness between them, and Juliet may not have died.
Another person that could be blamed for the tragedy is Friar Laurence. Friar Laurence is a very decisive character in the play, as he is the local priest who secretly marries Romeo and Juliet. Friar Laurence thinks that by marrying the young couple, it will bring an end to the feuding between the two houses:
“In one respect I’ll thy assistant be. For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your household rancour to pure love”
As an adult man, priest, and even friend, you would expect him to give guidance to the young lovers, yet he fails to do this. He seems scared of fate, as it is a ‘greater power than we can contradict.’
The second reason that he could be blamed for, was the plan of the poison at the end of the play. It would make Juliet seem as though she was dead for forty-eight hours,
"And this distilled liquor drink thou off…shall run a cold and drowsy humour.”
In my opinion the person to blame was Friar Laurence. I think he was to blame firstly because of the marriage between Romeo and Juliet, and secondly because of the poison plan. Friar Laurence doesn’t seem to think all of his plans through down to every last possibility, so he in my opinion, should be blamed as an alternative to fate, for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
There are also many other reasons for tragedy in Romeo and Juliet. For instance, the great feud between the two families. This feud forces the young couple to meet in secret, and to marry in secret. Their love is a forbidden one. The feud also causes death before the play has begun. The prince tells us this is the “third civil brawl” resulting from this feud in recent days, and that all three forced the families to return to their graveyards.
One of the main reasons for tragedy in this play, as an alternative to fate, would be Romeo’s fatal character flaw.
Romeo’s impetuosity and spontaneity is very obvious in his rash and hotheaded revenge on Tybalt after his friend, Mercutio, is slain. Romeo’s reaction to Tybalt’s return is not considered. Romeo may think he is being a hero, and a loyal friend, yet he is merely being foolish and hasty:
‘Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again,
that late thou gavest me; for Mercutio's soul
is but a little way above our heads,
Staying for thine to keep him company:
Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him.’
This reaction proves Romeo’s impulsiveness, his hamartia in Aristotle’s terms, his fatal character flaw and a cause of the tragic outcome.
Romeo’s impetuosity (his hamartia) is very clear in his actions subsequent to falling in love with Juliet at her father’s party. He darts to the Capulet garden in the hope of catching a glimpse of his new love, despite the fact that, as a Montague, if he were caught, his life would be in serious danger. Juliet points out the risk that he is taking just to see her:
“If they do see thee, they will murder thee.”
Romeo’s reply (“there lies more peril in thine eye/then twenty of their swords”) confirms the fact that he lacks any practical sense in his headfirst hurry to be with Juliet.
In Act V, you see that Romeo is as impetuous as he always is. When he is told about the death of his love (Juliet) by his servant Balthasar, he reacts with an instantaneous intention to return to Verona, telling Balthasar to “hire post houses” for he will “hence tonight.” Balthasar advises him to “have patience” but Romeo is too stubborn to take his advice. Romeo brings about the end of his life due to his impatient character. He never thinks before his actions and doesn’t even begin to consider the consequences of what he is doing.
Another reason for tragedy in this play would be impatience. The entire play takes only four days. There is a sense of urgency and rushing throughout the play. For example, Romeo and Juliet marry on the second day that they have met. When Romeo tells Friar Laurence that he wishes to be wed with Juliet, Friar Laurence is shocked at Romeo’s change of heart, so soon after he falls in love with Rosaline:
“Holy Saint Francis! What a change is here! Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken?”
This shows that even Friar Laurence is shocked at the sense of urgency in Romeo’s mind to be married. If Romeo could just slow down and think of the consequences of his actions, and whether or not he was ready for marriage, the play may not of ended in tragedy.
Another example would be when Friar Laurence urges Juliet to hurry and run from the tomb. When she refuses to do this, he does, which leaves her in great danger from her own self:
Friar Laurence: “Come, go, good Juliet. I dare stay no longer.”
Juliet: “Go, get thee hence, for I will not away.”
Friar Laurence doesn’t even stop and imagine of the state that Juliet is in. If he was to slow down and think, he would realise that Juliet is in no position to be left alone, having just lost the love of her life.
Fate seems to guide people towards their destinies. In my opinion, all people have destinies, and they can’t control what happens in their lives. A person can only try and prevent the worst from happening. Sometimes bad things do happen, but fate will always bring people together. In my view, Romeo and Juliet met by fate, not by chance, ther lives where governed by fate, but they did have some control over the outcome of their lives. In my view, fate was the principle reason for the tragic outcome of Romeo and Juliet. The outcome of the play was made worse due to the flaws of character in the protagonists. Fate couldn’t be avoided, but if the protagonists had done things differently, the outcome of the play wouldn’t be as tragic.
One often wonders if the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet could have been avoided , without the seemingly vital need for bloodshed. Could Romeo have not acted too hastily throughout the play, or Juliet, not have deceived and disobeyed her parents? The answer is that the tragedy was not the fault of any one individual , it was fate that Romeo and Juliet met and fell in love, and fate that they departed.
"A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardoned, and some punished:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
