On the way to the party, Romeo has a premonition that something bad is going and it will end in death. Lines 107-109
“Some consequences yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night revels, and expire the term
Of a despised life clos’d in my breast,
By some vile forfeit of untimely death”
After Romeo and Juliet marry, Romeo finds a street fight beginning. Tybalt and Mercutio fight and Mercutio is killed. Romeo fights for Mercutios honor and by chance beats Tybalt. Romeo did not want to fight as he is now Tybalts family:
“Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee
Doth much excuse the appertaining rage
To such a greeting. Villain am I none;
Therefore farewell, I see thou knowest me not”
This is fate because Mercutio and were going to go inside. After this fight Romeo is banished, and blames fate for what has happened. He also hints that more bad things are going to happen. III1 115-116
“This day’s black fate on more days doth depend,
This but begins the woe others must end”
In III5 Romeo leaves Juliet after their wedding night. Juliet has a premonition where she finds Romeo dead the next time she sees him. Lines 54-56
“O God, I have an ill-divining soul:
Me think I see thee now, thou are so low
As one dead in the bottom of a tomb”
Romeo also has a premonition in act 5,
“I dreamt my lady came and found me dead”
These premonitions do come true, however Romeo and Juliet do not do a lot to shop them from happening.
At the end of the play Friar Lawrence says that fate has ruined all their plans and there was nothing they could so to stop it. Act 5 scene 3 lines 153-154.
“A greater power then we can contradict
Hath thwarted our intents”
Juliet is not as involved as much as she should be. However Juliet tells Romeo not to go to fast, but then suggests they get married. II1 line 144-145
“Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow
By one that I’ll procure to come to thee,”
Also she follows the Friars plan; to pretend she is dead so she can run away with Romeo. Instead of saying it will not work.
Romeos immaturity gets him into trouble. He thinks he is in love with Rosaline, and locks himself in his bedroom because he can not be with her. His shows he is not sure about himself, and he does not know how to tell people how he feels. I1 lines 132-134
“And private in his chamber pens himself
Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out,
And makes himself an artificial night:”
In I1 Romeo talks about love and hate mixing together, so nothing is certain anymore. Romeo’s emotional confusion leads him to use oxymorons, which is phrases made up of opposites. These representations of Romeo’s confusion are shown throughout the play. Verona is chaotic because of the two families, so Romeo is confused because his feelings are in disorder. Line 174:
“Feather of lead, bright smoke, coke fire, sick health”
His weakness is that his heart rules his head. He does not want to kill Tybalt because he is Juliet’s cousin, but when Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeos anger lends him to kill Tybalt.
Friar Lawrence lets Romeo and Juliet marry even though he knows the two families are enemies, but he thinks it will stop the feud. II3 line 91-92
“For this alliance may so happy prove
To turn your household rancor into pure love”
In act four the friar makes a plan to give Juliet a potion to make her look as if she is dead so that her father can not arrange her marriage to Paris, and so Romeo can take Juliet away. Lines 94-98
“And this distilling liquor drink thou off,
When presently though all thy reins shall run
A cold and drowsy humour; for no pulse
Shall keep his native progress, but surcease;
No warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest”
Another person who knows about the wedding is the nurse. She passes messages on for Romeo and Juliet. II4 lines 149-150
“Told you, my young lady bid me to enquire you out; what
She bid me say”
The nurse loves Juliet so much that she wants Juliet to be happy. She gives Juliet advice to do what her heart says, but then tells her to do as her father says. This confuses Juliet and leads her into following the friar’s plan.
Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin. He has a fiery temper and loves to fight. It does not help that he is a good swordsman. When Romeo turns up at the Capulets party it begins to make Tybalt angry. I5 lines 74-75
“It fits when such a villain is a guest:
I’ll not endure him”
Later Tybalt anger leads him to challenge Romeo to a duel III1 line 64
“That thou hast done me, therefore turn and draw”
After the fight Mercutio and Tybalt are dead. The prince enters and does not do what he said he would do if there was another fight. I1 lines 90-91
“If you ever disturb our streets again
Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace”
Comparing this scene to I 1 you can see in both scenes Tybalt is fighting a Montague, when the older generation and prince enter. This time however they arrive to late. This could be blamed on fate.
Instead of killing Romeo he banishes him. He does not keep to his word. Banishment is a problem for Romeo because Juliet lives in Verona. Near the end of the play the prince acknowledges he should have done more to keep the peace with these two families, so Romeo and Juliet did not have to live in secret. Act five scene three lines 294-295.
“And I, for winking at your discords, too,
Have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished.”
Another factor is Romeo and Juliet’s love. Right from the start the couple are in harmony and speak a sonnet together. I5 lines 92-105. In this sonnet they talk about religions imagery but most of what they are saying concerns the human body. The sonnet also isolates the rest of the characters from the rest of the scene, so it feels that Romeo and Juliet are meant to find each other.
The couplet decide to marry although they have only just met, Friar Lawrence warns Romeo about there haste. II3 line 94
“Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast.”
The friar thinks their love is two strong and will end badly. II6 lines 9-11.
“These violent delights have violent ends,
And in their triumph die like fire and power,
Which as they kiss consume”
At the end of III5 Juliet decides to see Friar Lawrence to get help or to kill herself. Their love is so strong they are prepared to die for each other. Lines 241-242:
“I’ll to the friar to know his remedy;
If all else fail, myself have power to die”
The last factor is the feud. The feud is long standing and increases Romeo and Juliet’s isolation. It also makes the couplet make rash decisions without thinking it through. The secrets from Juliet’s parents means Juliet can not talk about her marriage to Romeo so make a plan, which leads to her death.
I believe that the factor most responsible for the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet is fate. This is because if it was not for fate, Romeo and Juliet would not have met in the first place. From the very start Romeo and Juliet are described as fated for disaster. The overall structure of the play produces a feeling of predictability about the ending. Romeo and Juliet can never escape because, just when things are going well, new disaster strikes.
