The Friar, Romeo’s friend and assistant of Juliet in her final plan, changed the course of events by helping the young couple in their plans to marry and assisting Juliet in her scheme or plan to be with Romeo once again. If the Friar had not agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, it is possible that the couple would have given up on the idea of being together. On the other hand, Romeo and Juliet may have been fated to marry and would have got married one way or another no matter what the Friar’s decision.
If the Friar had not suggested his dramatic plan to the desperate Juliet, she may never have seen Romeo again and the Romeo and Juliet would have stayed alive. However, that if Juliet had not had the chance to see Romeo again she would have committed suicide anyway.
Tybalt, the cousin of Juliet and enemy of the Montague household, changed the course of events by agreeing to fight Romeo in town. If Tybalt had not deliberately started to make fun of Mercutio, the two would not have got into their duel and Romeo may have been safe from the threat of banishment.
Romeo, the youngest son of Lord and Lady Montague and Juliet’s husband, was in fact a major influence on the events leading up to the deaths of him and his young wife. Romeo acts too hastily throughout the play: he shouldn't have asked Juliet to marry him so suddenly, and he should have thought more carefully before rushing back to Verona after hearing of Juliet's death. Romeo also acted violently and without thinking when he killed Tybalt and later, Paris. Perhaps if he had thought about what he was doing a little more before acting, the deaths of him and Juliet would have been prevented.
Juliet, the beloved daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet and Romeo’s lover, was also a major influence on the events leading up to the deaths of her and her husband. Juliet shouldn't have deceived and disobeyed her parents, and, like Romeo, she was too hasty in rushing into marriage. She was already engaged to marry Paris at the time of the ball, and until then, had been very happy with her parents choice. If Juliet had not been so fickle as to fall in love with Romeo on the night of the party, they both may still have kept their lives.
Some people argue that Shakespeare wanted us to believe this was the case in Romeo and Juliet, and several quotations from the play can support this view. The first example of a reference to fate is in the prologue, at the very start of the play.
‘From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;
Whole misadventure piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.’
This quotation tells us that even from the very beginning, the young couple were doomed or destined to die. ‘Star-crossed’ refers to the astrological outlook on destiny that was much more accepted when Shakespeare wrote his play. By including this line so early in the play, Shakespeare creates a sense of anticipation in the audience. From the start they know what the eventual outcome will be, but the questions of ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ are only answered as the play progresses.
Another example of one of the characters from the play referring to fate is when Mercutio attempts to make Romeo go to the Capulet dance. Romeo eventually agrees, but he still feels uneasy,
“I fear, too early: for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date”.
This second reference shows that Romeo never felt happy with the idea of going to the Capulet party in the first place. If he had trusted his instincts and refused to go, the deaths of the two lovers may have been averted. By including these lines, Shakespeare suggests to the audience that the destiny of Romeo and Juliet was, in fact, fated.
After the Capulet party, Juliet refers to fate once realising that Romeo is a Montague:
“My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathed enemy.”
Juliet suggests that the meeting of the two young lovers was perhaps too extraordinary to be solely based on coincidence. By including these lines, Shakespeare increases the tension in the audience by giving a clue as to how the lovers will meet their deaths.
Friar Lawrence refers to fate when he is told that Romeo did not receive his vitally important letter.
“Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood,
The letter was not nice but full of charge
Of dear import…”
This quotation displays the worry of the Friar as he realises the disastrous consequences that could unfold if Romeo does not receive his letter in time. Shakespeare could have phrased this sentence differently to place the blame upon the messenger, but instead he expresses it as though it was the fault of fortune. This is a prime example of the beliefs concerning fate in the 16th century. A final example of one of the characters from the play referring to fate is when Friar Lawrence is talking to Juliet shortly before she stabs herself:
“A greater power than we can contradict
Hath thwarted our intents.”
The ‘greater power’ that Friar Lawrence refers to is, of course, fate. His statement does not make Juliet feel any better however, as she commits suicide!
Shakespeare again chooses to place the blame on a higher power rather than an individual, signifying his desire to make the audience believe that no one person or thing was responsible for the deaths Romeo and Juliet but fate. After looking at the two viewpoints as to who was to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, the countless references to fortune and fate make it easy to conclude that Fate was to a great extent responsible. It seems that Shakespeare meant for his audience to see that what ever was happening in play was influenced by some higher power, and if fate really does control everything about our lives then it would be sensible to assume that the actions of all the characters in the play were also fated.
