To What Extent Were Romeo And Juliet Fated To Die?

Using References to Aristotle’s Poetics, the Belief and Influence of Fate in Elizabethan Works and the Reference to Fate in The Play

A definition of fate would be the power that is supposed to settle ahead of time how things will happen. In the famous play Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare, the two young lovers ended up becoming a large part of what could be called fate. This ultimate power seemed to control their lives and it forced them together. I think it was fate however which ended their parents hatred for each other, some people say if it wasn’t for the unexpected fate, Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t have both died in the tragic way which they did. In this essay I am aiming to come to a conclusion, in deciding to what extent were Romeo and Juliet fated to die. Was it fate, a tragedy or both linked together? They have different meanings and both could be a possible way to describe the play. Tragedy centres more on one main character, which by the end has usually died, ‘the fall of a hero.’ Many tragedies are painful for the audience to watch and often people believe if there are no values i.e. a moral/religion involved, then there can be no tragedy. Does Romeo and Juliet fit these guidelines?

Aristotle is a Greek playwright. He came up with his own criteria of what he thinks a tragedy should be. Aristotle believes the most important ingredients of a tragedy, is that there should be a stable plot, which is the most important feature of a tragedy. It should be complete with each action leading to the next, so they are able to connect in a realistic way and the play needs to be of a certain length. The character should go from good to bad and needs to be noble, idealized, yet logically constructed. The ending must be beneficial in the way that the audience will leave better for their experience. Lastly, Aristotle finds that tragedies should not be presented in a narrative form, rather more dramatic and less prepared. I am going to describe the moments in the play, Romeo and Juliet, where I feel fate or tragedy has taken place. Then I am able to say whether Aristotle’s theory matches Romeo and Juliet to be a Tragedy.

In Romeo and Juliet, there are many scenes in the play, which prove the existence of fate. Many of them tie into one another and are related to the characters and their feelings. The prologue at the beginning of the play explains to us the story in a basic fourteen lines. Already there are moments of fate- ‘star-crossed lovers take their life.’ The most significant part is how it tells us the end at the beginning. It indicated an unhappy ending from the use of words. I know fate plays an important part in the key events in this play, as it has been mentioned in the chorus and would not have been if not vital. I find it useful the way the opening chorus implies a lot about fate.

I think the first sign of fate in the play is when the illiterate servant of the Capulet family, gives the invite to the Capulet’s ball accidentally to Romeo and Benvolio, as he is unable to read the names. This error resulted into them finding out about the Capulet’s ball, through which they decided to go un-invited. If it was not for the persistent encouragement from Benvolio and the invite, Romeo may never have met Juliet. Do you not agree that this is evidence of fate? I would also say that when Romeo and Benvolio finally turned up at the ball, they were not asked to leave the ball by Capulet. Which I would have expected as throughout the night, Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, spoke to Capulet about Romeo- ‘Tis he that villain Romeo.’ Who desperately wanted him to leave. If he had been asked to leave, again he would never have had the opportunity to meet Juliet and furthermore carry on the relationship. Already I have the feeling that people are signifying the fact that perhaps they shouldn’t be together. Shakespeare may be trying to explain to the audience that something awful will happen, we are already told in the prologue that they both end up dying. Perhaps he is trying to put the message across in a different way, with out actually having to say anything in words. It is a different way to portray a message by using people’s feelings.

One of the most famous scenes in Romeo and Juliet is where they speak to one another over Juliet’s balcony. It is a powerful and romantic moment between the two young lovers. Romeo risks his life to see Juliet. He knows if he is caught, her father, for intruding into the Capulet’s land, will most probably kill him. I think the introduction to fate here has occurred because even before the relationship has started, they new there would be risks. One reason of course being that Juliet is a Capulet and Romeo is a Montague. It is bizarre for ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Romeo and Juliet wanted to marry immediately. They new they were in love and were most certainly prepared to take risks. Even though Juliet thought it was un-real and she didn’t believe you could fall in love so quickly- ‘It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, too like the lightening.’ Never the less, they went to see Friar Lawrence and married immediately. What would have happened if they hadn’t gone to him? Is this just fate that brought them together and brought them to him? Friar Lawrence says some very powerful feelings in this play, some of which are related to deaths and fate. ‘Full soon the canker death eats up that plant.’ He knows and he predicts deaths will occur if the two families don’t sort out their problems soon, unnecessary deaths, he is indeed correct. This quote represents a sign of bad things happening. Then, when things really do go terrible and we realise he is right, it is described even more as a fated play. What else might he predict will happen? Friar Lawrence is a very superstitious and understanding man. He senses when things are wrong, he knew something was troubling Romeo when he wanted to marry- ‘Care keeps his watching every old man’s eye’ ‘Sleep will never lie.’ He wants to be able to help the young couple, however also wants them to be upfront with him otherwise he cant help them.

The nurse is a loving character to Juliet in the play, yet she is also someone who brings humour to the eventful play. Due to her strong love for Juliet, she is desperate to help and get involved with the young couple in their marital arrangements. She instigates the wedding and acts as the ‘go-between.’ This is one character that brings a lot of fate with her into the play. She doesn’t realise what she is causing by helping. In a way I think she is speeding up the play by making the incidences of death more dramatic and tragic. She shows the audience in her own ways how strong their love is and seems as though she is almost in the relationship herself.

Romeo and Tybalt are two main characters which both cause deaths, both die and both cause reasons for fate to occur. In these ways they are fairly similar. For example, Romeo is mature in the sense that he backs down from a fight with Tybalt, but in return for being sensible, his best friend Mercutio is killed. This doesn’t seem fair on Romeo; he is a very unlucky character in this play, in my opinion. Just as we were beginning to think his luck had already run out, more events had been forced together in a very fated way. Beginning with Romeo being banished from Verona, as the Capulet’s found out about Romeo killing Tybalt. Is this fate controlling his life? Why is he constantly being pushed away from his one love?

Fate as I have mentioned many times is a key involvement in this play. There are a few points that have done well through the participation of fate. In other words, fate doesn’t always lead to terrible things, which I assume most people think when structured in a tragic play like Romeo and Juliet. For instance, if Romeo and Juliet hadn’t of died, the Montague’s and Capulet’s would still be arguing after all this time; the feud would be amongst them all possibly years after Romeo and Juliet, leading to many more deaths. They have made peace by living in their romantic lives for a very short time and then dying. We don’t know for certain, nobody has the correct answer but they could still be together somewhere in an afterlife. Perhaps this wasn’t the end for their passionate love; maybe it wasn’t so tragic after all? By looking at it differently, some may even say it was a happy ending.

Capulet and Lady Capulet, Juliet’s parents, were people who played life by the rules. They didn’t seem interested in real feelings and emotions but more ones that were made up and decided by other people. For example, they both were extremely keen for Juliet to marry Paris in the style of an arranged marriage. Considering what Juliet wanted, seeing as it was her life, didn’t really cross their minds. One question which must be asked, what if they hadn’t forced her to marry? Juliet would have felt safer and probably wouldn’t have worried so much about Romeo. She may have eventually told her mother and father about Romeo, who knows? What we do know is that this like may other scenes ties in well with fate and could have resulted in a different ending if they had not been so harsh. Perhaps Romeo and Juliet would still be alive? Juliet certainly wouldn’t have run away and drunk the potion, if her parents weren’t so eager for her to marry. Maybe Capulet and Lady Capulet regret their actions now, even though it’s too late. They could place the blame on themselves for what tragically happened, like many others. It’s not worth grieving over something that has happened, it was a tragedy but other causes that were related to their deaths should be explained. This play must not be blamed completely for the existence of fate.

As I have said, fate is not the only reason this play ended in the somewhat tragic way it did. Other factors involved should be taken into account. One for instance, there has always been a feud between the two families, so incidences therefore are always going to end in violence and deaths. I think Friar Lawrence was wrong in acting in such an unsafe and dangerous way. He was gambling with their lives and shouldn’t have acted in the way he did. All of this drama could be purely down to bad luck and doesn’t necessarily have to be involved in fate. At times, people make it sound like fate because they want it to, when the truth is really being twisted. Finally, I like the nurse as a character but I think with her involvement in the wedding and dishonesty to the Capulet’s about Juliet’s love, Romeo, their deaths could have been prevented if she had been honest right from the start. Now I think I have proved with enough evidence two opinions on the question, to what extend were Romeo and Juliet fated to die. Describing how it could or couldn’t be related to fate. I am going to look into the play at a different point of view now, expressing the feelings of Romeo. I think he believes strongly in fate, I hope to conclude whether or not and how much he was fated to die.

Romeo is one of the main characters in Romeo and Juliet. He acts with a romantic, loving personality who has fallen deeply in love with Juliet, a Capulet. Before Romeo enters the house of the Capulet’s, at the ball, he speaks about an unknown danger ‘hanging in the stars.’ This concept of events expected to occur being written in the stars, explains how life is predetermined by fate, especially in the mind of Romeo.

Near the end of the play, I think the biggest moment of fate finally occurs. It involves Romeo and ultimately ends his and Juliet’s life. Romeo doesn’t receive the letter written by Friar Lawrence explaining Juliet is not dead, just under the influence of a potion so will therefore seem dead. As the letter goes to Romeo in Mantua telling him these important details, he goes back to Verona to see Juliet assuming she is dead and kills himself. This I think is the most moving part of the play. It proves how deep their love really is and when Juliet wakes finding Romeo dead, she kills herself. It seems so unfair and in a way expected to occur, based on their fate.

There are many individual lines in this play said by different people, which I feel represent fate and believe are important. Act 1 Scene 1 Romeo quotes when speaking to the illiterate servant ‘Ay, mine own fortune is a misery.’ I think from this it doesn’t necessarily show his fate but certainly does predict the future in some way. He seems to be saying, even his fortunes, good things to come in life, will still turn out to be miserable. He begins to be a fairly downhearted type of character. When he realised he was not in love with Rosaline, he was very depressed and wouldn’t go out anywhere. Straight away after meeting Juliet in my opinion he changed to a much more lively and interesting character. A little later on after meeting the illiterate servant, in Act 1 Scene 5, Romeo speaks again, this time even more deeply about describing and predicting his fate. ‘Yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date….’ He seems to know that they are going to die; this is said just before they enter the Capulet’s mansion into the ball. One example of how fate played a crucial role in Romeo’s life was during the climax when Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo realises the ‘misfortune’ that he will cause when he says, ‘O, I am fortunes fool!’ (Act 3.) the image of fortune’s wheel symbolises Romeo’s life in that if his luck continues to go downward, it will eventually lead to his death. This prediction comes true in that fate leads to his death. Lastly, another quote from Act 1 Scene 5 this time coming from Juliet. ‘My grave is like my wedding bed.’ I find this quote extremely bizarre as this premonition, or whatever she says it as and means it to be, came true to a certain extent. When she died she was in fact wearing her wedding dress and her new husband laid dead beside her. I think from all of the above quotes it is fair in saying Romeo’s fate played a large part in his romance and life in general.

I would like to be able to briefly explain how fate occurs in other Elizabethan tragedies. For example Hamlet and Macbeth. The plays created during the Elizabethan time mirrored the violence and death that was so common to people of that age. There were many themes in the literature of this age; some of them were betrayal, love ambition and war.

Hamlet loses faith in the world and beliefs in fate when he learns that his uncle, who married his mother, killed his father. For he views fate negatively, we all prefer to disbelieve the unpleasant. Hamlet has many opinions about fate, in some cases he feels strongly against the power but others, allows it to occur. He prefers it if the person creates destiny, ‘whose blood and judgement are so well commeddled.’ Rather than letting destiny shape the person and over take their lives. Hamlet often contemplates suicide in the play because of his fear for something (the ‘undiscovered country.’) This concept of death denies his religious beliefs, consequently denying faith in fate. This was a big influence of fate in the play. Macbeth is a typical Elizabethan play which includes the likes of death, betrayal and power. Macbeth is an example of how fate affects people and is a very important part in the play. He learns how he will be killed and no matter what Macbeth does to try and avoid his fate, he is slain away. Both these plays are good examples of fate and show how they can be presented to the audience in a play, differently to how it is made known in Romeo and Juliet.

Finally to conclude this essay I need to explain whether Aristotle’s criterion of a tragedy fits the play of Romeo and Juliet. As I explained previously the ‘ingredients’ Aristotle believed had to fit into a tragedy, don’t completely match Romeo and Juliet in my opinion. Firstly, Romeo and Juliet was presented in a narrative form, which Aristotle didn’t want in a tragedy. The play clearly begins with a chorus and throughout the play are stage directions and people entering/leaving etc. In numerous circumstances Romeo and Juliet would fit his criteria well. Such as the plot, it was filled with lots of action and character. However ‘the change in the fortune of the protagonist must go from good to bad’ as Aristotle quotes does and doesn’t fit Romeo and Juliet. Romeo being one of the main characters has luck, which goes from good to bad as he meets Juliet but then they both die. At the beginning of the play he doesn’t have any good luck though as he cant find love. It seems to go in some sort of pattern. (Bad to good and back to bad.) His personality doesn’t really change to a huge extent, some people say it becomes better as he is very romantic and loving near the end towards Juliet, others may think he has become more of a nasty person as he killed Tybalt. It is a fifty fifty argument to whether this matches the criteria or not in my opinion. Finally he thinks the ending should be beneficial in the sense that the audience are better off after watching the play. This is true in Romeo and Juliet as I think you learn many lessons about life, one, not to invade into other people’s love and try to resolve problems secretly. Taken as a whole, I would say that Romeo and Juliet doesn’t fit Aristotle’s criteria, as he wants to be strict on everything and in this case not all matters refer to it completely.

My essay has covered many areas of this play, involving Aristotle and different Elizabethan tragedies as well, I have extended the essay and researched more into fate occurring in other Shakespeare plays also.