What Role Does Fate Play In the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?
WHAT ROLE DOES FATE PLAY IN THE TRAGEDY OF ROMEO AND JULIET?
Chris Howland 10L
Fate plays a main part in the play of Romeo and Juliet, but before we can judge this, we must first answer the question; what is fate? According to the dictionary, fate is 'power predetermining events unalterably from eternity' or, in simpler terms, 'what is destined to happen.' This is sometimes said to be the main contributor to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, and in some ways it is, but the way the other characters act could also have helped bring the 'star crossed lovers' lives to an end.
First we will look at the role of fate, and how it plans out the young couple's lives. References to fate are made from the very start of the play; the first in the prologue;
'From forth the fatal loins of these two foes,
A pair of star-crossed lovers takes their lives;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents strife.'
This shows that even from the very start of the play, the two young lovers were doomed or ill fated. The quotation 'star crossed lovers' refers to astrology, which is the 'art of judging reputed occult influence of stars, planets e.t.c. on human affairs.' This was very widely accepted when Shakespeare wrote his plays, and was linked to witchcraft that was a crime in the 16th and 17th centuries.
However, the two most distinct outlines to fate are said by the two main characters; first Romeo then Juliet.
In Act I Scene 4, Romeo is anxious about attending the Capulet's party. He looks uneasily into the future and has a premonition of death. His tone is ominous, filled with foreboding and he uses legal language by prophesying that his untimely death will result from what begins tonight, at the Capulet's feast. However, after much persuasion, he still goes, leaving God to direct his future.
'I fear too early, for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night's revels, and expire the term
Of a despisèd life closed in my breast.'
The second quotation, said by Juliet in Act I Scene 5, is when she finds out that Romeo is from the opposing household. She finds it too hard to believe that their meeting was purely by coincidence, and she also says that if she had known who he was earlier, then she wouldn't have fallen in love with him, but feels an evil potent as to what will happen in the future.
'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 loathèd enemy.'
In addition to this, there are many events that indicate how fate plays a part in how the young couple meets, marry and eventually die together. As Romeo is walking along the streets of Verona, a servant with a list of names for invitations asks Romeo to read it for him, as the servant is illiterate. Romeo discovers that Rosaline is going, ...
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'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 loathèd enemy.'
In addition to this, there are many events that indicate how fate plays a part in how the young couple meets, marry and eventually die together. As Romeo is walking along the streets of Verona, a servant with a list of names for invitations asks Romeo to read it for him, as the servant is illiterate. Romeo discovers that Rosaline is going, and the group decides to gatecrash the party. If the servant had been able to read, he would have walked straight past Romeo, and Romeo would never have gone to the feast, nor met Juliet.
Another of the large factors in the fate of the young couple is the fight scene. It is a hot day, so the characters' tempers are frayed. It is the day after the group of Montagues gatecrashed the Capulet party, and so Tybalt still wants revenge. He is looking for Romeo, but because he is not there, Mercutio taunts him, which is the beginning of the brawl. If Romeo had got to the streets earlier, he may have been able to calm Tybalt down, and there would have never been a fight. Also, if he had turned up later than he did, or not at all, then he would never have tried to intervene, or accidentally killed Mercutio. Either way, Romeo turned up at the wrong time, and made things a lot more damaging.
After this, Tybalt returns to have battle with Romeo, which results in Tybalt's death. Romeo is found guilty of murder, and the Prince banishes him from Verona. If the Prince was to have Romeo killed, instead of banished, then Juliet would not have had to take the potion, and she would have married Paris. However, this may not have happened, as Juliet may have taken her own life after Romeo's death, due to depression or just to be with him. We simply do not know.
After Juliet has decided to use the potion, a note is sent from Friar Lawrance to Romeo by another Friar. However, Friar John is held up, as the house that he stays in, is infected by the Plague, and he cannot leave until it is treated. He returns without delivering the note, and so Romeo does not know of the procedure. Nevertheless, even if Friar John managed to get the letter to Romeo in time, it still may have been too late, as Lord Capulet brought the marriage of Juliet and Paris forward by a day. This meant Juliet had to consume the potion prematurely, and there was less time for everything to materialise. This is another large example of fate.
The last incident is right at the end of the play, when Romeo takes the poison. He takes it just before Juliet wakes up, and after seeing her sweethearts deceased body, takes her own life. If Juliet had risen a little earlier, the young couple would have been re-united.
It could be said that the lovers' deaths were caused by the mistakes of both them, and the other characters in the play, and it was nothing to do with fate. The four characters that manipulate the tragic path of the pair, apart from Romeo and Juliet themselves, are the Nurse, Friar Lawrance, Tybalt and Mercutio.
I will first discuss Mercutio's involvement, as one of Romeo's friends and as a supporter of the Montague household. It is Mercutio who persuades Romeo to attend the Capulet feast, where the whole tragedy begins. If he had not influenced Romeo to go to the masquerade, the two lovers would not have met, and their unfortunate deaths would have been evaded. Also, if he had not taunted Tybalt in the streets of Verona, Romeo would never have got involved, and would never have therefore been banished. However, this fight may have been unavoidable, and Romeo was destined to be exiled.
Next, I will consider Tybalt's association with the destiny of Romeo and Juliet. Tybalt is the cousin of Juliet and the arch-enemy of the Montague family. If he had not mocked Mercutio in the town, Mercutio the two would never have got into a brawl, and Romeo wouldn't have been exiled.
The Nurse, Juliet's servant and confidante, plays a substantial role in the destiny of Romeo and Juliet, by arranging the marriage and going behind her employer's back. She has one of the main roles all of the way through the play, and if she had not acted as Juliet's messenger, Juliet may have abandoned the idea of her marriage to Romeo, and deaths of the pair may have been averted. Also, in Act II Scene 4, the Nurse unknowingly states warnings of the future. She talks of Juliet being pale, as if she were dead and she links Romeo with Rosemary, the flower of Remembrance.
Another of the main contributors to the misfortune of the young lovers is Friar Lawrance. He is Romeo's friend and Juliet's accomplice during her last night. He changes the course of events by knowingly going against the Capulets and Montagues, and marrying Romeo and Juliet. If he had not done this the two may not have married or died together. However, Romeo may have been fated to meet Juliet, and the events may have passed regardless of the Friar's judgement. The Friar also helped Juliet overcome her predicament by giving her the potion. If he had not done this, Romeo and Juliet would have lived, though in depression and down-heartedness. It seems that every time the Friar thinks of a plan to help Romeo and Juliet, fate intervenes to spoil it.
I will now look at a couple of scenes to see how events in them lead to other affairs.
In Act II Scene 3, we first meet Friar Lawrance. He is gathering plants and herbs that will be used to make potions. The speech is full of contrasts (morn/night, clouds/light, womb/tomb, and virtue/vice.) Many of these are comparisons with life and death, for example; clouds are to do with darkness and death, whereas light shows life. The Friar speaks about how the plants are able to do good or evil, depending on how they are used. One is a poison if eaten, or a tonic if smelled. This points forward to the Friars use of a potion to put Juliet to sleep, and Romeo's use of a potion to take his own life. This is another example of foreshadowing.
In Act II Scene 6, Romeo and Juliet are just about to get married. This should be a joyful occasion, but many of the lines remind us of the lovers' tragic destiny. Friar Lawrance hopes that sorrow will not follow Romeo and Juliet's wedding, and he warns that 'violent delights have violent ends.' Romeo also defies 'love devouring death' to do what it can to spoil his happiness. This shows Romeo standing up to fate, which he does quite a lot during the play. At the end of Act I Scene 4, he ignores the warnings of his dream, and deliberately challenges death. Also, in Act V Scene 1, when he hears of Juliet's death, he declares 'then I defy you stars!' Even today some people may say that Romeo is tempting fate.
After looking at the role of fate, and of the other characters, we may still be able to assume that the destiny of Romeo and Juliet was brought about only by themselves. With this in mind I will now take a brief look at both of them.
Romeo, the son of Lord and Lady Montague was a great influence of the events leading up to the deaths of both him and his bride. He acts impulsively with Juliet and does not once stop to think of the consequences of his dramatic behaviour. He meets Juliet on the Sunday evening, and is married to her by the Monday afternoon. This is also shown when he retaliates to Mercutio's death by murdering Tybalt, and later by killing Paris. Possibly, if Romeo had thought more about his actions, the deaths of him and Juliet could have been averted.
Juliet, the daughter of Lord and Lady Capulet was also a large influence on the events of the play. At the Capulet's feast, she was already engaged to Paris, and she was happy with him being her husband until Romeo arrived on the scene. If she had not lied to and deceived her parents, nor married Romeo so hastily, things would have been different. If she had not been so picky and had not fallen in love with Romeo so quickly, maybe the deaths of her and Romeo could have been averted.
After considering all of the factors that could have altered the line of events, I can conclude that both the actions of others, and fate were both very big factors in the play of Romeo and Juliet. The many references to fate make it simple to see that this was a very large factor and mainly responsible for the deaths of the star crossed lovers, and we could also say that fate intervened in the characters actions to make them carry out what they did. Fate is a very important factor in Shakespeare's plays, and it seems that even the simple lives of normal people can be turned around by this higher energy.
