Fate can be observed through a series of unfortunate circumstances which occur throughout the play. During Act 1, Scene 2, where the Capulet’s are organising a feast, it is by chance that when one of their servants, Peter, could not read the invitation list that he asks Romeo to read it aloud. Romeo notices Rosaline’s name and this inspires him to attend the Capulet feast, where he meets Juliet and falls in love with her. It is also chance that places Juliet on the balcony and Romeo below it at the same time during Act 2, Scene 2, when Juliet is sharing her private thoughts about her feelings for Romeo. By the end of their dialogue, they acknowledge their love. Certainly it is a cruel coincidence that makes Friar John unable to reach Mantua in time to tell Romeo the truth about the plan that Friar Lawrence organised, regarding the poisoning of Juliet so as to prevent her arranged marriage to Paris. This set of circumstance leads to Romeo committing suicide just before Juliet awakes, which, though dramatically successful, is also a tragic coincidence. It is through this chain of circumstances that we feel the lovers are at the mercy of a force outside of themselves.
Shakespeare also uses fate to affect the attitudes of characters throughout the play. The characters themselves believe that their lives are controlled by destiny and luck with Romeo and Juliet being prime examples of this. When Romeo and his friends journey to the Capulet’s ball in Act 1, Scene 4, Romeo hesitates to go because he had experienced a bad dream.
“Romeo Some consequences, yet hanging in the stars,
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date…
But he that hath the steerage of my course…” (A1 S4 106 -111)
Juliet also believes in the power of fate and appeals to fortune when Romeo is banished to Mantua in Act 3, Scene 5.
“Juliet O fortune, fortune! All men call thee fickle…
That is renowned for faith? Be fickle, fortune, …
But send him back.” (A3 S5 60 – 64)
Romeo not only acknowledges the power of the stars, which tell what fate has in store through astrology, but he also believes that his destiny is to die. The last line of his quote above suggests that Romeo knows that he does not have control over his life and looks to
another power above him for direction, such as fate. He sees everything conspiring against him to make his life a tragedy and that fate is guiding his actions. Juliet demonstrates that she not only believes in the power of luck and fate over her own situation, but that Romeo himself has faith in those concepts. The fact that these characters believe so strongly in fate and fortune was not surprising given the time period. Faith in destiny and luck was typical in Elizabethan culture and Shakespearean audiences would not have questioned the dominance of these concepts in the lives of the characters.
Shakespeare uses figurative language to highlight the concept of fate throughout the play. During Act 3, Scene 1, when Romeo is attempting to stop the sword fighting between Mercutio and Tybalt, but unfortunately Mercutio is fatally stabbed, Romeo refers to the day’s ‘black fate’.
“Romeo This day’s black fate
on more days doth depend. This
begins the woe others must end.” (A3 S5 115 – 116)
This type of language is referring to the day having a negative fate hanging over it, on which the future will be affected by it, and in this respect Romeo was ‘dead’ right.
The uses of images, such as the stars and planets have been employed by Shakespeare to further develop the ideas of fate and fortune. These images frequently refer to fate, in that the movement of heavenly planets were supposed to affect human actions. In the opening of the play, Shakespeare introduces the idea of fate through the reference to the stars, when describing the relationship of Romeo and Juliet.
“Chorus A pair of star-cross’d
lovers take their life…” (Prologue 6)
This type of image is referring to the concept of fate as stars were commonly associated with fate and destiny during Elizabethan times. The lovers were doomed from birth because of the positioning of the planets at that time.
Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet’s lives are governed and ended by the fate which brought them together and ignited their love. Fate was interwoven into the play at various levels. It had manifested itself through a series of unfortunate circumstances and coincidences. Shakespeare cleverly used imagery of stars and planets together with a style of figurative language to highlight the themes of fate and chance. Romeo and Juliet were doomed because their beliefs that fate was controlling their every move, ultimately cost them their lives. These aspects would seem to indicate that the power of fate over humanity is unbreakable, and even the power of love cannot overcome it.