How far are Romeo and Juliet responsible for their fate?

Juliet is as much to blame for their fate as Romeo. She knows that the relationship will end up in disaster. “That I must love a loathed enemy.”  Juliet still chooses to have a relationship with Romeo even though she knows that the consequences will be fatal. Romeo and Juliet aren’t totally responsible for their own fate you feel that it is out of their control and cannot be stopped.

Romeo and Juliet refer to death as close. Juliet says, “If he be married my grave is like to be my wedding bed.” This is very ironic because her grave is her wedding bed not referring to her and Romeo’s wedding bed but on the day she is supposed to be marrying Paris. Having said this Juliet later on says “I’ll to my wedding bed.” Juliet is talking to the nurse about dying. If her “grave is like to be her wedding bed.” She is clearly saying she is going to commit suicide.

Juliet prophesises how Romeo dies. “Methinks I see thee now thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb.” This is very strange and gives the audience a greater feeling of fate because that is how Romeo dies, at the bottom of a tomb. Romeo also prophesises his death but Juliet’s as well. “I dreamt my lady came and found me dead.” This is ironic because Juliet does find Romeo dead. Romeo doesn’t want this to happen so he places a curse on fate’s actions. “Is it e’en so? Then I defy you stars!” In the Elizabethan times if you defied fate, fate would punish you.

Overall I think that Romeo and Juliet were not responsible for their own fate. Fate was responsible for their tragic end because so any unfortunate events seemed to go against Romeo and Juliet. For example; Juliet waking up just as Romeo dies, the plague in Verona that prevents the message from being taken into Mantua by Friar John and the banishment of Romeo just after the marriage.

Romeo is rash he is fully aware that there is another force at play. “O I am fortunes fool.” He says this just after he kills Tybalt and realises that he has just made a big mistake and will regret it for the rest of his life. Juliet realises that she has no control over her actions, “Alak, alak that heaven should practice stratagems on such a soft subject as myself.” This gives the audience the impression of a brutal child torturing an innocent toy that is defenceless.

In conclusion I think that fate was responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death and there was nothing that anyone could have done to prevent the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. If the pair had not been so rash and had thought more about their actions before they rushed into things that they could have spent more time together. I think that the message was quite obvious that Shakespeare gives in the play that the pair of lovers will not ever have a good relationship but would be used more as peace makers for the city of Verona. So in a way fate had ”dealt them a tragic blow”  for a good reason.