Both protagonists have ominous feelings at separate points in the play. Before entering the Capulet ball, Romeo speaks of a foreboding dream he has had of “some consequence, yet hanging in the stars” which he fears will lead to a premature death for him. This echoes the Prologue and warns the audience something disastrous is going to happen. Romeo has this feeling that the ball shall be “his fearful date”, so why does he go? Mercutio’s speech dismisses dreams as “nothing but vain fantasy”, and Romeo appears to accept the fact that if this is his fate, it is unalterable so he may as well go along with it. He says: “But He that hath the steerage of my course/Direct my sail,” trusting that God will look after him and choose his path for him. Juliet also has feelings of apprehension, in Act III.5, when Romeo must escape to Mantua after their wedding night.
“O God, I have an ill-divining soul!
Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low,
As one dead in the bottom of a tomb;
Either my eyesight fails, or thou look’st pale.”
This is an example of dramatic irony, as the next time Juliet will see him, Romeo will be lying dead, in her family tomb. These ominous premonitions give the audience a sense of desperation and foreboding, reminding them that the lovers are doomed, and the play ends in tragedy.
In Act II.2, the famous balcony scene, Juliet has combined feelings: happiness and joy being with her love; and fear and panic, not only because Romeo may get caught and be punished with death, but also of their relationship moving too hastily. She considers their love to be “too rash, too unadvised, too sudden”. Juliet comes across in this speech as being the more sensible of the couple, stopping to think the situation through without jumping into any reckless decisions, whereas Romeo is impetuous and seemingly unafraid of the risks he is taking to be with Juliet. Juliet describes their love as being
“too like the lightning”, it is present one moment, but gone the next. Lightning is powerful and destructive, yet brief, and Shakespeare uses this striking imagery to describe Romeo and Juliet’s love, which although is strong, true love, it is short-lived, with catastrophic consequences.
In Act II.6 Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet willingly, even after giving them several pieces of advice. In Act II.4, when Romeo requests the Friar to marry them, the Friar gives them an ominous warning.
“Wisely and slowly. They stumble that run fast.”
This could be seen as a premonition, warning Romeo that if you speed love it will end in tragedy. Just before the Friar marries the couple he says: “Too swift arrives as tardy too slow.” By this, he means that in the end, people who are too hasty will fare just as badly as people who are too slow. His repetitive advice to the couple to slow down emphasises the swiftness of the couple’s relationship to the audience.
In Act III.1, after Romeo has killed Tybalt, he cries, “O, I am fortune’s fool.” This illustrates the fact that Romeo sees himself as a victim of fate, a jester for fortune’s amusement. He is in shock, having realised what he has done and what the repercussions could be. When he finds out that his penalty is banishment, not death, he is distraught, as he feels that no life would be better than life without Juliet. He feels like the stars are working against him and he is trapped by fate. The audience are reminded once again of the protagonists’ doom, and Romeo’s happiness in being married to Juliet is merely momentary, shattered by the reminder of the tragic conclusion of the play.
Romeo has another dream in Act V.1, yet he interprets this as a joyful dream, where Juliet finds him dead and “breathed such life with kisses in my lips”. This dream is ironic, as next time Juliet shall kiss Romeo is after he has died, yet he does not come back to life as he does in the dream. This dream reminds the audience of Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech, where he warned Romeo of the fairy midwife, who delivers dreams, but the people she visits will only dream of what they wish to happen. Therefore, Romeo should not trust this dream, nor take notice of it, for it is only what he wants to dream of. He is in Mantua, awaiting word from Verona and therefore in a good mood, yet he is not expecting the tragic news Balthasar brings. When he receives the false news of his wife’s death, Romeo cries: “Is it e’en so? Then I defy you stars!” This is a drastic change of mind from Act I.5, where he happily let fate “steer his course”, now he is declaring himself against this destiny, and is challenging fate. He seems resolute to stop fortune completing its task of making Romeo miserable. This outcry reminds the audience of the Chorus’ description of Romeo and Juliet in the Prologue. The audience see Romeo believe that he can stop fortune succeeding in making him live his life in grief, yet they know that ultimately, Romeo is destined to die, so in reality he is playing into the hands of fortune and that no matter how hard he tries to escape destiny he will not be successful.
Romeo believes he is doing this and cheating fate, when he takes the lethal poison in Act V.3. He thinks Juliet is dead, and so he is going to join her instead of living his life in sorrow.
“ …O, here
Will I set up my everlasting rest,
And shake the Yoke of inauspicious stars.”
Romeo thinks that in death, fortune will not affect him, and he can encounter no more bad luck. Once he kills himself however, Romeo has brought about his destiny and come to the end of his “passage of death-marked love”. As a result of this, Juliet wakes, and finding her husband dead, also kills herself. This has completed the various prophesies throughout the play as the “pair of star-crossed lovers” have taken their lives.
Throughout the play, the Friar had given the protagonists several words of warning. In Act V.3, he finally admits that “A greater power than we can contradict/Hath thwarted our intentions.” This proves to the audience that Friar Lawrence honestly did not mean for any of the tragic events to happen, and he had tried his best to keep the secret couple together safely, yet he was not powerful enough to resist fortune’s intent.
Both Romeo and Juliet’s premonitions were fulfilled and from the beginning of the play, their destiny was clear to the audience:
“A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life”
Shakespeare let the audience know the final outcome of the play in the Prologue, so they were able to watch the protagonists struggle with their pursuit of happiness with each other, yet know that ultimately, they were battling against fate. Romeo and Juliet’s “fearful passage” may have run a different course had certain people made alternative decisions, but the eventual conclusion would have been the same-the lovers were destined to die, and no matter how hard they try, mortals are unable to choose their path in life. It has been predetermined and however they try to avert their fate, no human can defy their destiny.
