Is Romeo right to think that 'Black fate' is responsible for the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet or there other causes

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Romeo and Juliet Coursework

Is Romeo right to think that ‘Black fate’ is responsible for the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet or there other causes.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, which was written by William Shakespeare in 1599. The Elizabethans totally believed in fate, they believed that your destiny was fated. They also believed that fate was fickle, it could change, one day everything would be good and the next day things could be really bad. If you challenged fate, it would take up the challenge. If it wasn’t fate there are many more things which could have caused the tragedy; the feud, this means that everything that happens in Verona ends in violence, Friar Lawrence, shouldn’t have married them and shouldn’t have suggested such a dangerous plan, which was playing with their lives, the Nurse should have stopped Juliet getting involved with a Montague, but also Juliet’s parents should have payed more attention to what she felt and wanted. Or it could have been just bad luck and bad timing.

   In the play fate is strongly implicated as controlling the tragedy. Right at the start Shakespeare wants the audience to know that fate will play a huge part in the play and in the prologue it says that Romeo and Juliet will die ‘from forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life’. The prologue is saying that the stars control Romeo and Juliet’s lives and it says that the stars are against them. They are destined to die.

   At the start of the play, fate works in favour of Romeo and Juliet because firstly the servant has a list of guests for the ball but he can’t read and Romeo just happens to be there at that time. He then decides to go because he sees Rosaline’s name. Then when he is at the ball Capulet knows he is there but decides to let him stay ‘Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone’. This is when Romeo first sees Juliet and he falls in love with her straight away. Also the nurse agrees to be the go between, she thinks she has no choice because she is the servant and Juliet is the boss ‘I am the drudge and toil in your delight’. Romeo and Juliet meet at the balcony and Juliet proposes to Romeo, so he goes to the friar to arrange the marriage. The friar marries them, when he wouldn’t normally marry to people from different families because of the feud but this time he does. He doesn’t want to at first, but he changes his mind as he thinks it may end the quarrel between the two families. But after they have got married; fate seems to turn against them. During the marriage ceremony Romeo says that now he has married Juliet nothing can go wrong. This challenges fate. When the fight starts Mercutio and Tybalt are only messing around but Romeo reminds them about the prince’s decree. It is in this fight scene when fate starts to work against Romeo because when he steps in to stop the fight there is an accident and Mercutio gets killed. ‘A plague a’ both your houses! They have made worms’ meat of me’. Mercutio curses both houses because he also blames Romeo for getting in the way. Romeo should report this to the prince but instead he starts fighting with Tybalt and this is serious because he reacts with his emotions and wants revenge. ‘O I am fortunes fool’ Romeo thinks that fate just wants to play with him. But then fate is kind to Romeo because he doesn’t get killed, he is only banished. The friar says that this is a blessing from God that Romeo is not dead and in a few years things may be sorted. Near to the end of the play when the servant wants to get the message about Juliet to Romeo there is a plague in the town, which means that the servant cannot get to Romeo and he get a message that Juliet is dead first. If Paris hadn’t have wanted to marry Juliet then there wouldn’t have been such a problem because her and Romeo could have been together and she wouldn’t have felt pressured into marrying Paris, so she wouldn’t have taken the potion. Also if Balthasar hadn’t seen Juliet dead, he wouldn’t have run off to tell Juliet. ` And at the end of the play there are mistimings because just as Romeo takes the potion Juliet wakes up. If she had woken up just a couple of minutes earlier Romeo would not have killed himself.

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   Some of the characters believe that fate controls them. The friar says ‘there is something stronger than plans’. He is saying that no matter what they plan fate will control them. Romeo thinks that fate controls him ‘my mind misgives some consequences yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this night’s revels’. Romeo thinks that the stars control his fate, his future, and everything. This is the first time he talks about it on the on the way to Capulets party. After the fight Romeo says ‘O I am fortunes fool’ he thinks that ...

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