Romeo And Juliet Fate Vs Free Will

The concept of fate has touched many lives throughout the centuries, and over time it, along with its counterpart free will, has [been?] transcended into the form of literature. Its influence is evident in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, particularly in how Pip, and his object of affection, Estella, are repeatedly subjected to preordained events. Furthermore, free will, or the ability to determine our own destiny, also holds sway over the characters in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, specifically Romeo and Juliet themselves. Free will has a greater influence on the characters in Romeo and Juliet than fate, while in Great Expectations, it proves to be the opposite, with fate having more heavily impacted Pip, and his associates.

Fate is defined as, ‘the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power’. In the time in which ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was written, many people were strong believers of fate and it was a common belief in society. William Shakespeare was a famous poet who is recognised for his powerful writing and contribution to the English language. One of William Shakespeare’s highly recognised plays is ‘Romeo and Juliet’ written in the late 1500’s. It is a play about two star-crossed lovers alongside fate who by their death end the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Friar Laurence is not to blame for the tragic events which occurs in the play due to the fact that other

Fate was foreshadowed to be an antagonist in the play Romeo and Juliet; even before the play started; it was foreshadowed in the prologue that the “star-crossed lovers” were “death-marked”. Fate impedes the union of a happy marriage between Romeo and Juliet by throwing many barricades in their way. One such barrier is their lineage; because Romeo is a Montague and Juliet is a Capulet, they are enemies by blood. Nevertheless, they

Some people may not believe that destiny is something that truthfully exists in the world. These people doubt that there is anything that is actually meant to be, or supposed to happen, thinking that there is always a way around troubling predicaments, knowing that it is not necessary to turn out just one certain way. They trust that whatever occurs in their lives comes as a result of the decisions that they make with their own free will. Others believe that whatever happens during the course of their lives is inevitable and every event is laid out before them like a road map to life, in other words, fate. William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet has fate as an exceptionally crucial element which makes fate as important as any

“O, I am fortune’s fool!” (Rom. 3.1.14). Romeo says this line in shock as he realizes that he killed Tybalt. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, star crossed lovers are faced with the hardest challenge in life, and fate is not on their side. Fate is most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

Fate as defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary is ‘an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end’. Sophocles discusses fate vs free will in his plays. In the play Oedipus Rex there was a prophecy that Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, he attempts to escape his destiny by running away to Thebes where he meets his fate. In the play Antigone, that main character Antigone decides to go against Creon’s (her uncle who has inherited the throne) decree and bury the brother, Polynices, knowing the consequences would lead to her death. In Sophocles’ plays Oedipus Rex and Antigone, the theme is mankind not being able to escape their fate.

Fate and free will are two contradictory theories, one either has control over their lives and the decisions that take place in them or they’re simply following out the plan of a divine being. Romeo and Juliet, a Shakespeare play, brings light to idea people have no grasp on the outcome of their lives despite any decisions they may make. From the very beginning the love affair of the Montague boy and Capulet girl reveals that the outcomes of one’s life is preset. The monologue blatantly out states, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents’ strife” (Shakespeare 1). Before the audience is able to even witness Romeo and Juliet fall in love they are told that

The play Romeo and Juliet was one of the most famous love tragedies ever written. This love story unfortunately had a fatal ending. Many people argue over why the lovers had died, was it over Free Will or Fate?

For example, in Act four it was fate for Romeo to not get the letter saying that Juliet is going to fake her death. Act one of the story had the fate for Romeo to fall in love with Juliet. This fate was throughout in the whole story, but act one truly begins the love. It was a case of love at first sight because he saw her in the street and went to the ball to see/talk to her. (Shakespeare).

     Fate, for better or worse, interrupts everyone’s daily life, whether he/she chooses to acknowledge it or not. Thinking about fate conjures up different feelings for different people; some people believe strongly in it, some people think of fate as ridiculous, and some do not care one way or the other. However, in many instances, such as in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, far too many coincidences occur to be strictly coincidental. Fate creates a powerful effect throughout the entire play, starting in the prologue, continuing as Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love, and tragically ending in the lovers’ deaths.

To make a decision on the existence and presence of fate in this classic drama, we must first discover the meaning of the word itself. Many agree that the word, destiny, means that your future has already been determined, and is certain to happen. Although this definition is widely known, many cultures and religious groups have their own version on its origin. For example, christian and catholic groups believe that your life is predetermined by God. In the case of Romeo and Juliet, their, “God” was the author. William Shakespeare grew up in a time where destiny and fate were huge, which may have influenced him to write this style of script.

Romeo is telling Mercutio that he has a dream. The dream is that if Romeo goes to the Capulet party he will die. Yet, he decides to go to the party anyway. The above quote is important to the theme of fate and choice, because most plays about fate and choice usually show the main character trying to change their fate but having their fate come true anyway. Romeo, however, chooses to go to the party despite of his ominous dream. The quote shows what happens to Romeo happens because he chooses to go to the party.

questions can only be answered by looking into Shakespeare’s life and the events that came to

Romeo is saying he has a premonition that he will be controlled by fate and eventually lead to a

Some people say that a person’s fate is pre-determined. That nothing they do in life is by accident and everything that one does has been decided by a higher power. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explores the theme of fate by allowing the audience to be party to his characters’ destiny. In the opening lines of the play the audience is told what is going to happen to the lovers, “a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.” Throughout the story, the audience is put in an omnipotent, god-like position from the start encouraging them to think about fate and to what extent our actions are free. In Macbeth, the idea of one character becoming both victim and villain is introduced. Macbeth falls prey to others' deception, and is supplanted