RomeoandJuliet:PredeterminedByFate

Fate.Whowouldguessthatthisfourletterwordwouldplaysuchabigrolein
Shakespeares
RomeoandJuliet
?AccordingtoMerriamWebster,fateisapowerthatis
believedtocontrolwhathappensinthefutureIn
RomeoandJuliet
,however,fateisreality.It
seemslikesomethingthatoccursalotthroughoutthestoryandalwaysseemstobetherootof
severalproblems,especiallybetweenthepugnaciousCapuletsandMontagues.Thethemeoffate
isheavilyexploredbecauseoftheaudiencesinvolvementinthecharactersdestiny,
coincidences,andforeshadowing
perhapsRomeoandJulietwerefatedtoloveanddieforthegreater
goodofVerona.
In
RomeoandJuliet
,Shakespeareexploresthethemeoffatebyallowingtheaudiencetobeparty
tohischaractersdestiny.Intheopeninglinesoftheplay,theChorusspeaksofwhathappenstothe
couple:apairofstarcrossedloverstaketheirlife(Shakespeare992).Throughouttheplay,the
audienceisputinanomnipotentposition,encouragingthemtothinkaboutfateandtowhatextentthey
actuponfreewill.BecausetheaudienceknowsRomeoandJulietsfatefromtheoutset,theyare
constantlyontheedgeoftheirseats,hopingthattheiractionswilltakeadifferentcourselikeinActV,
SceneIV,thatRomeowillarriveshortlyafterJuliethaswoken.However,theirfateissealedandthe
audienceisforcedtoquestiontheirowndestinyandtheabilitytomakefreechoices,alsoknownasfate.
Nottomention,accordingtoDictionary.com,starcrossedmeansthwartedoropposedbythestars
illfated,soithasalreadybeendeterminedthatRomeoandJulietaredestinedtohavebadluck.Being
opposedbythestarsisoutoftheircontrol.
Throughoutthestoryof
RomeoandJuliet
,

Shakespeareisverycleverinusingtheconceptof
coincidences.Smallcoincidenceshavedevelopedtheentirestoryline.Forexample,inActISceneII,

Peter,anilliterateCapuletservant,askedforRomeoshelpinreadingtheguestlistfortheCapulets
party.RomeoreadthelistaloudwhenhenoticedthatRosaline,thegirlwhowouldntreturnhislove,was
goingtobeattending.FatepromptedPetertoaskforRomeosassistance,whichresultedinRomeoseeing
Rosalinesname,thengoingtotheparty,seeingJuliet,losingallthoughtaboutRosaline,fallinginloveat
firstsightwiththedaughterofhisfamilysfoe,andthereforeresultinginthestory:thesecretmarriage,
andeventuallythedeathofseveralinnocentpeople(Shakespeare).IfPeterwouldhavenevercomealong,
orhappenedtobeliterate,RomeowouldhavenevermetJulietandthingswouldhaveneverendedthe
waytheydid.Petercouldhaveaskedsomebodyelsetohelphimreadthelist,butbycoincidence,he
askedRomeo.Also,whenRomeosawJulietattheparty,hefellinlovewithherthemomenthesawher.
HeandJuliethadnoideaofeachothersidentities.IfhewouldveknownsheaCapuletandviceversa,
hemightvehadmoreofaconsciencegoingintoit,butsincetheywereunawareoftheirbackgrounds,it
wasmoreanimpulse.Itjustsohappenstobeacoincidencethatshe,thewomanheautomaticallycaught
feelingsfor,wasoftheCapulets,whomhisfamilyhadafeudwithforyearsandyears.Thisispurebad
luck,leavingtheloversstarcrossed.AnothercoincidenceisinActVSceneII,FriarJohnvisitsFriar
LaurenceandletshimknowthathecouldnotdeliverthenewsabouttheplantoRomeo.Hesaysthatthe
plaguekepthimfromleavinghisabode,thereforehecouldnotmakeittoRomeototellhimabouthow
Julietwasfakingherdeath,andthatRomeoweretoescapetoMantuawithJulietaftershewake
(Shakespeare1090).Isitnotacoincidencethatrightasthingswereontheirwaytoahappyendingfor
RomeoandJuliet,somethinglikethisoccursandfoilstheentireplan?IffatehadntkeptFriarJohnfrom
deliveringthemessagetoRomeo,theplancouldhavestillbeencarriedout,andRomeo,Juliet,Paris,and
possiblyLadyMontaguecouldveremainedalive.Iffatewouldhaveslightlychangedcourse,the
storylinewouldhavebeenaffectedgreatly,maybeevenintheaudiencesfavor.
Fromthestartof
RomeoandJuliet
,badluckandtroublewasforeshadowedbyseveralcharacters,
evenRomeohimself.TheChorussaysatthebeginning:Twohouseholds,bothalikeindignity,Infair

Verona,wherewelayourscene,Fromancientgrudgebreaktonewmutiny,Wherecivilbloodmakes
civilhandsunclean.Fromforththefatalloinsofthesetwofoes,Apairofstarcrossedloverstaketheir
life,WhosemisadventuredpiteousoverthrowsDothwiththeirdeathburytheirparentsstrife.Thefearful
passageoftheirdeathmarkedlove,Andthecontinuanceoftheirparentsrage,Which,buttheir
childrensend,naughtcouldremove,Isnowthetwohourstrafficofourstage,Thewhichifyouwith
patientearsattend,Whathereshallmiss,ourtoilshallstrivetomend.(Shakespeare992)Thisisthe
clearestexampleofforeshadowingtheChorusistellingtheplaygoerthatRomeoandJuliethave
feudingfamilies,theytheywillbothkillthemselves,andthattheirdeathswillendthefeudbetweenthe
CapuletsandMontagues.Thereisalsoasmallerexampleofforeshadowingwhen,inAct1Scene5,Juliet
says,...ifhebemarried,Mygraveisliketobemyweddingbed.(Shakespeare1018).Onelastexample
offoreshadowingisinAct1Scene5aswell.BeforeRomeoheadstotheCapuletball,wherehefallsin
loveandmeets(Yes,inthatorder)Juliet,hetellstheaudiencethathehasafunnyfeelingaboutgoingto
theparty.Hesays,...Ifear,tooearlyformymindmisgivesSomeconsequence,yethanginginthestars,
ShallbitterlybeginhisfearfuldateWiththisnightsrevelsandexpirethetermOfadespisedlife,closed
inmybreast,Bysomevileforfeitofuntimelydeath.(Shakespeare1012).Heknowssomethingisbound
tohappen.Allofthesepredictionsandpremonitionsgivetheaudienceanideaofwhatisgoingtotake
place.
Somepeoplemaytrytoarguethattheentireoutcomeof
RomeoandJuliet
wasjustaresultof
baddecisionsandactingoninstinct.Thestoryofthesestarcrossedloverswasindeedsetinstone.Their
loveanddeathwaspredeterminedbyfate.Thatfourletterwordissomuchmorecomplexthanitseems,
andistherootofthisentirestory.Thisisevident
becauseoftheaudiencesinvolvementinthe

charactersdestiny,coincidences,andforeshadowing
RomeoandJulietwerefatedtoloveanddie
forthegreatergoodofVerona.

WorksCited

Shakespeare,William."RomeoandJuliet."
TheLanguageofLiterature
.ByArthurN.Applebee.
Evanston,IL:McDougalLittell,2002.N.pag.Print.
"Fate."
MerriamWebster
.MerriamWebster,n.d.Web.22Feb.2016.
"Starcrossed."
Dictionary.com
.Dictionary.com,n.d.Web.22Feb.2016.