Romeo and Juliet – love and fate Two of the central themes in “Romeo and Juliet ” are fate and love . From the beginning of the play, the Chorus… [608700]

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Romeo and Juliet – love and fate

Two of the central themes in “Romeo and Juliet ” are fate and love . From the beginning of
the play, the Chorus emphasizes on the fact that the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, are ill -fated:
“A pair of sta r-crossed lovers take their life / Whose misadventured piteous overthrows/ Doth
with their death bury their parents ’ strife.” (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet). Through
these lines, the readers a re informed that the two principal characters wi ll face hardships.
Peop le thought that stars could control their lives, their destinies. The metaphor “star-crossed
lovers” illustrates that the bond of love between Romeo and Juliet is about to fail. They love
each other, but can ’t continue their love story, because of their families ’ conflicts. The reason
there is a hatred between the Montagues (Romeo ’s family) and Capulets (Juliet ’s family) is not
exactly explained , but the conflicts between them are an obstacle in Romeo and Juliet ’s love
story. The problems b etween t he two families will end with the death of the two lovers, the
play ending up in a tragic way.
In act one, scene two, Capulet s ends one of his servants, Peter, to invite some people to a
feast. Peter cannot read the list of people , but then Romeo and Benvolio appear , which is an
other sign of fate. Peter tells Romeo to read the list, and then he invites b oth Romeo and
Benvolio to the party, supposing that they are not Montagues. It is the fate which leads Romeo
in front of Capule t’s servant , who invites him to a party where he meets Juliet for the first time.
In act five, it is revealed the inevitable work of fate. When Juliet is thought to be dead, Romeo
says that he wants to defy fate: “Is it even so? Then I defy you, stars! ”, by killing himself. His
desire is to spend his eternity with Juliet: “I will lie with thee tonight ”. The irony stands in the
fact that Romeo ’s desire to avoid his destiny is, in t he end, what brings fate about. He doesn ’t
know anything about Juliet ’s false death, s o he acts quickly, i mpulsively. He plans his own
death: “O here,/ Will I set up my everlasting rest,/ And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars/
From this world -wearied flesh ”, but he ends up dying for nothing. Romeo ’s suicide is what
actually brings death to Juliet. During the play, there are a lot of moments related to fate: Friar
Lawrence ’s messenger did not get to Romeo, and he w as not able to explain the plan involving
Juliet’s fake death. If Romeo knew anything about it, the end of the play would not be as tragic
and heartbreaking as it already is. Another episode that involves fate is illustrate d by the fact
that just a few moments after Romeo ’s death, Juliet wakes up. It also shows that an obstacle in
their love story, besides the conflicts between Capulets and Montagues, is bad timing.
The bond of love between Romeo and Julie t is passionate, but it also brings death to numerous
characters in th e play, including them. Therefore, the love they share is also destructive and it
is related to death and violence. In “Romeo and Juliet ”, love is seen from many points of view:
Lady Capulet thinks that love involves material things and she is sure that Juliet w ill love Pa ris,
a kinsman of the Pri nce, as he is wealthy, Mercutio t hinks that love means weakness, Lord
Capulet thinks love is a duty, and Friar Lawrence thinks love involves responsa bility.
In the beginning of the play , Romeo is thought to be immature when it comes to the concept
of love. At first, he sustains that he is in love with Rosaline, but as soon as he sees Juliet, he
falls i n love with her, and forgets Rosaline. His love for Juliet is more passionate and real tha n
the love he felt for Rosal ine. He i s ready to prove his love for Juliet and he kills himself at the

news of Juliet ’s death. It is only through deat h that they can keep their love, and they are
capable to do anything in its def ense. Therefore, when Romeo finds Juliet in the Capulet ’s
tomb, thinking that she is dead, he takes some poison and dies. After a few moments, Juliet
wakes up and sees Romeo dead. In that moment, she takes the decision to kill herself, too. She
stabs he rself with Romeo ’s dagger, hoping that they will find each other in the afterlife. The
line “O, happy dagger !” illustrates the fact that she is happy to die and to join Romeo in the
afterlife.
Violen ce has an important role in t his play. Tybalt kills Mercutio, and, as a revenge, Romeo
kills T ybalt and Paris. Both murd ers take place in a moment of despair , and they repre sent
some examples of violence in the play. Another sign of violence is represented by the suicide
of both Romeo and Juliet. The blind love leads them to commit a tragic act, ending with their
own lives.
Therefore, in William Shakespeare ’s “Romeo and Juliet ”, the inevitability of fate is an
important theme and it is related to love. Perhaps Romeo and Juliet were fated to be in love,
and through their deaths, the conflicts betwe en Montagues and Capulets are finally over. The
power o f fate governs the entire play and it represents the cause of the tragic and tearful end.

Bibliography

Shakespeare, William, 2000, Romeo and Juliet , Wordsworth Editions
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/romeojuliet/
https://www.thoughtco.com/romeo -and-juliet -scenes -2985044
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/topics/zykncwx