English Literature: Romeo and Juliet - Theme of Fate

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Act 1, Scene 1

CHORUS: A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life

Romeo and Juliet are "star-crosed lovers" - we know from the beginning of the play they are fated to die. Throughout the text, both Romeo and Juliet use a lot of celestial imagery to describe eachother, which could be hinting at this quote from the prologue. This also creates dramatic irony throughout the play as the audience are always aware of the fate of these two characters.  

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Act 1, Scene 2

ROMEO: Stay fellow, I can read.

Ultimately, fate is what causes Romeo and Juliet to meet. The servant cannot read the names on the invitation and so asks Romeo to do so, which means Romeo finds out about the party and thus meets Juliet. Shakespeare shows that fate plays a very important role throughout the entire relationship - and is actually what begins it. 

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Act 1, Scene 4

ROMEO: I dreamed a dream tonight.

MERCUTIO: And so did I.

ROMEO: Well, what was yours?

MERCUTIO: That dreamers often lie.

Mercutio mocks people who believe in their dreams, which later come backs to haunt him and Romeo talks about a dream which was a warning that there would be bad consequences if they went to Capulet's ball - which ends up being the reason Mercutio dies. Through these events Shakespeare could be showing that fate is definitely something not to be messed with as it ends up causing all the deaths in the play.

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Act 2, Scene 3

FRIAR LAWRENCE: Within the infant rind of this small flower

 Poison hath residence and medicine power:

Friar Lawrence remarks that herbs can both heal and kill. This foreshadows the events of the play, and also hints to ideas of fate, as it is the fact Friar Lawrence knows so much about plants that cause him to manifest the plan he does, which leads to the suicides of Romeo and Juliet.

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Act 2, Scene 6

ROMEO: Then love-devouring death do what he dare,

Once again, Shakespeare uses dramatic irony, it is as if Romeo is tempting fate. He is saying that now they are married, he could die as that's all he wanted for his life. The audience knows that Romeo and Juliet do die - and it's because of how deep their love for each other is. 

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Act 3, Scene 1

ROMEO: O, I am fortune's fool,

After the death of Tybalt and Mercutio, Romeo thinks he has been a victim of fate. It reminds the audience that Romeo has been doomed from the start.

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Act 3, Scene 5

JULIET: Methinks I see thee now, thou art so low,

     As one dead in the bottom of a tomb,

Juliet has a vision of Romeo dead in the bottom of a tomb. This foreshadows the next time Juliet will see Romeo - he will be dead in the Capulet tomb. It also mirrors the fact Romeo also had dreams foreshadowing the end of the play, in Act 1, Scene 5 and suggests they are very in tune with each other, both also that fate is against them both.

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Act 5, Scene 1

ROMEO: Then I defy you, stars!

Romeo had a dream that he was dead, but Juliet brought him back to life, again foreshadowing the end, only minutes before Balthasar tells him Juliet is "dead". Romeo thinks that fate is against him, and then references to "stars" mirrors the fact that they are referred to as "star cross'd lovers" in the prologue. However, it is his decision to return to Verona that leads to his and Juliet's deaths.

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Act 5, Scene 2

FRIAR JOHN: I could not send it

Friar Lawrence is unable to control this event which would ultimately save the lives of Romeo and Juliet, which suggests that the lovers are doomed to be unlucky.

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Act 5, Scene 3

FRIAR LAWRENCE: A greater power than we can contradict

By "greater power" the Friar could be referring to God or another deity. Either way, he is suggesting the tragedy was inevitable - the forces working against them were just too powerful. These religious references would have even more of an impact during the Elizabethan times when the play was first performed, as a lot of people would have been religious and would have agreed with the idea that this was always "God"'s plan for these two, and it would've created sympathy for the families that were affected by the tragedy as if "God" has decided this was Romeo and Juliet's path in life, nothing could have been done to change it. This would have been a lot more believable when the Christian and other faiths were more prevelant. 

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Act 5, Scene 3

PRINCE: That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love.

The Prince blames the family feud for their loss - "heaven" (or fate) has found a way to punish the families, which once again would fit in with the religious ideas held at the time - sins would be punished by "God".

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