essay

In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explores the idea of fate. Fate is the development of events outside a person’s control. He explains and uses it all through this play in a huge variety of different techniques. In this essay i’m going to be explaining and talking about fate and how he portrays it in this piece.

Before the play started everyone was told the Prologue, a introduction and quick run through of the play . This is when Shakespeare first announced the idea of FATE in this play. “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life” .This was the main idea linking to fate in the prologue. By stating this it means that 2 people (a pair) fall in love but in the end no matter how strong their love is they are going to be doomed. It states in the quote that they take their life that that gives us hints that they will eventually kill themselves in the end. People who believe in astrology claim that the stars control human destiny. Obviously the stars didn’t want them together. “The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love”. Another area from the prologue talking about fate. This shows fate because the meaning of death marked love states that it is a poetic way of saying the progress of there love is full of fear. This gives us and understanding that there love is going to end up with hatred . These two examples give clues and hints to fate in the rest of the play as it goes on.

Shakespeare uses metaphors in many of his pieces and Romeo and Juliet is certainly most one of them, as he uses a lot of metaphors throughout this play. One of the main metaphors used right throughout this entire play is “He that have steerage of my course, direct my sail” this refereeing to himself, romeo, as a boat and the god steering his sail taking him in whatever direction he pleases all through romeo’s bumpy life. This metaphor is used right throughout the play in different variants as well. “Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death” This metaphor is stating This metaphor is delivered by Romeo as he visits Juliet’s resting place in the tomb, the Detestable maw. He refers to the jaws of a hungry beast. By equating the tomb to a deathly womb and the jaws of a scary beast, Romeo is implying that a tomb is a place that merely harbors destruction and death.

Coincidences are something that seems like it was planned or arranged but actually was not. These are a great way to show the idea of FATE because they make the audience anxious and wonder. Coincidences in Romeo and Juliet reminds me of misunderstanding and miscommunication. There are a few times in this play where a lack of communication results in death. A huge coincidence in this story is if Rosaline did never reject Romeo then he would not have been sad and would never gone to the party to find another girl. Then it should be said that Romeo’s choosing to fall in love with Juliet was a coincidence because there were other girls there at the party. Another last major coincidence was when Friar Lawrence wasn’t able to get the message to Romeo about Juliet faking her own death. He was held up by a quarantine in the house that was beyond his control and Had he been able to get the message to Romeo, then they both would not have died.

Foreshadowing is an advance sign or warning to whats about to come in the future. Foreshadowing is one of the main dramatic techniques in Romeo and Juliet. We learn right at the start in the prologue that Romeo and Juliet are both going to die. A few of the different times foreshadowing was used is when Romeo predicts that going to the Capulet’s ball will have some consequence that will end in untimely death.Also both lovers announce to Friar Lawrence that they will commit suicide if they cannot be together, Romeo also states “Come, death, and welcome. Juliet wills it so.” Juliet has a vision of Romeo As a person dead in the bottom of a tomb. This area of foreshadowing of the Romeo and Juliet deaths emphasizes that they are trapped by their fates. In my opinion Foreshadowing seems to make their love more precious because the audience can see that they will not have long together.

As I have shown in the last few paragraphs, the use and the importance of fate in this play is huge. A huge percentage of the play all links in with the meaning of fate. He portrays it in using metaphors, foreshadowing and a lot of coincidences. Fate has a huge part in Romeo and Juliet, i believe if Shakespeare had not intertwined fate with this play it would not have excelled as much as it has.