For my essay, I was given a question. “How does William Shakespeare explore the idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet?”

William Shakespeare explores the idea of fate in Romeo and Juliet in many ways. Fate is what predetermines what will happen in your life. The chorus in the play uses fate to decide what happens to Romeo and Juliet.  It describes them as “A pair of star-cross’d lovers” destined to “take their life”. The Elizabethan era was the beginning of the Renaissance where people began to believe in astrology which is the study of celestial bodies and how they affect human affairs and events. Shakespeare was fascinated by astrology and uses many references to it in Romeo and Juliet and also in other plays. He uses metaphor and motifs to explore fate further. He also brings up questions on whether we can blame fate for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Fate could actually be an excuse used by the characters to excuse their irresponsible actions. Friar Lawrence is an example of this. When the letter is not sent to Romeo, he blames fate for it not getting to him. At the end of the play, he tells the Prince that it was “lamentable chance” but it was him who came up with the plan for them so is Friar Lawrence responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

At the beginning of the play, the audience is told about what is to come in the play. It puts the audience in an almost god-like position or even fate itself as they know what is going to happen.When Romeo and Juliet end their lives, maybe it was fate making a better future for Verona because the two families stopped their feud . Maybe fate decided that Romeo and Juliet were meant to die for the greater good of Verona.

Fate is used frequently in Romeo and Juliet. It is almost as if the play is controlled by it or that’s the first impression that Shakespeare wants the audience to have. Romeo being misinformed of Juliet’s plan could have been fate itself. Shakespeare made the characters speak of fate controlling their lives. An example is when Romeo talks about how the pilot (a small ship which guides bigger ships through harbors)is fate and is guiding him through his life. When he is about to kill himself at the end of the play, he says “I defy you stars!”. That’s also a reference to astrology as fate.

Some of the characters seem to talk about what’s expected. When Romeo said “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars,” he meant that his fate is somewhere in the stars and there will be a consequence for something that he will do. Later on in the play, he is banished from Verona for killing Tybalt. During the party when Romeo and Juliet meet, Juliet says “my grave is like to be my wedding bed”. It means that if she does not have Romeo her grave will be her wedding bed.

Shakespeare used fate as excuses for his characters in his play but he might not have believed in it. Normally, if you went to see Romeo and Juliet in the theatre, you wouldn’t analyse that much. Shakespeare might’ve wanted us to analyse the play deeply so that’s why he made it seem that it’s fate but if you look deeper, then you would understand that fate is used as an excuse for the characters impulsive actions.