Story: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Fate, or the belief that a power greater than man will predetermine events in your life and will define your destiny where everything is laid out like a road map in life. In William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet; he uses fate as a powerful force, creating lively characters in an exciting plot. Because of fate the “two star-crossed lovers” meet each other in the first place and it is ultimately responsible for their tragic end in life.
The story takes place in Verona, Italy with two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo, of the Montagues, and Juliet, of the Capulets, meet and fall in love with each other. However, the feud between their families forces them to hide their love. Their families refuse to allow the marriage of Romeo and Juliet which causes the heartbreaking ending of their lives. It was this death sacrifice the two made that ended the families fighting.
Fate 1: The Prologue points out that Romeo and Juliet have fate against them. It says that their love is "death-marked," and they have no control over what happens. It is their destiny that leads to the tragic ending of the play. Fate 2: Peter runs into Romeo and Benvolio on the street. It is this meeting where Romeo reads the list of names of guests for the Capulet feast. If Romeo had not run into Peter, he would have never gone to the feast, and never met Juliet. It is fate that makes this encounter possible.
Fate 3: Before Romeo enters the house of the Capulets, he speaks about an unknown danger "hanging in the stars." He senses that something bad may happen based on his fate.
Fate 4: Here, the friar warns Romeo that people who act impulsively often have a bad outcome. This warning reminds us that Romeo's fate is already predetermined, and that there will, in fact, be negative consequences to his actions.
Fate 5: Romeo himself realizes that fate has much to do with the events that have taken place. He knows that something else is fated to occur, something that will end the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues.
Fate 6: Juliet tells Romeo of her vision of him dead at the bottom of a tomb. Romeo has a dream that Juliet finds him dead. These are signs of what is to come. Their fate will end in their death.
Fate 8: Romeo learns that Juliet is dead. He says that he defies fate, and what is written in the stars. He refuses to accept that Juliet is dead. What Romeo does not realize is that he has no control over his destiny. No matter how angry or motivated he is to change what is written in the stars, he cannot. It is already predetermined.
Fate 9: Friar John explains to Friar Laurence that he never made it to Mantua to give the letter to Romeo. Because Romeo never receives this letter, he buys poison with the intention to kill himself upon seeing her dead in her tomb. It is fate that did not allow the friar to reach Romeo in Mantua. And thus, it is also fate that Romeo buys the poison and eventually kills himself by Juliet's side.
Fate 10: Juliet wakes up from the sleeping potion and asks the friar where Romeo is. The friar responds by saying that some higher power has changed their original plans. This higher power is what people have no control over - fate. Through fate, the friar does not make it to Juliet's tomb on time. Romeo kills himself before the friar can tell him that Juliet is not really dead. This is not the friar's fault. Rather, it is fate that he did not get there on time.
Taking into consideration that Romeo and Juliet are predetermined to meet, love and die together, fate is clearly the dominant force for most of the play from which Romeo and Juliet cannot escape.