How Does Fate Play a Part in Romeo and Juliet?
How Does Fate Play A Part In Romeo and Juliet'?
Romeo and Juliet' was written during a period when Shakespeare had found the strength of his writing, it is believed that it was written around 1595 and he would have been about 26 years old when he wrote it. The play is a widely known tragedy concerning the fate of two young "star-cross'd lovers". It is one of the most famous of Shakespeare's plays and one of his earliest theatrical triumphs.
In Romeo and Juliet', fate plays an extremely powerful role throughout the story. Romeo and Juliet are "star-crossed lovers," as the prologue at the start of the play indicated, they had fate against them. In that time, people were very wary of what the stars said. If two people's stars were crossed in the sky, they would never remain together. Obviously, Romeo and Juliet did not live happily ever after, as they both died at the end of the play. The prologue also shows fate was against Romeo and Juliet through the negative language and the foregrounds of their deaths:
"The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove"
This insight into the plot provides the audience with the anticipation of the finale and causes them to think negatively throughout the play. It also allows Shakespeare to make use of dramatic irony, as the audience knows something that the characters do not. This increases dramatic tension for the audience, which in turn would help to keep their interest in the play.
Fate can be defined as an inevitable and often adverse outcome or condition. The destinies of Romeo and Juliet were set from the start of the story in the prologue, and almost all events that take place brought Romeo and Juliet closer to their unavoidable fates. There are too many coincidences to permit the audience to doubt that fate is a large part of the plot. The first coincidence is that Romeo and Juliet, the two lovers, shared the
Romeo and Juliet' was written during a period when Shakespeare had found the strength of his writing, it is believed that it was written around 1595 and he would have been about 26 years old when he wrote it. The play is a widely known tragedy concerning the fate of two young "star-cross'd lovers". It is one of the most famous of Shakespeare's plays and one of his earliest theatrical triumphs.
In Romeo and Juliet', fate plays an extremely powerful role throughout the story. Romeo and Juliet are "star-crossed lovers," as the prologue at the start of the play indicated, they had fate against them. In that time, people were very wary of what the stars said. If two people's stars were crossed in the sky, they would never remain together. Obviously, Romeo and Juliet did not live happily ever after, as they both died at the end of the play. The prologue also shows fate was against Romeo and Juliet through the negative language and the foregrounds of their deaths:
"The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove"
This insight into the plot provides the audience with the anticipation of the finale and causes them to think negatively throughout the play. It also allows Shakespeare to make use of dramatic irony, as the audience knows something that the characters do not. This increases dramatic tension for the audience, which in turn would help to keep their interest in the play.
Fate can be defined as an inevitable and often adverse outcome or condition. The destinies of Romeo and Juliet were set from the start of the story in the prologue, and almost all events that take place brought Romeo and Juliet closer to their unavoidable fates. There are too many coincidences to permit the audience to doubt that fate is a large part of the plot. The first coincidence is that Romeo and Juliet, the two lovers, shared the