Romeo and Juilet

‘Romeo and Juliet’, a play written by William Shakespeare, explores the love of two characters whose fates end tragically. Shakespeare’s purpose was to portray this love in the middle of hate to show the audience whether the emotion love is strong enough to overcome the obstacles in the way. The question ‘The young lovers are helpless in the hands of fate Do you agree?’ allows the audience to determine if the characters or fate are at fault. The two main protagonists Romeo and Juliet claim that is was love at first sight, this initiating and contributing to the conflicts leading up to their death. Human Action within the play also allowed the two star crossed lovers to take their life. It was not fate that ended their lives, it was merely the decisions and choices made by characters.
Romeo and Juliet, two characters portrayed as reckless and impulsive are at fault for their own deaths. Juliet, daughter to the Capulet’s is an ignorant child that falls deeply for the Montague’s son Romeo. Being a young adolescent, she made the unethical decision that Romeo must be put before anything, allowing conflicts to occur. She also made irrational decisions without thinking about the consequences. In ACT II, scene V we see how Juliet is impatient with love, indicating that she’s just a child who’s not ready to accept the mishaps present. Romeo is also impatient with love and clearly does not understand it, as before he met Juliet, he described love being a ‘madness most discreet, a choking gall, preserving sweet’ as he was supposedly in love with Rosaline. This thought instantly vanishes when he sees Juliet. This portrays and allows the audience to witness that Romeo is very melodramatic and sees the beauty on the outside, suggesting that is was actually lust at first sight not love. These lovers are not helpless at the hands of fate as it was their own wrong doings and thoughts that contributed to their own death at the end. Fate should not be blamed as it was the actions