Romeo and Juliet Essay
English Essay
The concept of fate functions as a central theme in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In the opening prologue of the play, the chorus informs the audience that Romeo and Juliet are “Star Crossed Lovers”. What the chorus means by this is that Romeo and Juliet are controlled by fate, a force which is often related to the movements of the stars. No one can comprehend what fate has in store and neither did Romeo and Juliet. Fate is a powerful force, whether predestined or persuasions of your actions that will shape you lives, just as it did with Romeo and Juliet. Fate is something that most people do not believe in, but in the small percentage that do, include William Shakespeare. Shakespeare tries to prove that fate to be true through figurative language and incidents in the play. Fate is involved in all the events surrounding the young lovers: the ancient and inexplicable hate between their families, the impossible series of mishaps which ruin Friar Lawrence’s plans, and the tragic timing of Romeo’s suicide and Juliet’s awakening. The whole structure of the play relies upon the fate from which the two lovers cannot escape.
The play begins with a brawl between the servants of the Montague and Capulet families, illustrating that the “ancient grudge” between the two families runs so deep that even the servants are affected. When Juliet and Romeo first met they were oblivious to the fact that the other was from the enemy family. The two lovers were guided by fate to meet each other, even though it was supposedly a coincidence. Romeo agrees to attend the Capulet ball because he is in “love” with Rosaline, and wanted the chance to see her; he also continuously denies that he would be impressed by any other woman other than Rosaline. Juliet, however, attended the ball under the instructions of her mother to see whether she could love Count Paris. Figurative language is scoured throughout the play, clues about fate being real. Before Romeo meets Juliet
The concept of fate functions as a central theme in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In the opening prologue of the play, the chorus informs the audience that Romeo and Juliet are “Star Crossed Lovers”. What the chorus means by this is that Romeo and Juliet are controlled by fate, a force which is often related to the movements of the stars. No one can comprehend what fate has in store and neither did Romeo and Juliet. Fate is a powerful force, whether predestined or persuasions of your actions that will shape you lives, just as it did with Romeo and Juliet. Fate is something that most people do not believe in, but in the small percentage that do, include William Shakespeare. Shakespeare tries to prove that fate to be true through figurative language and incidents in the play. Fate is involved in all the events surrounding the young lovers: the ancient and inexplicable hate between their families, the impossible series of mishaps which ruin Friar Lawrence’s plans, and the tragic timing of Romeo’s suicide and Juliet’s awakening. The whole structure of the play relies upon the fate from which the two lovers cannot escape.
The play begins with a brawl between the servants of the Montague and Capulet families, illustrating that the “ancient grudge” between the two families runs so deep that even the servants are affected. When Juliet and Romeo first met they were oblivious to the fact that the other was from the enemy family. The two lovers were guided by fate to meet each other, even though it was supposedly a coincidence. Romeo agrees to attend the Capulet ball because he is in “love” with Rosaline, and wanted the chance to see her; he also continuously denies that he would be impressed by any other woman other than Rosaline. Juliet, however, attended the ball under the instructions of her mother to see whether she could love Count Paris. Figurative language is scoured throughout the play, clues about fate being real. Before Romeo meets Juliet