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Assignment 3 : The power of Fate and Free Will

stars

 

In the opening Prologue, we learn that the "star-crossed lovers" will "take their life." Romeo and Juliet's love is doomed by the stars and their death is foreshadowed throughout the play. Fate (a power often vested in the movements of the stars) was generaly believed to control people's lives and fate seems like a threatening inevitable force.

The mechanism of fate works in all of the events surrounding the lovers: the feud between their families (it is worth noting that this hatred is never explained; rather, the reader must accept it as an undeniable aspect of the world of the play), the horrible series of accidents that ruin Friar Lawrence’s seemingly well-intentioned plans at the end of the play and the tragic timing of Romeo’s suicide and Juliet’s awakening. These events are not mere coincidences, but rather manifestations of fate that help bring about the unavoidable outcome of the young lovers’ deaths.

But : Is fate alone responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, or should certain characters be held accountable?

 

At the same time, there's still a sense that Romeo and Juliet decide all on their own to commit suicide—not to mention, there are plenty of players (the meddling Friar and Nurse, Romeo and Juliet's warring parents, etc.) who contribute to the play's tragic events. In “Romeo and Juliet”, maybe "fate" is just another word for "consequences."

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