Fate And Free Will In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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Fate and Free Will in Romeo and Juliet
By Dougal Perrers

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a classic tragedy about two young lovers born into feuding families. The conflict of fate and free will is a recurring theme throughout the text, and Shakespeare frequently uses literary techniques to shape the direction of the story. Romeo and Juliet are ultimately responsible for their own end, but their deaths were undeniably influenced by the philosophies of their time. Shakespeare relies heavily on the Elizabethan philosophy of the ‘Chain of Being’ to explain the power of fate over free will. This is not to say Romeo and Juliet were only victims of fate, because they made choices that directly led to their deaths.

Shakespeare uses foreshadowing as a way to emphasize the role of fate in his story. The prophetic introduction that “A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life” (Prologue) informs the audience from the beginning that Romeo and Juliet’s deaths are inevitable. The reference to “the fearful passage of their death marked love” (Prologue) in the same speech, also communicates that Romeo and Juliet’s love is doomed. Throughout the play, this prophecy is reinforced by the characters’ own foreshadowing and reflections upon their own fate. For example, upon arriving at the Capulet party, Romeo is hesitant about “some consequence yet hanging in the stars” (I, iv,108). The ‘Chain of Being’ is an Elizabethan belief related to ‘Divine Order,’ that claims the world must be governed in a fixed, hierarchical order under God.
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Romeo and Juliet is directly influenced by Shakespeare’s use of this philosophy. The religious language and symbols throughout the play reinforce a sense of fate or consequence, which relate to the views of the time. The religious language of Romeo and Juliet’s conversations, is relevant to the conflict of fate and free will in the context of the ‘Chain of Being.’ Juliet’s description of Romeo in this scene, as “the god of [her] idolatry” (I.II.114), is an example of Shakespeare’s representation of their love as religious worship. This would have been considered a disruption of the ‘Chain of Being,’ for it means she positions Romeo above God. A disruption of the ‘Chain of Being’ such as this would anger God and so therefore he would punish the two lovers. The friar warns Romeo about the intense love the two seem to embody, suggesting they go “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast” (II.III.94). This warning may be read as a warning not only to Romeo, but to Shakespeare’s audience, that actions disobeying the ‘Chain of Being’ will have negative consequences. Romeo and Juliet’s forbidden love could also be classified as an interference of the ‘Chain of Being’ for Romeo and Juliet were not supposed to marry. This choice made by the young lovers to disobey the ‘Divine Order’ and God, may have sealed Romeo and Juliet’s fate. Fate played a large part in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet however the choices and actions of the “two star cross’d lovers” (prologue.6) also contributed to their demise. Romeo is very irrational and this was reflected in how quickly his relationship with Juliet developed. An event that showed Romeo’s irrationality was when he killed Tybalt. His chant of “Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him” (III.I.124) proves that Romeo was acting out of emotion, and was not thinking rationally. Juliet at the start of the play

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