I have practiced an essay on fate and free will and the consequences of this in the play
In 'Romeo and Juliet' fate and free will is questionable for the events of the play. The characters are portrayed to blame fate and preach for it to give their lives positive events. There is also a huge amount of foreshadowing which makes the audience question the character's free will.
Firstly, the prologue discusses fate and free will. Instantaneously, we are informed that the lovers will 'take their lives' so this is inevitable from the start suggesting they have no free will and the events in the play is their destiny. The two protagonists are also described as 'star-crossed lovers' highlighting that their love is almost written in the stars and …show more content…
Romeo claims he is 'fortunes fool' when he kills Tybalt. This is interesting as he blames fate for his destiny and refuses to take any responsibility for his own actions even though earlier in the play he doesn't listen to fate as he ignore the bad dream he had about the Capulet's ball which lead to the meeting of the two protagonists. If Romeo had of listened to his fears here it could have ended the tragic events which are caused by their love including the deaths and secrecy. Juliet may have been forced to marry Paris which could have brought a more peaceful,less tragic end to the feud. This was common of the Elizabethan society as they would take any oppertunity to blame fate despite going against it when it warns them. This quote of blaming fate is from central act 3 in the play highlights the importance of this idea to the audience suggesting this occured regularly in the Elizabethan society. Romeo also beleives it is his purpose and destiny to love hence his sadness over Rosaline at the start of the play which suggests his petrarchan lover traits. He is adiment that he will not find happiness until he is in a relationship. As an audience we could question if he really does love Juliet as much as he says or if he just sees it as an oppertunity to find happiness and is obessesed by the idea of love, which was common in the Elizabethan society. However, this is an alternative interpretation which not all of the audience may agree with as they may just believe he matured quickly and found true
In 'Romeo and Juliet' fate and free will is questionable for the events of the play. The characters are portrayed to blame fate and preach for it to give their lives positive events. There is also a huge amount of foreshadowing which makes the audience question the character's free will.
Firstly, the prologue discusses fate and free will. Instantaneously, we are informed that the lovers will 'take their lives' so this is inevitable from the start suggesting they have no free will and the events in the play is their destiny. The two protagonists are also described as 'star-crossed lovers' highlighting that their love is almost written in the stars and …show more content…
Romeo claims he is 'fortunes fool' when he kills Tybalt. This is interesting as he blames fate for his destiny and refuses to take any responsibility for his own actions even though earlier in the play he doesn't listen to fate as he ignore the bad dream he had about the Capulet's ball which lead to the meeting of the two protagonists. If Romeo had of listened to his fears here it could have ended the tragic events which are caused by their love including the deaths and secrecy. Juliet may have been forced to marry Paris which could have brought a more peaceful,less tragic end to the feud. This was common of the Elizabethan society as they would take any oppertunity to blame fate despite going against it when it warns them. This quote of blaming fate is from central act 3 in the play highlights the importance of this idea to the audience suggesting this occured regularly in the Elizabethan society. Romeo also beleives it is his purpose and destiny to love hence his sadness over Rosaline at the start of the play which suggests his petrarchan lover traits. He is adiment that he will not find happiness until he is in a relationship. As an audience we could question if he really does love Juliet as much as he says or if he just sees it as an oppertunity to find happiness and is obessesed by the idea of love, which was common in the Elizabethan society. However, this is an alternative interpretation which not all of the audience may agree with as they may just believe he matured quickly and found true