“I still will stay with thee/ And never from this palace of dim night/ Depart again. Here, here will I remain/ With worms that are thy chambermaids. O, here/ Will I set up my everlasting rest/ And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars/ From this world-wearied flesh” (5.3.106-112)! Romeo is determined to one-up fate. He can either let everything play itself out naturally (fate), or take his life into his own hands by ending it (free will). In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare expresses feelings of young love, family antagonism, and secrecy all in one play. The play takes place in Verona, Italy during the renaissance period. In this setting, boys of richer families walk around with swords and girls live a life in their houses with assistant nurses. These rich families are Capulet and Montague, who have a generational hatred for eachother. Two lovers meet at a party, but belong to these rival families. The two decide to marry in secret, but the conflict between the families causes an inevitable separation. The couple makes a series of free will decisions (or decisions made where the choice is completely in their power) that will cause pain and death for the lovers. The play’s tragic ending was the direct result of free will or free choice decisions Romeo and Juliet made. Romeo’s choice to attend the Capulet party was one of the causes of the tragic ending. Benvolio suggests that Romeo goes to a party to get his mind off his love, Rosaline, who recently denied his love. “Compare her face with some that I shall show/ And I will make thee think thy swan a crow” (1.2. 88-89). Romeo makes the decision to go to the party not to compare Rosaline to other women like Benvolio suggests, but to possibly see her. If Romeo did not choose to attend the Capulet party, he would have never met Juliet. When Romeo sees her, he falls helplessly in love with her. When Juliet sees him she falls in love in an identical manner to Romeo. As a result, Juliet and Romeo make decisions to keep their love constant. These decisions include some harmless to their life like marriage, but some are dangerous such as taking poison or killing a member of the other’s family. If didn’t choose gone to the party, he wouldn't have fallen into the
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“Where is she? And how doth she? And what says/ My concealed lady to our canceled love” (3.3. 97-98). Juliet is Romeo’s “concealed lady”, because no one besides Friar Lawrence and the Nurse know that she is his wife. They feel the need to keep their marriage a secret because they are part of rival families. Their marriage might have helped to end the feud between the two families, but the classification of their marriage did no help at all. If Romeo or Juliet talked to each other’s family about their love, their death could have been prevented. On their own, they make dangerous decisions such as Romeo sneaking into Juliet’s bedroom to complete their marriage, or Juliet taking poison that will help give Romeo a chance to rescue her to the city he was banished to. If Romeo and Juliet didn’t keep their love secret from their families, the pain and death could have been
“Where is she? And how doth she? And what says/ My concealed lady to our canceled love” (3.3. 97-98). Juliet is Romeo’s “concealed lady”, because no one besides Friar Lawrence and the Nurse know that she is his wife. They feel the need to keep their marriage a secret because they are part of rival families. Their marriage might have helped to end the feud between the two families, but the classification of their marriage did no help at all. If Romeo or Juliet talked to each other’s family about their love, their death could have been prevented. On their own, they make dangerous decisions such as Romeo sneaking into Juliet’s bedroom to complete their marriage, or Juliet taking poison that will help give Romeo a chance to rescue her to the city he was banished to. If Romeo and Juliet didn’t keep their love secret from their families, the pain and death could have been