fate in romeo and juliet

As early as the prologue, Fate is established as the motivating force of the play. “ A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;� (Prologue line 9) first introduces Fate to the audience. The chorus in the same go on to describe the love that Romeo and Juliet share as “ death-marked� (Prologue line 9) thus by the end of the prologue the audience is aware of the outcome of the play, which reflects that the events within the play, are by and large, pre-ordained. People as influential as Franklin M. Dickey and W.H. Auden have embraced the view that Romeo and Juliet, having recklessly and irresponsibly pursued their love, are responsible for their own fate, but this view simply disregards the prologue (G Blakemore Evans 1984).
For the purpose of this essay, Fate is defined as a force beyond human control, thus removing personal choice as a motivating force in the play. The concept of Fate as the driving force of the play takes away from Romeo and Juliet their responsibility for their actions, as their deaths are pre-destined and beyond their control. This concept would have been widely accepted and even taken for granted by the kind of audience Shakespeare was writing for (Brains, P 2000).
When Romeo first enters the play (Act

The unfortunate timing in the famous fight scene- which ultimately leads to the deaths of first Mercutio then Tybalt- shows how time can be an instrument of Fate. Mercutio, dieing, wishes “ a plague a’both your houses!” (Act 3 Scene 1 Lines 82, 91 and 97)- meaning a curse on both the house of Montague and Capulet- and such a curse is fulfilled by the end of the play. Romeo’s original intention was to be a peace maker, but despite his initial efforts, his rage at the death of Mercutio and the aggression of Tybalt result in him talking up arms against Tybalt, and in doing so killing him. When Romeo realises the repercussions that his actions may have, he reflects on his own bad fortune “ O, I am fortunes fool.” (Act 3 Scene 1 Line 127). This line shows how Romeo once again finds himself suffering consequences of a series of events, about which he could not do anything. The most important outcome of this scene is Romeo’s banishment, as this leads to the miscommunication that leads Romeo to believe that Juliet is dead.

The decision to move Juliet’s wedding to Paris a day earlier is a move that sends Julie into a panic. Her lover for Romeo is such that she will never marry Paris. This motivates her to seek Friar Lawrence’s council, and more importantly prompts her to drink the potion that will put her in a death-like sleep.

When romeo and Juliet are about to be married (Act 2 scene 6 ), Friar Lawrence reminds the audience of the role of fate (lines 9-15) his words “violent delights have violent e