Fate and the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet in William Shakespeares Play E

Fate and the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet in William Shakespeare's Play Before judging to what extent Fate was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, we must first answer the question: what is fate? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, fate is the 'inevitable destiny or necessity destined term of life; doom.' On a more basic level, fate can be described as a preplanned sequence of events influencing one's life. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, is it true to say that Fate was the sole contributor to the deaths of the young couple, or was their demise brought about by the mistakes of others? In the modern world, most people choose to believe that they have a sense of responsibility and can control their own lives. They suppose that their problems are caused by the actions of themselves or those influencing them. From one viewpoint, it is true to say that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet were caused by the mistakes made by themselves and others: the influence of fate was almost nonexistent. Four characters in the play intensely manipulate the tragic path of the young couple: (apart from Romeo and Juliet themselves) Mercutio, the Nurse, Tybalt and the Friar. Mercutio, one of Romeo's friends and a supporter of the Montague household, changed the course of events by encouraging Romeo to go the Capulet's masquerade and duelling with Tybalt in town. If Mercutio had not encouraged Romeo to go to the Capulet's dance, the couple would never have met and their deaths would have been averted. But was Romeo destined to meet Juliet, regardless of the actions of others? If Mercutio had not taunted Tybalt in town whilst out with Ro... ...tement does not make Juliet feel any better however, as she promptly commits suicide! Shakespeare again chooses to place the blame on a higher power rather than an individual, signifying his desire to make the audience believe that no one person or thing was responsible for the deaths of the young couple but fate. After looking at the two viewpoints as to who was to blame for the deaths of the young couple, the countless references to fortune and fate make it easy to conclude that Fate was to a great extent responsible. It seems apparent that Shakespeare meant for his audience to interpret the happenings of the play as influenced by some higher power, and if fate really does control everything about our lives then it would be sensible to assume that the actions of all the characters in the play were also fated.