Romeo And Juliets Fate :: essays research papers

William Shakespeare wrote many great plays in his day. His tale of Romeo and Juliet portrays a tragic love. This play ends with the deaths of the key characters Romeo and Juliet, because of their forbidden love. Many factors contribute to their demise. The scene of when they first meet, the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio, and the final death scene all reveal why the two of them cannot be together in the end. Romeo and Juliet are ultimately killed because of their decisions and fate. The effects of Romeo and Juliet’s decisions and fate are first apparent in the scene when they first come together. When Romeo says to Juliet in the Capulet party, "Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purged" (I,v,108), and then he kisses her, it obviously exhibitions how they exercise their choice to love each other. After discovering each other’s identities, Romeo proclaims, "My life is my foe’s debt" (I,v,119), and Juliet states, "My only love sprung from my only hate" (I,v,140). These lines foreshadow that there will be many impediments keeping them apart and eventually killing them both. It might be thought that the tragic ending is caused by them choosing to love each other. However, if fate does not bring them together in the first place, they will never have the opportunity to establish their love. Romeo and Juliet are affected by their choices and fate right from the beginning. Romeo’s actions and chance also cause the chaos in Romeo and Mercutio’s fight scene with Tybalt. When Romeo replies to Tybalt when he is first insulted and threatened on the street, "I do protest I never injure thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise" (III,I,67-8), it means he does not mean Tybalt any harm and is walking away from the fight. Then, Mercutio steps in for Romeo and starts fighting with Tybalt. Romeo gets between them, which allows Tybalt to kill Mercutio, and later results in Romeo killing Tybalt. It is very easy to point the finger at Romeo and accuse him of allowing Mercutio to be killed. His decision directly allows Tybalt to stab Mercutio, but he is trying work it out so no one will be injured, like peer mediation. Although he has no clue that he will do more harm, Romeo is actually trying to help. That’s where fate affects him. Also, it can be said that Romeo is entirely responsible for killing Tybalt.