How does William Shakespeare explore the idea of fate in his play Romeo and Juliet?

To understand the idea of fate in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, we need to find out what fate is. I think fate is a belief that certain events in life happen without people’s choice, that someone, maybe God, decides what’s going to happen to them. In his play, Shakespeare calls Romeo and Juliet “Star-crossed lovers” to show us that their lives are controlled by heavens and no matter what they do they can’t escape fate.

The first example of fate is where Romeo thinks that something bad is going to happen, “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars.” Shakespeare describes God as stars and Romeo as God’s follower. Romeo is following God and shows that God is a guide. Before going to the party, Romeo feels that something bad is going to happen in his life but he still has his choice of going or not going to the Capulet’s party.

Romeo decide to trust God and tells God to direct him, “He that hath steerage of my course, direct my sail.” Shakespeare uses metaphor to describe Romeo as a ship and God as a captain of the ship. Even though Romeo knows that something bad is going to happen, he trusts God to guide him and decide his fate.

Another example of fate is in Act 5 Scene 2 when Friar John tells Friar Lawrence that he couldn’t send a letter to Romeo. He says, “Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, So fearful were they of infection.” Friar Lawrence replies, “Unhappy fortune!” No one is to blame Friar John for not sending a letter to Romeo, it is fate. If Friar John didn’t send a letter to Romeo, something awful is going to happen to Romeo. When Friar Lawrence replies, “Unhappy fortune”, it means that you have no chance to send a letter to Romeo.

The first event took place in the Capulet’s party where Romeo met Juliet and Romeo started to talk about love. After that they were starting to kiss each other twice and the nurse told Juliet to dance with Paris. Romeo found out that Juliet is the Capulet and the nurse told her that his name is Romeo and he is one of their enemy, the Montague.

The second event took place in the balcony where Romeo just talking himself about getting rid of jealousy from Juliet and she is a beautiful girl. After that Juliet enters and talking herself about that she didn’t even know that his name is Romeo and also didn’t know that he is the Montague. After a while, Juliet didn’t see that Romeo was behind her and then Juliet fall to the swimming pool. When they were talking about love, Romeo asks if Juliet marry him. She is exciting about the question Romeo gave and she said yes.

The third event took place in Friar Lawrence’s cell where Romeo and Juliet got married at the same day where Romeo’s best friend, Mercutio got killed by Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt. It is a secret marriage where Romeo’s parent (The Montague) and Juliet’s parent (The Capulet) didn’t even know that Romeo and Juliet got married.

The forth event took place in the beach where some members of the Montagues such as Sampson, Gregory and Benvolio, and the Prince’s nephew, Mercutio are about to fight with some members of the Capulet such as Tybalt, Abram and his servingmen, and Romeo arrive and then found out that Tybalt about fight with then. Tybalt kicked Romeo so many times and Mercutio started to punch Tybalt hard. Romeo distracted him and Tybalt stabbed Mercutio, and he said his death speech while he was walking and fell over. That’s how Romeo’s best friend, Mercutio got killed by Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt.

The fifth event took place in the part where Romeo killed Tybalt and Romeo left. The Prince, The Capulet, The Montague and the others arrived. Prince walks up to Benvolio and Prince ask him a question ‘What happened and who killed Tybalt?’ Benvolio said that Tybalt killed Mercutio and Romeo was crying, after that, Romeo decide to have revenge on Tybalt and he killed him. The Prince announced his speech that Romeo is banished from Verona and if he returns to Verona, he will be sentence to death.

The sixth event took place in Capulet’s house where Capulet discussing Paris about when he’s going to marry him. Paris said that he is going to marry Juliet on Thursday. Juliet is about to sleep but Lady Capulet (Juliet’s mother) enters Juliet’s bedroom to tell her that Juliet is going to marry Paris this Thursday. Juliet refused to marry Paris and Capulet (Juliet’s father) enters her bedroom, and asks Lady Capulet that did Juliet said yes that she is going to marry Paris Thursday. Lady Capulet said that she doesn’t want to marry him. Juliet said that Capulet just found a man who is going to marry her without love him, she never be proud for what she hate and she can be thankful of something she hate even if it was meant for love. Capulet started to get angry and pushing her, and he said that she will go to Saint Peter’s Church on Thursday to marry Paris and she disgust him. Juliet about to say something but Capulet distracted her and he said that on Thursday when she is going to marry Paris, she will never see his face again, she will not say anything to him, she will not reply him, she will not talk back to him and he feel like slapping her. After that, Capulet said that it makes him mad, all this times, he was able to find her a husband, now he found her future husband from a noble family who is a good-looking, young and well-educated man, that he is full of good qualities, while Juliet just saying that she won’t get married and she’s young, but if she won’t get married, she will no longer live with her family, if she act like his daughter, she will marry Paris on Thursday, and if she don’t act like his daughter she will starve and die in the streets and he will not break his promise.

The last event took place in Friar Lawrence on the part where Romeo drink the potion and killed himself. Juliet woke up after 42 hours of sleeping and she found out that Romeo is dead. Friar Lawrence and Balthazar arrived and he’s talking to Juliet after that the Watchmen arrived and Juliet killed her self. The others like the Prince, The Capulet and The Montague arrived and Friar Lawrence told the things that happened all this times like Romeo was a husband of Juliet. After that, the Capulet began to say nice things about Romeo and the Montague began to say nice things about Juliet. The Prince said that some will be forgiven and some will be punished.

The speech for chorus in Romeo and Juliet is the beginning part where it said “Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows, Do with their death bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.” The two households are the Capulet and the Montague and the star-cross’d lovers are Romeo and Juliet who killed themselves.

In conclusion, this shows that fate might be happing to any people. Some people doesn’t know that something good or bad is going to happen in the future and some people know that something good or bad is going to happen in the future that is being decided by God but you can’t change it, that is fate. This is how William Shakespeare explore the idea of fate in his play Romeo and Juliet.