Fate vs. Youth

In the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, fate controlls the characters. The idea is that there is a supernatural force that determines how the characters are going to act and feel in different situations. Both Romeo and Juliet think that they were destined to be together, and if they could not be together, there was no reason to live. Hasty actions rush Romeo and Juliet’s marriage into a dangerous event that kills them and other characters. Was it truly fate that brought these two young lovers to such an untimely death, or was it rather their impetuosity that drove their uncontrollable passion? Shakespeare’s idea that afear of fate itself can influence other themes in the play, thus altering the events of the plot.  

Shakespeare wrote a total of thirty-seven plays in his lifetime. The time period in which he wrote was called the Elizabethan era. Most Elizabethans believed strongly that their lives were influenced by supernatural forces that were out of their hands. They believed that astrology was a   legitimate science and that fate was closely tied with the heavens, planets, and stars. This was called the, “chain of being”. In many plays, fate controls Shakespeare’s doomed lovers. Romeo and   Juliet play that part in the tragedy and their death is blamed on destiny. On the way to the Capulet party Romeo states, “I fear too early, for my mind misgives, some consequence yet hanging in the stars, shall bitterly begin his fearful date which this night’s revels and expire the term of a despised life, clos’d in my breast, by some vial forfeit of untimely death. But he that hath the steerage of my course direct my sail! On lusty gentlemen” (I.IV.106) The ominous outlook both Romeo and Juliet have on their relationship keeps them from complete happiness. Despite their predictions, they truly believe they were meant to be together, even if it   meant killing themselves. Romeo and Juliet killed themselves because they believed that their relationship would go beyond the...