How is fate used in Romeo and Juliet essay

Shakespeare use the idea of fate on many occasions in Romeo and Juliet. some examples of this are the ship metaphor, the use of coincidence, foreshadowing and many more. Many characters in Romeo and Juliet believe that fate controls their entire lives. This could have something to do with religion, as the majority of people back then in Europe, especially Spain, France and the holy roman empire were Christian, and the rest belonged to some other religion, and many Christians even now believe in fate.

The first idea I will be looking at is the ship metaphor. A metaphor is similar to a figure of speech. In the play, Romeo says that he feels as if he is on a ship in the ocean with somebody else doing the steering. He quotes, “He that hath the steerage of my course; direct my sail!”. This shows us he believes or feels as if someone apart from him is controlling his life and general outcome. This could be a reason Romeo often acts very recklessly or impulsively, such as when Romeo kills Tybalt after Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo says “Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain!  Away to heaven, respective lenity,  And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now.” If he would not have killed Tybalt, he would not have been banished to outside Verona walls, and he would not have had to plan away to meet Juliet, which ultimately got both of them killed. In 1623, when Shakespeare first wrote Romeo and Juliet, religion was a massive thing and to be an atheist was considered a sin, and even maybe punishable by death in some severe occasions. Shakespeare growing up in a society and world where religions and gods played a massive role in everyday life could have something to do with him saying that Romeo was thinking that God or a different higher religious power had more control over his life than he did.

The second idea in Romeo and Juliet that conveyed the idea of fate is coincidence. although there are many great examples of this in Romeo and Juliet, I thought that when the servant bearing the invite to Juliet’s party asked Romeo, of all people, to read it for him as the servant couldn’t read, was the best pick. The servant says after Romeo reads the letter for him: “Now I’ll tell you without asking. My master is the great rich Capulet; and if you be not of the house of Montague’s, I pray, come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry!” This meant that a single Romeo and his friend who was trying to get Romeos mind off Rosaline, who rejected Romeo, found out about Juliet’s party, which would be a perfect opportunity to get Romeo with a girl who he had a chance with. The only problem was that Romeo and Mercutio (Romeo’s friend) were of Montague and it was a Capulet only party, and most fighters of the two houses would fight each other on sight. Without the servant not being able to read Romeo wouldn’t have met Juliet, and anything in the play that follows, including Romeo and Juliet’s suicides wouldn’t have occurred.

My last idea in Romeo and Juliet that portrays fate is foreshadowing. foreshadowing is when people predict something without knowing it. this happens a lot in Romeo and Juliet, an example of this is when after Romeo kills Tybalt, he hears he will be banished to outside the city. he says, “Hence-banished is banish’d from the world, And world’s exile is death: then banished, Is death mis-term’d: calling death banishment, Thou cutt’st my head off with a golden axe, And smilest upon the stroke that murders me.” This means that he would rather die than be apart from Juliet, and in the end of the play he chose to kill kill himself when he sees her dead, which nobody could have predicted without luck/fate. foreshadowing happens on many different occasions in Romeo and Juliet, especially in Romeo and Juliet’s dreams. An example of Romeo’s dreams foreshadowing future events in the play is when Romeo tells his friends he has had an omnius dream that is forbearing bad and dark events, including untimely death in the near future, which ultimately happens.

In conclusion, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet uses the idea of fate in the play very often, and very well. The ones I went through were the ship metaphor, the use of coincidence and foreshadowing. Fate can be used in many different ways and under many different circumstances, and these three were the best in this play.