The concept of fate has touched many lives throughout the centuries, and over time it, along with its counterpart free will, has [been?] transcended into the form of literature. Its influence is evident in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, particularly in how Pip, and his object of affection, Estella, are repeatedly subjected to preordained events. Furthermore, free will, or the ability to determine our own destiny, also holds sway over the characters in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, specifically Romeo and Juliet themselves. Free will has a greater influence on the characters in Romeo and Juliet than fate, while in Great Expectations, it proves to be the opposite, with fate having more heavily impacted Pip, and his associates.
Free will has a greater influence on characters in Romeo and Juliet as indicated by the many instances in which Romeo and Juliet decided that they wished to end their own lives. One such instance was when Romeo speaks to Friar Lawrence after having killed Tybalt. He states,“...--O, tell me, friar, tell me,/ In what vile part of this anatomy/ Doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack/ The hateful mansion.” (Shakespeare III.iii.114-117) As this quote helps to illustrate, the power of free will can be quite harmful if used with malintent. If Romeo had been left to his own devices he would have chosen to stab himself. His decision to “sack/ The hateful mansion.” (Shakespeare III.iii.116-117) would have been of his own choosing, but it
In William Shakespeare's tragic play Romeo and Juliet, there are four quotes about fate and choice. The characters in the play choose their own fate, it happens because of their choices or actions. First, in the beginning of the play Romeo and Juliet are referred to as 'a pair of star-crossed lovers' (Romeo and Juliet, Prologue). Second, Romeo explains to Mercutio how he has a dream that if he goes to the Montague party he will die, but Romeo chooses to go to the party anyway. Third, Romeo kills Tybalt right after his marriage to Juliet. Fourth, Romeo decides to commit suicide because he hears of Juliet's death.
Fate is a hidden, but unavoidable force that leads to certain consequences in people’s lives. The theme of fate plays a crucial role in the main characters of the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet share a destiny that dooms them to tragic deaths immediately after the exchange of their zealous love. Despite their resolute attempts to challenge their destiny, the lovers still succumb to the inexorable powers of fate. In the Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet, the principle of fate propels the lovers together with infatuation, tears them apart through a bitter demise, yet, ensures peace in Verona for many future generations.
When two people are meant to be together, no time is too long” (Anonymous). Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and West Side Story by Arthur Laurents show the pure evils of acting extremely hastily and how it can change the outlook on the future. Romeo and Juliet are two young lovers who were taught to hate one another and who suffer deeply because of the consequences of fate. Romeo and Juliet’s deaths were sure to be tragic as was hinted at early on throughout the play. Both families suffer with the loss of their children as well as other family members. Maria and Tony are split from one another because of extreme violence, hatred, and the differences between their New York City gangs. Each of them
The death of Romeo and Juliet was partially because of free will. The fact that Romeo and Juliet got married knowing that there was a bitter feud between their families, the Montague and Capulet’s. This feud brought on many problems, such as the murder of Tybalt by Romeo. Juliet knew that this might be a problem for Her and Romeo. Juliet had said: “What’s in a name”? Which explains her ill fate of being a Capulet and Romeo being a Montague. When Romeo tells his servant “ Ay, mine own
Fate is defined as, ‘the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power’. In the time in which ‘Romeo and Juliet’ was written, many people were strong believers of fate and it was a common belief in society. William Shakespeare was a famous poet who is recognised for his powerful writing and contribution to the English language. One of William Shakespeare’s highly recognised plays is ‘Romeo and Juliet’ written in the late 1500’s. It is a play about two star-crossed lovers alongside fate who by their death end the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Friar Laurence is not to blame for the tragic events which occurs in the play due to the fact that other
The deaths of Romeo and Juliet were freewill because of the choices they decided to make along the way.There was many times throughout the story where Romeo and Juliet could have prevented their deaths. For instance, Romeo could have handled Tybalt better, Juliet followed the priest plan, and finally it was Romeos free will to kill himself.
In act 2 scene 2, Romeo sneaks into the Capulet Gardens to get a chance to meet Juliet again. Romeo had chosen to sneak in and find Juliet himself, meaning that this was a choice of his own free will. This wouldn’t be possible if some other factor had not allowed him to do so because then that would be fate not allowing him to see Juliet. This is a form a free will because he is willing to take risks for what he loves, and in this case, it is Juliet. Another example of free will would be in act 5 scene 3. In this scene, Juliet decides to stab herself with Romeo’s blade after Romeo had died. This shows that she had displayed an act of free will because she had faced her fears and chose to die instead of living on. This is important, because if you are to scared to kill yourself, then you would not be able to do it, but Juliet had already decided, and killed herself despite the natural feeling of not wanting to die. In conclusion, both Romeo and Juliet exhibited acts of free will and they were because they had something that the loved that they would risk themselves
Fate vs. Free will. What is the balance between the two? In the play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo screams up to the heavens, “O, I am fortune's fool!”, suggesting that he didn’t have control of his future. Romeo got stuck in the moment and made the decision to steer his fate down a never ending hill. "But He, that hath the steerage of my course, / Direct my sail!" Romeo makes the decision to attend something which leads to something much bigger than he could hold. He evan feels inside him that something doesn't freel in place, but he forges on ahead waiting for the problems to show themselves from their disguises. These 2 quotes show the balance between fate and freewill. But where is the line drawn between them? What was shakespeare so focused on by fate and free will? How did this play out in the play?
One example of fate in Romeo and Juliet is that they couldn’t get married. Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Romeo didn’t have any free will all thanks to his parents. Romeo was already engaged to someone, even though he didn’t like them, when he met Juliet. Romeo made a choice when he decided that
Fate is the cause of inevitable outcomes destined to happen. In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, are impacted by the effects of fate. However, human factors caused by free will profoundly affect the tragedy of their love. Romeo and Juliet’s ill-fated lives made them destined to die due to fate. Although their death has been written by fate, Lord Capulet, Tybalt, and Friar Laurence have influenced their death in many ways.
A tragedy is determined by the free will of the characters. If the character(s) make a good decision, most likely they will be a good outcome, however bad decisions may result in bad outcomes. Depending on the choices and actions of the characters make determines the rest of the story (future). What you do determines your future and your outcome. The outcome of a tragedy is determined by free will because the characters make decisions that lead to their actions which then leads to the outcome.
Fate and free will are two contradictory theories, one either has control over their lives and the decisions that take place in them or they’re simply following out the plan of a divine being. Romeo and Juliet, a Shakespeare play, brings light to idea people have no grasp on the outcome of their lives despite any decisions they may make. From the very beginning the love affair of the Montague boy and Capulet girl reveals that the outcomes of one’s life is preset. The monologue blatantly out states, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents’ strife” (Shakespeare 1). Before the audience is able to even witness Romeo and Juliet fall in love they are told that
Free Will is when you are making the decisions on your own, that nothing is meant to be unless you make it happen. Fate states that your story is already written for you. So, if your story is already written out, can you change it? The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was the result of free will. The tragedy was mainly caused by the actions made by Romeo and Juliet leading up to their deaths. Romeo and Juliet made decisions such as, deciding to sneak out and deciding to get married. These decisions created the path for them to commit suicide. The way Romeo and Juliet rebel on purpose and the deaths of Romeo and Juliet prove why the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was the result of free will.
Free Will over Fate Throughout Romeo and Juliet, a major theme is shown through the combination of fate and free-will. While both fate and free-will play a hand in Romeo and Juliet’s ending, Shakespeare emphasizes through their tragedy that it is ultimately irresponsibility and impulsiveness that causes this ending. Throughout this play, Shakespeare demonstrates how fate affects certain events and their outcome, such as the falling in love of Romeo and Juliet. In the beginning, he writes “from forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.”
The wildcard factors are to be blamed the most for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet due to fate. This is because a divine power and/or unchangeable sequence of events that happened to the characters caused the unlikely outcome of the lovers. While the characters in the play still had free will, any actions that they did would have still led to the guaranteed conclusion of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. For example, after Juliet meets Romeo at the Capulet ball, she says: “My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!”(1:5:140). This proves that while Romeo was a Montague, a person Juliet was supposed to hate, she falls in love anyway in a fateful manner. It is heavily implied that fate brought the two together, and that there