romeo and juliet analysis of fate theme

1 )"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life"- fate is inevitable

At the time, "loins" and "lines" would have been pronounced in the same way, leading audiences to realise the passage is not just about birth, but ancestry and heritage passed down generations.Allitertaion of ‘f’- emphasis that how their birth is diasastrous.This begins the second quatrain and marks a change in focus from the feud of the two families to the dalliances of the two lovers in question. "Fatal loins" is also a pun. Both Romeo and Juliet have come from the loins of feuding families. Loins also represent sexual organs, and the young lovers' lust for each other contributes to their downfall.

As we know from the prologue of this play, which introduces the couple as “star-crossed,” it becomes clear that the couple’s relationship is to face hardships. This phrase has been used as a harbinger of doom and devastation for the couple. The term "star-crossed" refers to the idea that those involved will be impacted in a negative way. The term generally refers to a couple that due to some unfortunate circumstance, some uncontrollable, pre-determined fate are destined for failure. Star-cross'd" means "opposed (crossed) by the stars," the arbiters of man's fateDuring the Elizabethan era, one’s destiny or fate was viewed by most as predetermined. “Most of the people in Shakespeare’s time believed in astrology, the philosophy that a person’s life was partly determined by the stars and the planets” Imagery- This excites the audience, as they are watching a play with tragic consequences. From the onset, the audience knows what is going to happen and witnesses the downfall of the two main characters, Romeo and Juliet.. ‘Take their life’- foreshadow suicide OR saying that children take their first breath of life once they have been born. their love is almost written in the stars and they are made for each other.

2)

fearful passage of their death-mark'd love'.

Death-marked love is an oxymoron, a seemingly contradictory phrase that is, however, true. The feelings love produce are oxymoronic.

Their love had made them destined to die- cuz of feud

‘Fearful’- intrigue audience or reveal the danger their love brings forth.

3)

"my mind misgives/Some consequence yet hanging in the stars. shall bitterly begin this fearful date" 1.4
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The final deaths of them both (Romeo and Juliet) is the "consequence" that he is talking about and the bitterness that starts the pathway to their ultimate tragedy is their first encounter, since they are supposed to be opposing enemies. For these reasons, Romeo and Juliet's first meeting is compulsory and sure to happen, fate being the most powerful force at work, determining their future. Dramatic irony- audience already knows of their death

4) "But He that hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail!" If you notice, the pronoun is capitalized and is most often used when talking about God. So what Romeo is saying is that he puts his fate in the hands of God. He uses the imagery of sailing by linking "steerage of my course" with "sail"

5)

vile forfeit of untimely death- untimely means that the demise of Romeo and Juliet’s love was both premature and unfortunate. "forfeit" can be both a noun and a very and in this case it is a noun meaning the price he will have to pay for going to this party.” vile”- repulse by fate. This scene creates a semantic field of death- to foreshadow suicide.
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6)

3.1 “ This days black fate on more days doth depend; this but begins the woe, others must end”

Means - The future will be affected by today’s terrible events. Today is the start of a terror that will end in the days ahead. Here, Shakespeare foreshadows destined murder. Romeo is going to kill Tybalt for the hatred he has bestowed upon . Romeo believes himself and Mercutio to be the victims of fate, calling Mercutio’s death “[t]his day’s black fate” (line 121). He is trying to say fate is a bad thing because the word 'Black' is used. That means Darkness is implied and Romeo knows that more bad things are going to happen because of Mercutio's death and that the day is the start of a terror that will end in the days ahead. As you read on you notice that Shakespeare likes to use the word black to represent bad events

7)

`I am fortunes fool.- fate is perfonified. Romeo refers to himself as fortune's fool because his love and marriage to Juliet have filled his head so much that he does not pay full attention when he encounters Tybalt in the street. Romeo is discreetly referencing the prologue, where the audience learns that Romeo and Juliet are fated for misfortune. But Romeo also feels Fortune is being especially cruel; he just got married, and he might be put to death. His words bring the idea of fate and destiny back into the audience's mind. After the fight he relises the gravity of what he has done as he has cost his Mercuitos life by his ill timed intervention in his fight with Tybalt OR He could consider himself fortunate to be married to Juliet and and a fool for killing her cousin Tybalt. Ironically, this statement is possibly foreshadowing the end of the story. Romeo is fortunate to have loved Juliet, but he is a fool in the end because he kills himself, unaware that Juliet is only sleeping. Fortune means the foretold future, so other words for it are fate and destiny. By saying this, Shakespeare is using personification to make it sound like destiny is a person.
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3.3 “"I have an ill-divining soul..." To divine or take part in the practice of divination is to try to see the future. Juliet has a premonition, a bad feeling, about Romeo's future. "Methinks I see thee, now thou are below..." Romeo and Juliet have just spoken, Juliet from the balcony, Romeo from below her. Some people play this part that Romeo climbed up to the balcony with her, but either way at this point she is looking down on him from her balcony. "...as one dead in the bottom of a tomb. Either my eyesight fails or thou lookst pale..." Romeo appears to her now as he would if she were looking down upon him in a tomb, dead, pale like a dead person. This is significant because Juliet unconciously is foreshadowing Romeo's death- fate pervades everyones thoughts to ensure things are going as it has been set. As you can there is blantant symbolism but in Shakespeare’s times even blatant symbolism is better than no symbolism, there is the “thou art so low” which clearly indicates the fact the they are going to die and as in western civilization they are going to be in a coffin. There is also the “or thoust look pale”, which is what a body looks like after death. Also the fact that the dramatic irony and suspense Is strengthened Every time there is a premonition.

1.5 “If he be married / My grave is like to be my wedding bed." -i ronically, while this hyperbole contains the impetuous words of a young woman, Juliet's words become soberly and sadly true. It iss use of irony because she at this point thinks she will escape from the tomb however little does she know that her grave will actually become her wedding bed next to romeo. The image of death as a bridegroom for Juliet is repeated throughout the play to maintain an atmosphere of impending tragedy and Since we in the audience know that Juliet’s grave and her wedding are in fact the same or pretty closely aligned, this line serves as disturbing foreshadowing for future tragic events.- increase dramatic irony.. Juliet has already fallen in love with Romeo- shows how they are destined to be star crossed lovers. Since Juliet could not see beforehand that Romeo is an enemy, by fate, she begins to love him unconditionally. Simile- to say that If he's married, I'll just die

5.3 “A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents”- When Juliet awakens and finds Romeo dead, the Friar tells Juliet that a "higher power"—either God or fate—has ruined their plans. Hm. It seems like the Friar doesn't want to take any responsibility for the part he played in the couple's tragedy. After all, Friar Laurence (a grown man who ought to know better) is the one who (1) facilitated the secret marriage, and then (2) came up with the idea for Juliet to drink the sleeping potion that would make everyone think she was dead.. verb “thwarted” has a harsh t sound to make it seem as if fates actions have been cruel

5.1 s it even so? Then I defy you, stars!" Later, in Juliet's tomb, as he plans his own death, Romeo says: "O, here/Will I set up my everlasting rest,/And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars/From this world-wearied flesh." This brave defiance of fate is especially heartbreaking because Romeo's suicide is the event that actually leads to Juliet's death. he is defying or rebelling against the fate Heaven has handed down to him. Romeo won't accept his message that Juliet is dead.

And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars- Meaning to resist the domination of unfavourable stars ( bad luck). This is paradoxical as fate is shown to be fixed throughput the play yet romeo claims to fight aainst such bad fate.He is saying that he wants to take his fate into his own hands. Inauspicious means unfortunate, so he is blaming fate (the stars )for what has happened- they did not do their job of containing the future he expected. He believed that his destiny was to marry Juliet and live happily ever. The dramatic irony is that he is thinking that he is taking his fate into his own hands, but he is actually fulfilling fate, obviously by killing himself.

A modern reader, examining the play through another lens, may feel that Romeo and Juliet's fates were not wholly predetermined, but rather a series of unfortunate and unlucky events. Here are just a few of the coincidental or unlucky events that force the story into its preordained track:

Romeo and Benvolio happen to meet and talk about love on the very day of the Capulets' ball. Had they had the conversation the following day, Romeo would not have met Juliet.

Friar Lawrence's messenger to Romeo, who would have explained the plan by which Juliet was to pretend death, is detained. As a result, Romeo doesn't get the message.

Juliet wakes just moments after Romeo's suicide. Had Romeo arrived just a few moments later, all would have been well.

While it is certainly possible to describe the events of Romeo and Juliet as a series of unfortunate events and coincidences, however, that was almost certainly not Shakespeare's intent.
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sidr3546

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