Free Will In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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The play of Romeo and Juliet talks about how fate is an important aspect of life, because everyone's fate has already been decided. The only thing anyone can do about it is to decide how they are going to reach that fate. In this story, Romeo and Juliet were both destined to die at a young age, but the reason they died and how they died were influenced by their actions. At the beginning of the play, Romeo feels that going to the Capulet’s party will be an important part of determining his fate: “my mind misgives / Some consequence yet hanging in the stars / Shall bitterly begin his fearful date / With this night’s revels, and expire the term / Of a despised life closed in my breast / By some vile forfeit of untimely death. / But he that hath …show more content…
He is saying that he already believes in fate, but at he still continues to make the decision to go to the party and, in the end meet Juliet. It is that decision that influences the path of fate he is going down. Along the path that he chose, there is one other moment of a cross-roads. This is the moment when Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo must decide to go avenge his death, or let Tybalt be punished by the law. Romeo also seems to be only person who realizes, once he killed Tybalt, that this will play a major part of determining his fate, as he exclaims, “O, I am Fortune’s Fool!” (3.1.142). Fortune’s Fool in this situation represents fate, or the future that lies ahead of him. In Shakespearian time, it was believed that the stars controlled your fate, so he is referring to the heavens in the quote as well. This quote is an important part of the play, because he has just realized that he is on a one way street to meeting his destiny and there is no turning back. Also, no other character, besides Romeo, realizes their fate is set. Friar Lawrence suggests another observation about fate: “Of death, contagion, and unnatural sleep. / A greater power than we can contradict / Hath thwarted our
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