ESSAY - ROMEO AND JULIET

Romeo and Juliet Essay

           

 

Question: Shakespeare is concerned with the power of fate, the power of character flaws and the power of love to direct our destinies. Where have these concerns been evident in the play and how have they contributed to the final tragedy?

 

           

Shakespeare utilises the power of; fate, character flaws and love to direct our destinies. "Romeo and Juliet" demonstrates the fundamental reliance of forbidden love between two dissenting families to guide the play to its awaiting fate. Shakespeare foreshadows how the power of love leads the characters flaws to represent their individual and tragic future. These character flaws ironically effect how the power of love directs the predestined death of the forbidden couple and kin.

Throughout "Romeo and Juliet" Shakespeare is concerned with the power of fate to vehicle the characters to their awaiting destinies. Fate is personified as another character, "Is it e'en so? Then I defy you, stars," foreshadowing the rejection of guidelines, Romeo challenges fate, symbolised as stars.  In return, fate ironically destroys the future of Romeo and his lover. During the early stages of the play the vital role of fate is emphasised, during "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their lives." The pun from the prologue evidently foreshadows the "star-crossed lovers" fate, implying Romeo and Juliet's struggle to be together and the measures that are taken to make this true. Shakespeare concerns the dysfunctional relationship of the lovers with their parents, dramatically foretelling how they take their lives back yet ironically are not able to keep them, "with their death bury their parent's strife." In the play, Romeo and Juliet's parents are finally forced to resolve their strife when the iconic lines, "all are punished" are announced. The audience is reminded of the pervasive theme of fate to vehicle the play forth.

Fate continually plays a crucial role in directing destinies to the final tragedy when Mercutio curses the houses of Capulet and Montague. Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo's arm and during death Mercutio dramatically shouts, "A plague o' both your houses". Mercutio's ominous quote utilises repetition to curse Romeo and Juliet, foreshadowing their tragic ends, thus revealing dramatic irony to the reader. The repeated curse of the dying Mercutio engulfs the dark mood and indicates the sorrowful future. This evidently proves how the power of fate traps the lovers in a curse of their family names, directing the darkness of the play, "this day's black fate on moe days doth depend, This but begins the woe others must end." This paradox is announced after Mercutio's death, explaining how the curse was a sign from fate that it is the beginning of the end and that without one event the foreshadowed the tragedy may have never came.

In addition, the power of character flaws is evident to direct the tragic destinies throughout "Romeo and Juliet". The flaws of the characters contribute to the continuing theme of death. Mercutio mocks and deflates the idea of romantic love by shouting at Romeo "if love be rough with you, be rough with love." He personifies love and demands Romeo to find a new lover that would no longer "burden love", unlike Rosaline. Ironically Romeo takes upon a larger burden when falling for Juliet, "did my heart love till now?" Mercutio jealously mocks Tybalt's Italian style of duelling, "He rests his minim rests, one, two and the third in your bosom; the very butcher of a silk button, a duellist, a duellist". In this repetition Mercutio displays his witty assumption of others that supersedes logical thought, concerning his ability to prompt a fight or defend a friend, "O calm and honourable vile submission!... Tybalt, you rat catcher will you walk?" This oxymoron shows how Mercutio succumbs to his personality and then metaphorically insults Tybalt. This action induces tension and anger in the characters and therefore darkens the mood, exacerbating the inevitable final tragedy. Mercutio recurringly steals the scene with a bitter joke, seen when he declares during his awaited death, "They have made worms' meat of me...your houses!" Mercutio's last words are not a curse on fate however, blame death on the fight between the Montagues and the Capulets. His realistic look on life leads a belief that people are responsible for death rather an external impersonal force.

Romeo concerns himself with character flaws of immaturity and romanticism when fate directs his destiny. He lacks self-restraint by blaming everyone but himself for Juliet's "death like sleep." "As if that name... did murder her?" Romeo personifies the labelled family name, which trapped and killed their love, however he is blind to his own actions of selfishness. "in what vile part of this anatomy doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack the hateful mansion," metaphorically and rhetorically, Romeo questions why his name is labelled upon his feeling the same as his physical state. A "hateful mansion" is seen as his body which juxtaposes his feelings and therefore Romeo threatens to kill himself. Romeo connects to Juliet via his rebellious nature and feelings of rejection from family which contributes to his character faults that direct the play to its anticipating fate.

Shakespeare also concerns the power of love as an iconic theme in literary tradition to direct our destinies. The timeless love between the supposed enemies, "Three civil brawls bred of an airy word, By thee old Capulet, and Montague", purely flourishes with the rebellious conditions of their forbidden love, "I must be gone and live, or stay and die."  Ironically it is their parents that both trap and free the couple from living with their lovers. Romeo chooses to deny the powerful fate and immaturely take it into his control, "My only love sprung from my only hate... that I must love a loathed enemy". The paradox reveals Romeo's forbidden love and juxtaposes it with his unstable family feud, foreshadowing how death was the only chosen option when trying to survive in an unhealthy situation. Shakespeare's evident power of forbidden love contributes to the final tragedy and ironically elucidates hate to vehicle the play.

Shakespeare is evidently concerned with the power of fate, the power of character flaws and love in Romeo and Juliet to direct our destinies to the final tragedy. The fate controls the young love of Romeo and Juliet, leading to predestined death and destruction on the people of Verona. (1066)

If you are a higher level then me, skill wise, pleeeaassee give feedback!! I need to improve lol.

If you aren't I did get an A+ so it could help you out!