Kaylie Wilson
Mr. Kerr
Honor’s English 1
February 20, 2015
Love for Life
Romeo and Juliet has opened my eyes to the difference between choices and fate. Shakespeare may have wrote this classic tale of love to be a story of fate, but fate may not have been the only factor in Romeo and Juliet’s epic love story. The decisions made by Romeo and Juliet are not all bad, but because those choices were a result of fate, the star-crossed lovers were doomed from the beginning. No matter what happened, no matter the choices they made, Romeo and Juliet were programmed to fall in love and be in love for the rest of their lives.
The Prologue foreshadows the entire story of the star-crossed lovers. The two families both at the same rank of society fighting for years and both of them killing one of each other. It even talks of the lovers fates and their deaths. Also of the teenagers’ deaths ending the grudges between the parents of Romeo and Juliet.
The crazy story of the two lovers begins at a party of the Capulets that Romeo crashes out of his pained love for Rosaline. Romeo finds out news of the party when he reads the paper one of Capulet’s servants had and needed help because of his illiteracy. Benvolio urges Romeo to attend the party with him and compare Rosaline to other women because Romeo thinks that no one can ever replace Rosaline. Romeo agrees to going to the gathering but only “... to rejoice in splendor of mine own.”(I.ii.108), speaking of his Rosaline that has agreed to be a nun and never marry. Romeo did not nor did Juliet made this decision for Rosaline, it was just fate that Romeo fell “in love” with a woman that chose to strengthen the bond in her faith.
When Romeo arrives at the party Tybalt, immediately noticed that a Montague was in their presence so he wanted to kill Romeo but when Capulet hears of this he says to Tybalt,
Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone.
‘A bears him like a portly gentleman,
And, to say truth, Verona brags of him
To be a virtuous and well-governed youth.
(I.v.72-75)
If Capulet would have never said anything to Tybalt then Romeo and Juliet may never have met. Seconds later, Romeo and Juliet meet, kiss for the first and second kiss in the middle of the dance floor, and fall in love. Juliet is then pulled away from Romeo’s embrace and is told to go see her mother, the lady of the house. This is when Romeo finds out that again his love is doomed because their families are ancient foes.
One choice made by Romeo that may not be a bad decision but a risky decision was after the feast Romeo returns to the Capulet’s. Romeo could not stand to not see Juliet after just meeting his love and finding out that they were never meant to be together. On the balcony Romeo asks for Juliet to marry him, this question was from deep down in Romeo’s heart, this lies in his and Juliet’s destiny, their fate. Although their love is fate the feud between the families is still holding strong.
Romeo quickly starts to try and make plans for the marriage so he turns to Friar Lawrence who is close to Romeo, to perform the ceremony. Friar Lawrence is confused because he recalls that just yesterday Romeo was weeping over Rosaline. Romeo tells Friar of Juliet and that she is a Capulet and Friar sees an opportunity to end the battle among the two houses. The approach of Friar Lawrence to the marriage, is to unite the families. Fate has other plans. Although Friar believes he is doing the right thing and that he is bringing the two families together, because Romeo and Juliet never have the chance to publicize their marriage before their deaths it doesn’t unite the family in joy. The families are eventually united in death.
Tybalt, with a fury that is always with him throughout the story, comes to a public place and starts a fight with Mercutio. Tybalt is sword fighting with Mercutio when Romeo comes in between them and tries to break up the fighting. Romeo doesn’t want to hurt Tybalt because now they are family, but in the process of holding Mercutio back he exposes Mercutio to Tybalt’s blows. Tybalt kills Mercutio then flees the scene. This was a combination of things put together to end in death, one of the deaths from civil hand mentioned in the Prologue. Not one choice led to this death. Choices definitely played a role in this situation but it wasn’t just one person’s decision, when things like this happen it is fate.
Romeo is very close friends with Mercutio and when Mercutio is killed, he first takes care of Mercutio and then Tybalt returns to fight Romeo. Romeo then kills Tybalt in the process of fighting him, Romeo runs to Friar Lawrence. Romeo is thinking about killing himself when Friar tells Romeo of his banishment. Friar is not letting Romeo commit suicide, he tells him it is selfish and that they are lucky Romeo is not given the death punishment. Friar makes this choice for Romeo and it is not really a choice it is a given plan, as fate is this such plan, Romeo is to leave Verona. Friar uses hyperboles saying when he calls Romeo back to Verona he will be “... twenty hundred thousand times more joy Than thou wentst forth in lamentation.” (III.iii.170-171)
Juliet is in the same amount of agony as Romeo when Nurse tells her of Tybalt’s death and her husband’s banishment. Juliet says “And death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead!” (III.ii.149) The new wife is saying that because she and Romeo never finished the wedding day with each other, and that death will be her husband. This is personification of death and may even be foreshadowing of Romeo and her death’s at the end of the play. Juliet’s nurse seeks out Romeo to bring him to Juliet so they may spend their first night, last night, and wedding night together.
In the morning after the two have been with each other all night, Romeo does not want to leave. Romeo would rather stay with Juliet and die than leave and live. Juliet wants Romeo to stay with her but does not want him to die so she forces him to leave. This is a choice made by Juliet and is a good decision. Again, fate has other plans. Lady Capulet and Capulet tell Juliet of her plans for marriage to Count Paris. Juliet of course is very reluctant but then realizes that her parents will get their way in the end.
Juliet consents to marrying Paris only to go to Friar and ask for help. Juliet wants to kill herself rather than be married to two men, so Friar gives her a potion to take the night before the wedding to make her look dead. Her nurse and parents will find her “dead” and then take her to the family tomb where Romeo would be waiting for her and they would escape to Mantua together. That was the scenario if everything went as they chose. Everything goes as planned until Romeo doesn’t get word on time and thinks Juliet is really dead so he decides to go to the tomb and kill himself. Fate has taken over at this point and when Juliet wakes up to a dying Romeo she decides to kill herself also.
Romeo and Juliet were doomed from the beginning, but perhaps they weren’t supposed to have a long life. Maybe the two teens were meant to have a happy life, maybe they weren’t supposed to do anymore than bring their two families together. Possibly, fate had picked them to end the feud as soon as the feud started. Fate might not have known that Romeo and Juliet would fall in love, or make choices that they did, but in the end the stars told the story, maybe these two lovers were just shooting stars lighting up the night sky for a moment.
Mr. Kerr
Honor’s English 1
February 20, 2015
Love for Life
Romeo and Juliet has opened my eyes to the difference between choices and fate. Shakespeare may have wrote this classic tale of love to be a story of fate, but fate may not have been the only factor in Romeo and Juliet’s epic love story. The decisions made by Romeo and Juliet are not all bad, but because those choices were a result of fate, the star-crossed lovers were doomed from the beginning. No matter what happened, no matter the choices they made, Romeo and Juliet were programmed to fall in love and be in love for the rest of their lives.
The Prologue foreshadows the entire story of the star-crossed lovers. The two families both at the same rank of society fighting for years and both of them killing one of each other. It even talks of the lovers fates and their deaths. Also of the teenagers’ deaths ending the grudges between the parents of Romeo and Juliet.
The crazy story of the two lovers begins at a party of the Capulets that Romeo crashes out of his pained love for Rosaline. Romeo finds out news of the party when he reads the paper one of Capulet’s servants had and needed help because of his illiteracy. Benvolio urges Romeo to attend the party with him and compare Rosaline to other women because Romeo thinks that no one can ever replace Rosaline. Romeo agrees to going to the gathering but only “... to rejoice in splendor of mine own.”(I.ii.108), speaking of his Rosaline that has agreed to be a nun and never marry. Romeo did not nor did Juliet made this decision for Rosaline, it was just fate that Romeo fell “in love” with a woman that chose to strengthen the bond in her faith.
When Romeo arrives at the party Tybalt, immediately noticed that a Montague was in their presence so he wanted to kill Romeo but when Capulet hears of this he says to Tybalt,
Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone.
‘A bears him like a portly gentleman,
And, to say truth, Verona brags of him
To be a virtuous and well-governed youth.
(I.v.72-75)
If Capulet would have never said anything to Tybalt then Romeo and Juliet may never have met. Seconds later, Romeo and Juliet meet, kiss for the first and second kiss in the middle of the dance floor, and fall in love. Juliet is then pulled away from Romeo’s embrace and is told to go see her mother, the lady of the house. This is when Romeo finds out that again his love is doomed because their families are ancient foes.
One choice made by Romeo that may not be a bad decision but a risky decision was after the feast Romeo returns to the Capulet’s. Romeo could not stand to not see Juliet after just meeting his love and finding out that they were never meant to be together. On the balcony Romeo asks for Juliet to marry him, this question was from deep down in Romeo’s heart, this lies in his and Juliet’s destiny, their fate. Although their love is fate the feud between the families is still holding strong.
Romeo quickly starts to try and make plans for the marriage so he turns to Friar Lawrence who is close to Romeo, to perform the ceremony. Friar Lawrence is confused because he recalls that just yesterday Romeo was weeping over Rosaline. Romeo tells Friar of Juliet and that she is a Capulet and Friar sees an opportunity to end the battle among the two houses. The approach of Friar Lawrence to the marriage, is to unite the families. Fate has other plans. Although Friar believes he is doing the right thing and that he is bringing the two families together, because Romeo and Juliet never have the chance to publicize their marriage before their deaths it doesn’t unite the family in joy. The families are eventually united in death.
Tybalt, with a fury that is always with him throughout the story, comes to a public place and starts a fight with Mercutio. Tybalt is sword fighting with Mercutio when Romeo comes in between them and tries to break up the fighting. Romeo doesn’t want to hurt Tybalt because now they are family, but in the process of holding Mercutio back he exposes Mercutio to Tybalt’s blows. Tybalt kills Mercutio then flees the scene. This was a combination of things put together to end in death, one of the deaths from civil hand mentioned in the Prologue. Not one choice led to this death. Choices definitely played a role in this situation but it wasn’t just one person’s decision, when things like this happen it is fate.
Romeo is very close friends with Mercutio and when Mercutio is killed, he first takes care of Mercutio and then Tybalt returns to fight Romeo. Romeo then kills Tybalt in the process of fighting him, Romeo runs to Friar Lawrence. Romeo is thinking about killing himself when Friar tells Romeo of his banishment. Friar is not letting Romeo commit suicide, he tells him it is selfish and that they are lucky Romeo is not given the death punishment. Friar makes this choice for Romeo and it is not really a choice it is a given plan, as fate is this such plan, Romeo is to leave Verona. Friar uses hyperboles saying when he calls Romeo back to Verona he will be “... twenty hundred thousand times more joy Than thou wentst forth in lamentation.” (III.iii.170-171)
Juliet is in the same amount of agony as Romeo when Nurse tells her of Tybalt’s death and her husband’s banishment. Juliet says “And death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead!” (III.ii.149) The new wife is saying that because she and Romeo never finished the wedding day with each other, and that death will be her husband. This is personification of death and may even be foreshadowing of Romeo and her death’s at the end of the play. Juliet’s nurse seeks out Romeo to bring him to Juliet so they may spend their first night, last night, and wedding night together.
In the morning after the two have been with each other all night, Romeo does not want to leave. Romeo would rather stay with Juliet and die than leave and live. Juliet wants Romeo to stay with her but does not want him to die so she forces him to leave. This is a choice made by Juliet and is a good decision. Again, fate has other plans. Lady Capulet and Capulet tell Juliet of her plans for marriage to Count Paris. Juliet of course is very reluctant but then realizes that her parents will get their way in the end.
Juliet consents to marrying Paris only to go to Friar and ask for help. Juliet wants to kill herself rather than be married to two men, so Friar gives her a potion to take the night before the wedding to make her look dead. Her nurse and parents will find her “dead” and then take her to the family tomb where Romeo would be waiting for her and they would escape to Mantua together. That was the scenario if everything went as they chose. Everything goes as planned until Romeo doesn’t get word on time and thinks Juliet is really dead so he decides to go to the tomb and kill himself. Fate has taken over at this point and when Juliet wakes up to a dying Romeo she decides to kill herself also.
Romeo and Juliet were doomed from the beginning, but perhaps they weren’t supposed to have a long life. Maybe the two teens were meant to have a happy life, maybe they weren’t supposed to do anymore than bring their two families together. Possibly, fate had picked them to end the feud as soon as the feud started. Fate might not have known that Romeo and Juliet would fall in love, or make choices that they did, but in the end the stars told the story, maybe these two lovers were just shooting stars lighting up the night sky for a moment.