The prologue introduces the theme of fate when the lovers are called star-crossed and death-marked . This means that the events of their lives, and their deaths, are somehow already decided. Later when Juliet looks at Romeo from the balcony she is upset that she sees him as one dead in the bottom of a tomb .

My grave is like to be my wedding bed. Juliet foreshadows her own death – her grave does become her wedding bed. O, I am fortune’s fool! Immediately after he kills Tybalt in a duel, Romeo declares he is “fortune’s fool.” This seems to suggest that fate or “fortune” is responsible for Tybalt’s death, not Romeo.

Though they did make their own choices, the story of Romeo and Juliet is controlled by fate over free will because of Juliet’s relationship with her father, the build-up of misunderstandings, and the resolve that followed their death.

The play’s opening lines tell us that Romeo and Juliet will die, and that their tragic end is fated. “Star-crossed” means “opposed by the stars.” In Shakespeare’s day as in ours, some people believed that the course of your life was determined by the motion and position of the stars.

To make good decisions, you need to understand the difference between fate and free will. Fate brings you opportunities, and free will determines whether or not you take them. Fate is the destiny that is pre-planned for you, but it’s up to you to do something with it.

Fate 1: The Prologue points out that Romeo and Juliet have fate against them. It says that their love is “death-marked,” and they have no control over what happens. It is their misfortune that leads to the sorrowful and tragic ending of the play.

By R K Langar. Free will relates to our exercise of will when performing actions in the present, whereas fate is the sum total of the effect of past actions that influence our present life. Exercise of free will in the past becomes our fate in the present. In a broader sense, free will and fate are not separate.

Fate plays an enormous role in Romeo and Juliet. Fate has conspired to ensure that that Romeo and Juliet, these two young people from warring families will meet, fall in love, and get married. Sadly, fate is also responsible for their deaths.

One of the first examples of fate in Romeo and Juliet is after the quarrel between the servants in the first act. Fate comes in when Montague says to Benvolio , “I would thou wert so happy by thy stay to hear true shrift…” This statement, and the ones prior, show that Montague and later, Capulet,…

Romeo and Juliet’s decisions and fate affect them to the very end. Romeo and Juliet are not able to live happily ever after because of their decisions and fate. Though it is chance that brings them together in the first place, it is their decision to choose loving each other. Romeo’s actions cause the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt ,…

If Romeo had involved himself in the fight then the story might be slightly different. However, some members of the audience now believe that the meeting of Romeo and Juliet was a folly, a foolish mistake , they say that Romeo and Juliet met each other by accident and that they would never have met if it wasn’t for a couple of foolish mistakes.