Essay paper-Greater Forces and Free Will in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, paints a picture of fate and coincidence overpowering free will and choices. Many times, during the play, Shakespeare makes the characters believe there is a greater force at hand that creates cruel outcomes and animosity between the two families. Friar Lawrence believes this fabrication and blames Romeos death on, “Unhappy Fortune!” (5.2.18). For Shakespeare, the deaths of Romeo and Juliet are influenced by a concept of fate and accidents, but ultimately Shakespeare’s message is that the outcomes if the characters’ lives are the result of willful and often reckless self-determination.
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Shakespeare’s exploration of the role of self-determination ironically begins with the assertion of the role of fate. The play begins with the idea that Romeo and Juliet are victims of fate: “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, / Whose misadventure piteous overthrows/ Doth with their death bury their parents’’ strife” (Prologue 6-8). The astrological concept of stars governing the outcomes of the characters is established and then promoted as the characters struggle to cope with ongoing events. Romeo repeats the idea of stars in his comments before the Montague party saying, “I fear, too early, for 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” ll.4.113-118). He ignores his sense of foreboding and proceeds to the party, as if he has no real control over his choices. Juliet echoes this idea of being at the whim of destiny while talking to Romeo after the party on the balcony: “O Fortune, Fortune! All men call thee fickle. / If thou art fickle, what dost thou with him/ That is renowned for faith? Be fickle, Fortune. / For then I hope thou wilt not keep him long, / But send him back” (3.5.60-64). She has no idea of how fickle Fate will be. Shakespeare seems to embrace to role of Fate again after Romeo’s killing of Tybalt. , he ill-fated killer cries, “Oh, I am fortune’s fool!” (3.1.98). Even the spiritual figure in the play asserts the role of Fate, which perhaps for him is the hand of God; after learning from Friar John of the failed deliver’/ of the letter warning Romeo of Juliet’s fake suicide scheme, Friar Lawrence feels victimized by Fate: “Unhappy fortune!” he cries {5.2.18). Finally, in the last act, Romeo’s last speech seems to conclude Shakespeare’s argument that the characters are controlled by fate, as Romeo prepares to die: “O, here/ Will I set up my everlasting rest/ And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars/ From this world-wearied flesh!” {5.3.106-112). These lovers do seem “star-crossed” (Prologue 6). Evidently, Shakespeare, by having the characters use this fatalistic vocabulary, is affirming a fatalistic philosophy. However, despite this imagery, the playwright deconstructs this view.
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The playwright makes use of the idea of accident and coincidence to start to undermine the idea that larger forces are at work. In the play, accidents and coincidences play a more relevant role than the characters’ personal references to fate starting with the illiterate servant that Capulet sent with the party’s guest list. This servant is unable to read and before he runs into someone that can he says, “I must to the learned. In good time” (1.2.43-44) what he says shows that the servant was looking for anyone, even a Montague, to read the guest list. As the servant says this line Romeo and Benvolio cross his path. Coincidentally, this encounter leads to Romeo going to the party; thus, making the meeting between Romeo and Juliet possible. Two acts later, Tybalt enters a public place and begins asking Mercutio if he is an acquaintance of Romeo. Before Tybalt can say another line, Romeo enters; Tybalt and the others were not expecting Romeo to show up. This fact shows when Tybalt says, “Here comes my man.” (3. 1. 53) In this scene, by coincidence, Romeo shows up and by ignoring Tybalt starts a fight that leaves two dead. This scene changes the mood of the play from comedy to tragedy. After these deaths, Prince Escalus banished Romeo to Mantua, because of these predicaments Friar Lawrence and Juliet came up with a plan to fake Juliet’s death so she can escape with Romeo. After Juliet takes the potion, Friar Lawrence has Friar John deliver a letter to Romeo about the details to fake Juliet’s death. After the news of Juliet’s “death” Romeo becomes depressed and wants to kill himself to be with Juliet. Shakespeare explains to the audience that the doctors took Friar John to a plague house although he was not sick, resulting him being unable to deliver the plan to Romeo in time. This mistake, coincidentally, is the breaking point resulting in Romeo and Juliet’s death. Although these accidents and coincidences happen to create key points of the plot, this play drives forward because of the characters’ choices and free will.
The characters in Shakespeare’s play rely on references to fate so they do not have to feel guilty or suffer the consequences. Truly, all their actions happen because of the choices they made and the way they choose to behave. These choices begin to show within the first act between the Capulet and Montague servants. Sampson, a servant to house Capulet, turns to Gregory and tells him, “Quarrel. I will back thee” (1.1.32). Here, Sampson, tells Gregory, before they fight the Montague servants, that he has his back; both the Capulets and Montagues were aware that whoever starts the fight will be punished by the law. The Prince then told the Capulets and Montagues that, “if [they] ever disturb [the] streets again, [their] lives shall pay for the forfeit of peace” (1.1.94-95). This statement brings forth the banishment of Romeo in act 3, during which he chose to kill Tybalt. Seconds after killing Tybalt, Romeo claims “O, I am fortune’s fool!” (3.1.136), even though he chose to fight and kill Tybalt. This statement is what Shakespeare uses to advert the reader from thinking the Choices were to blame for the outcome. When the Prince banished Romeo, Juliet became very depressed; She went to visit Friar Lawrence for help. Instead of waiting to come up with a logical and thought out plan, Friar Lawrence suggests that Juliet should fake her own death. Juliet makes the choice to jump on the idea and says, “I will do it without fear or doubt” (4.1.87). That night, Juliet drinks the vial; the next day, Romeo hears of her supposed death and sinks into a state of depression. Romeo rushes to an apothecary and begs the man to sell him poison; He chose he would rather be with Juliet in death then go on in life without her.
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