Introduction
Romeo and Juliet, a famous play by William Shakespeare, is widely known. Many have either read it, watched the play, or heard of it. Shakespeare first wrote the play in the Elizabethan era, where people believe in fate, fortune, and superstitions. They all firmly believed that they had no control of how their lives went on as it was already planned out. In the first act of the play, the audience is introduced to the concept of fate and how it will affect Romeo's destiny. Romeo enters feeling bad for himself and grumbling about his unrecompensed love for Rosaline. Benvolio advises him to forget about Rosaline and 'examine other beauties.' He tells Romeo about the Capulets Masque being held later in the day. Choosing to go to that party stirs up tragedies that follow one after the other. In most threatening situations, there is either someone or something to blame. Shakespeare uses tragedy to end the feud and rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets and bring a sad end to the play.
Fate, Fortune, and Superstition in the Elizabethan Era
Many tragedies have been brought out in the play, including Tybalt, Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet's death. All these characters play a role, each building up and playing a part in the next tragedy. In this play, there are varying opinions as to why the tragedy occurred. No one can tell for sure, but there are different causes for the occurrence. Some people believe that the Enmity between the two families, Friar Lawrence, the Nurse, or even Romeo and Juliet carry most of the blame for the tragedy. Somehow every character in the play has played a part in the demise of Romeo and Juliet. So, who is to blame?
The Capulets and Montagues: Seeds of Enmity
The Enmity between the Capulets and Montagues is one of the main reasons why the tragedy occurred. First, all the scheming that was done by Romeo and Juliet to marry would not have been done if the two families were on good terms. Romeo would have asked for Juliet's hand in marriage in an honorable way. It could have been comfortable and peaceful; however, their families' hatred was in the way of their happiness. A servant working in Capulet's household stated that even a dog from Montagues provokes him (Shakespeare, 2000, p.8). When Romeo appears at Capulet's party, Tybalt sees him and tells his uncle, Capulet, that Romeo is an enemy who wishes to scorn at their solemnity. Tybalt is willing to kill him (Shakespeare,2000, p. 10). Verona's prince got into the middle of the two families after many of their fights and forbade them from fighting each other. This occurrence was not destined but a choice made by Romeo's irresponsibility. Before going to the party, Romeo foresees his death. He states that he fears that he will face the consequences of appearing in the Capulets masque (Shakespeare et al., 1902, p.9). Despite having this knowledge, He still decides to venture out, thus risking his safety. Tybalt was, however, determined to fight Romeo despite his uncle trying to avoid the fight. This fight was planned since Tybalt sent a letter to Romeo telling him of the duel that would take place between them. It complicated everything for Romeo and Juliet, but the tragedy was not the families' entire fault. I believe that Romeo and Juliet also played their part in causing the disaster.
Romeo foresees his death when he chooses to go to the Capulet's party; however, he does nothing but enters a den full of lions that can pounce on him anytime. At the party that Romeo and Juliet meet, it is at the beginning of their relationship (Shakespeare et al., 1902, p.12). Romeo continues to demonstrate self-destructive actions as Juliet begins to follow in his footsteps. Romeo's love for Juliet causes him to seek her despite the dangers that come with his actions. He decides to re-enter the Capulet's estate, to seek Juliet abandoning his friends as he carries out his mission. Romeo maintained his stand on his relationship with Juliet. However, it should have ended just as it had started since there were no chances of seeing each other without the two families Enmity. When Romeo appeared at Juliet's balcony, she decided to drag her down the drain, increasing her days on earth lesser.
The Conflict of Identities: Montague and Capulet
The identities of Juliet and Romeo also play a part in their misfortune. As Romeo stands unnoticed beneath Juliet's balcony, he happens to hear her thinking out aloud. She is well aware that no matter how strong their love for each other is, it is quite difficult for them to be happy with the two families' hatred. He listens as Juliet questions herself why he has to be a Montague. She asks, 'O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?' (Shakespeare et al., 1902, p.13) Repeating his name twice shows how disturbed Juliet was by how their identities were pulling them apart. Juliet demonstrates her feelings for him in the statement above, and she fails to understand why he has to be a Montague.
Juliet pleads with him to disown his identity and family by denying his father. She tries to coerce him into forgetting about his family and follow the codes of honor, or she does so that their love can prosper since the Enmity between the families means that they are not supposed to be together (Shakespeare et al., 1902, p.14). Romeo would find it difficult to do this since he belongs to the Elizabethan society; It would also mean trying to pressure himself into fitting in with The Capulets family, who were their sworn enemies. However, much later, Juliet asks what much is in a name? She argues that it is the inner identity that indeed describes someone. Juliet asks Romeo to propose marriage after barely knowing each other. However, she stated that their actions were rush and too sudden, showing she recognized the trouble brewing due to their relationship. Despite knowing the consequences of their actions, Juliet still made a choice that led to their destruction. She chose to get married to Romeo irrationally, thus building the potential of their untimely death, further causing the tragedy that befell them. Romeo and Juliet's refusal to live without each other and their decision to get married was why they both died. In a way, they brought the tragedy upon themselves; however, Friar Lawrence, who married them, is also part of their misfortune.
In as much as Friar Lawrence would not play a part in joining the two young lovebirds in holy matrimony had they said so, had he refused to be part of it, Romeo and Juliet would not have become husband and wife. In the play, it is easily determined that Friar knew the consequences of such a marriage and, he demonstrated this when he told them such actions have terrible ends, and the joy disappears like fire and powder (Rolfe, 2020, p.83). Yet, with this knowledge, Friar went ahead to conduct the marriage between the two youngsters. With his experience, he ought to have known better than that. He had the chance to prevent the marriage from taking place, yet he did not. Therefore, it is safe to say that the marriage was not destined to happen, but one fellow by Friar Lawrence instigated it.
It is safe to say that adult interference also played a role in the two youths' tragedy. Although they made terrible choices, the adults' choices also contributed to fueling their decisions. Juliet's mom wants her to marry Paris, something that she did not wish to. After learning about the arranged marriage, she displays her disobedience by refusing to do so. During the scene, Juliet swears that she will not get married but then goes ahead and adds unless it is Romeo. Stating this shows her rebellious nature, reveals their little secret and offers her independence. Maybe if her mother had not arranged her marriage to Paris, Juliet would still be alive. Another incident of adult interference is when the Capulets and Montagues are fighting, and Romeo and Juliet take the chance to get married secretly. The secrecy only caused more problems since no one was aware of their marriage. If their parents were willing to let go of the past and bury the hatchet, the two lovebirds would have made a great match. Unfortunately, due to their parents' hatred towards each other and the decision to force marriage on Juliet, both children died miserably.
When Romeo went to the party, he did not only show love but also hatred and death. In attending the Capulets masque, Romeo instigated Tybalt's anger, and he became the target of the angry Capulet's wrath. Tybalt did not haphazardly become angry with Romeo and suddenly stir a fight with him. He instead chose to go to battle with Romeo making an effort to send out word that he intends to duel with him. People in Verona knew about the Enmity in The Montagues and Capulets'; thus, Romeo knew better than to join a Capulet's celebration. He was well aware of the consequences of his actions, yet he did nothing about the information that would have direly saved his life. The choices Tybalt and Romeo made caused a lot of destruction.
Tybalt's Provocation and Mercutio's Demise
First, Verona's prince had issued a warning on the two families after encountering so many of their fights. This duel led to Tybalt and Mercutio's death, which led to Romeo's indefinite banishment from Verona. Verona's expulsion also played a significant role in his demise (Friedman, 1989, p.82). The other character that is to blame for this misfortune is Tybalt. First and foremost, it was Tybalt that began the fight after proposing it. He also plays a role in brewing the family's hatred towards each other. The two families' anger could not have escalated that much had he allowed to let sleeping dogs lie. It means that he should have backed down from his plan of eliminating Romeo. When Tybalt sees Romeo at the party, he assumes that he has come to brew trouble; thus, he gets outraged. He threatens to kill him, not realizing that Romeo meant no harm to him or other Capulets for that matter. If Tybalt had managed to control his anger for Montagues, maybe Romeo and Juliet could have survived. Tybalt can also be blamed since he killed Mercutio.
In Act III, Scene 1, Shakespeare uses masculinity notions when Tybalt demands Romeo to fight him, and he refuses to lay a finger on him. Mercutio sees this and deeply disapproves and sees it as dishonorable vile of submission (Rolfe, 2020, p. 72). He encourages Romeo to be a man and fight for his reputation, thus displaying his courage. He uses passionate and intense language that enables him not only to fight but kill him soon after his best friend's death. Mercutio gets stabbed when Romeo decides to step in to stop the fight between Tybalt and. Romeo was only trying to help his best friend but accidentally caused his death. Seeing his best friend is dead, Romeo's angry only gets fueled. Mercutio's death was unnecessary as it only led to Romeo's banishment, destroying the chances of the two lovebirds being together (Shakespeare, 2000, p.92). The occurrences are all a source of an accident that led to pure destruction. Due to Romeo's hasty decision to kill Tybalt, Friar informs him that he will be banished from Verona. He reacts badly and states, 'Ha! Banishment? Be merciful. Say death.' Romeo considered death a better punishment than Verona banished (Levinson and Shakespeare, 1987, p. 83).
The Impact of Fate and Unintended Consequences
Fate is expressed at the beginning of the play, but it is continuous throughout, and it plays a significant role towards the end of the play. Following Romeo's banishment, Juliet is condemned to marrying the County Paris as her father's wish. She decides to seek help from Friar Laurence, who would devise a plan that would rid Juliet of a second marriage to someone she does not love. Friar's goal would be used to reunite her with Romeo by whichever means. Friar chose to help her by coming up with a plan that was far too complicated and dangerous to produce excellent results. Juliet took it upon herself to drink a potion that would cause despair should his beloved's state...
