Fate And Freewill Flashcards
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star crossed lovers take their life”
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star crossed lovers take their life” - Prologue
• “Fatal” - reference to death
• “Loins” - giving birth/life
• “Fatal loins” - oxymoron as it references both birth and death
• Uses numerous forms of juxtaposition throughout the prologue, in order to introduce ideas of conflict and how
this will have an impact on Romeo and Juliet’s fate
• “Take their life” - already aware that they are going to die, indicating that this is all fate rather than freewill
“my grave is likely to be my wedding bed”
• Foreshadows Juliet’s death at the end of the play
• Dramatic irony as Juliet ends up dying due to her love for him
• Dramatic irony - audience knows that she will pass away
“Nature’s mother is her tomb; What is her burying grave, that is her womb”
“Nature’s mother is her tomb; What is her burying grave, that is her womb” - Act 2.3
• Marriage is seen as the start of new life and links to death
• Birth and death seem to be linked to each other
• Contrasting / antithesis between “womb” and “tomb”
• Their marriage will end in death, which has an element of foreshadowing and links to fate
• Friar speaks in rhyming couplets, as he is the one who marries them but also provides the poison that ends their
life.
“Then love devouring-Death do what he dare,”
“Then love devouring-Death do what he dare,” - Act 2.6
• Romeo inadvertently brings an element of bad omens to the marriage
• Dramatic irony - audience is aware that he will die at the end due to the Prologue
• Calls upon fate in order to end his life
• Romeo acts quite recklessly
• Personifies death as a means to challenge this force - statement which would have shocked the Renaissance
audience who firmly believed in fate to determine one’s future
• “Love devouring death” - link to “death marked love” from the prologue
• Repeated intertwining of love and death reminds the audience that these two seemingly opposing forces may
be linked by fate
“A plague a’both your houses”
“A plague a’both your houses” - Act 3 Scene 1
• Mercutio’s mood changes instantly as soon as he realises the sheer extent of his injury. He curses the families, wishing a ‘plague’ upon them foreshadowing future misfortune that awaits them.
• By cursing ‘both’ of them he draws the similarities between the families together again and blames both equally.
• The exclamation shows his extreme anger and even blames Romeo and the House of Montague for their part in the feud that resulted in his untimely death.
“This day’s black fate on more days doth depend; This but begins the woe others must end.”
“This day’s black fate on more days doth depend; This but begins the woe others must end.” Act 3 Scene 1
• This quote reflects Romeo’s belief that the tragic consequences of Mercutio’s death will extend into the future.
• It is a foreshadowing of the continuing misfortune and grief that will result from the day’s events.
• Romeo feels powerless, suggesting that fate controls the outcomes and that the events that occurred are
merely the beginning of an unfolding tragedy.
O I am fortune”s fool”
• Romeo’s dialogue sees him lament his fate.
• This is made apparent in the exclamation “O” and the exclamation mark suggests that he is distressed.
• “Fortune’s fool” the alliterative phrase suggests that he perceives fate as a force that is mocking him by putting
him in the unfortunate situation of grieving his friend’s death as well as being responsible for the ‘murder’ of Tybalt.
‘I dreamt my lady came and found me dead’
• Foreshadows the end of the play where Juliet does end up finding Romeo dead and in turn causes her to commit suicide
• Alludes to Mercutio’s Queen Mab speech in Act 1 Scene 4 where dreams can be seen as detrimental.
• This may cause the audience to believe that this is all fate rather than Freewill as earlier moments in the play
(ever since the Prologue) have been hinting at their death.
‘Is it e’en so? Then I defy you, stars!’
• Romeo directly goes against his fate through the statement on ‘I defy you, stars!’
• The phrase is quite paradoxical since the ‘stars’ which represent fate are themselves unchangeable
• The use of the exclamation mark demonstrates Romeo’s certainty to which he will change his fate
One write with me in sour misfortune’s book!’
• Romeo seems to recognise fate as having an element of control over his life through the mention of ‘misfortune’s book’
• Romeo emphasises with Paris as they were both victims of fate —> links to how fate is seen as inescapable
• The use of the adjective ‘sour’ demonstrates how Romeo holds disdain towards fate since it has caused him
grief and suffering
A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents’
• Brings attention to the fact that fate is seen as an inescapable force as well as being stronger than free will —> the mention of fate as a ‘greater power’ supports the overview in the fact that fate is seen as an imposing force
• The use of the phrase ‘hath thwarted our intents’ demonstrates the belief that people have freewill over their
actions
• Fate is said to have ruined the friar’s plans —> brings attention to fate’s power over free will
