Fate and freewill in R&J

Question 1

Prologue

Answer 1

• The prologue identifies a theme of fate as it tells the audience what is going to happen before it happens- a dramatic tool used to create tension.
• Through telling the audience exactly what is going to happen at the beginning of the play, it is evident that the characters are unable to escape their impending doom. Thus, it is evident that fate is in control.

Question 2

Superstition

Answer 2

• Elizabethan era- very superstitious time, many believed in concepts such as destiny and many believed that their lives were written in the stars.
• By referring to the lovers as “star-crossed” Shakespeare shows how even the planets have an opposition to this relationship. It could also show the audience that their love is different from others and how it has a spiritual connection. They meet once and never again just like stars- metaphor

Question 3

Love and fate

Answer 3

• Romeo’s belief that he can “defy the stars” shows his self-assured hubris (excessive pride) and belief that he is bigger than fate, destiny and the stars . This allows his character to be defiant and arrogant.
• Romeo’s death is further foreshadowed when Juliet compares Romeo’s love to “lightning”. Lightning has connotations of destruction and intensity which almost foreshadows the destruction that the love between Romeo and Juliet creates.

Question 4

Love and Freewill

Answer 4

• In Act 2 scene 6 the Friar says “these violent delights have violent ends”- foreshadows the tragic ending of the lovers’ story- could be argued that this warning foreshadows the end of the play and proves that fate is very much at work. However, they were giving multiple warnings like this one but still decided to follow their desires- could therefore be argued as not fate but as a result of teenagers following their own desires.

Question 5

Shakespeare’s use of the sonnet form

Answer 5

• By using this sonnet form in the prologue, which already introduces the element of foreshadowing, Shakespeare could be reinforcing the idea that everything in the world is planned and predestined and that nothing we do is ever spontaneous because it is already written in the stars somewhere.