Fate and freewill R +J Flashcards
fill in the blanks:
“From forth the …… …… of these two ……. a pair of …….. ……. …….. take their life”
Prologue
“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
fill in the blanks
“my ……. is likely to be my …….. ……..”
Act 1.5
Juliet
“my grave is likely to be my wedding bed”
Act 1.5
- 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
fill in the blanks
“Nature’s mother is her ……. ; What is her ……… ……….., that is her ……..”
Act 2.3
Friar
“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.
fill in the blanks:
“These violent …….. have ………… ……….”
Act 2.6
Friar
“These violent delights have violent ends”
Act 2.6
- Focuses on the potential disaster due to their union in marriage
- Repetition of the adjective “violent” - understands that it will not have a positive outcome but the Friar marries them anyways
- Fate of the lovers is catalysed by the actions of the Friar
- Antithesis/ contrast between the joy in their wedding and their final tragic outcome
fill in the blanks:
“A …….. a’both your ………”
Act 3 Scene 1
Mercutio
“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.
fill in the blanks:
“O I am …………’s ……..”
Act 3, Scene 1
(By Romeo)
“O I am fortune’s fool”
Act 3, Scene 1
- 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.
fill in the blanks:
“I would the fool were ………… …… ……. ………”
Act 3 Scene 5
Lady Capulet
“I would the fool were married to her grave”
Act 3 Scene 5
- Upon hearing of Juliet’s rejection towards the prospect of marriage, Lady Capulet’s dialogue not only echoes Juliet’s earlier line about her grave being her wedding bed but it sees Lady Capulet also foreshadow Juliet’s death.
- Additionally, she uses the modal verb, “would” so she ‘wishes’ that Juliet is dead.
- This line is full of dramatic irony since the audience is aware that Lady Capulet’s bitter wish is destined to come true.
- Nevertheless, this line is still shocking for an audience as they are taken aback by such cruel words Lady Capulet uses as a mother.
fill in the blanks:
“Thou art ….. ……, as one ……. in the bottom of a ………”
Act 3 Scene 5
Juliet
“Thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb”
Act 3 Scene 5
- “an ill diving soul” - foreboding imagery explicitly used a couple of lines before and through her mention of a tomb it is simply reinforced further.
- Juliet’s foreboding premonition as she looks down the ladder at Romeo hearkens back to Romeo’s portentous dream the night before the Capulet ball.
- Both of them know, on some level, that they are pawns of fate and may perhaps even sense that their love is doomed but they choose to ignore their instincts in their hasty pursuit of love.
- Provokes a frustrated response in the audience, due to dramatic irony.
fill in the blanks:
“Then I …… you, ……. !’
Act 5 Scene 1
Romeo
Then I defy you, stars!’
Act 5 Scene 1
- Romeo explicitly 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 Romeos certainty to which he will change his fate.
fill in the blanks:
- ‘And …….. the …….. of ……….. stars’
Act 5 Scene 3
Romeo
‘And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars’
Act 5 Scene 3
- This reinforces how Romeo believes he is defying fate —> instead it acts as dramatic irony since the audience know that he is just following his fate
- The use of the word ‘yoke’ can be used to refer to something restrictive and oppressive —> could reflect Romeo’s negative idea of fate as something that has oppressed his happiness
fill in the blanks:
‘A ……. …….. than we can …….. hath ……… our intents’
Act 5 Scene 3
Friar
‘A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents’
Act 5 Scene 3
- 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
