Of Violence

Romeo and Juliet - Theme analysis

Fate or choice? Choice or fate? How does one separate these ideals? Can one? Shakespeare could not. Nor can we. Fate and choice are so intertwined that our choices determine our fate, and our fate determines our choices. William Shakespeare trusts the audience to scrutinize whether it is fate or choice that rules our human life. Shakespeare aptly conveys this oxymoron (with which people have been dealing for ages) through the evidence and structure of his play, Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare, through the dialogue and action of his characters, readily provides the evidence that both choice and fate are integral parts of human life. For example, Shakespeare illustrates fate through the words of Romeo who states, "I fear, too early, for my mind misgives some consequences, yet handing in the stars..." (I, IV, 116-117). Romeo believes that it is the stars that influence his life. It is not he who determines his life. He initially believes that his fate ultimately governs his choices, choices that cannot be controlled by humans. In addition, Shakespeare also reveals that choice plays a crucial role in determining fate. It is choice then that drives the decisions of the characters but these choices are made in the circumstance of their lives. And these circumstances cannot be removed from their consciousness. For instance, when Juliet says in her soliloquy before she drinks the sleeping potion, "Romeo, I come! This do I drink to thee" (IV, IV, 60) she is saying it is my fate and my choice to be with you. She chooses to drink the potion thus putting her into a coma-like sleep, and ultimately resulting in the death of them both. When Romeo declares, "Then I defy you, stars!" he is making the choice to challenge his fate of living without Juliet who he believes has died. Shakespeare has provided the evidence that fate and choice re so intertwined that they cannot be separated. Even the structure of his play alludes to this same perception.

Shakespeare's structure of the play; pitting two families against one another is what propels the characters in their decisions. Shakespeare uses the Capulet and Montague families' feud to create the circumstances (plot) that hold Romeo and Juliet captive in their own