Summary
Highlights
Dr. Aiden Elliott introduces the first of four videos on the main themes in Romeo and Juliet: fate, hate, death, and love. This video specifically focuses on fate, discussing its role in the story and providing key quotes for examination.
The concept of fortune or fate is prevalent throughout the play, determining its tragic direction. It's first introduced in the play's opening lines: "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life." The alliteration on 'F' draws attention to 'fatal', and 'star-crossed' reinforces the idea of heavenly power. 'Take their life' has a double meaning, referring to their birth and their eventual suicides.
After Mercutio and Tybalt are killed in Act 3, Scene 1, Romeo exclaims, "O, I am fortunes fool!" This suggests he feels like he's being used for the gods' amusement. The alliteration on 'F' again emphasizes 'fortune'.
Friar Laurence devises a plan to reunite Romeo and Juliet by faking Juliet's death and sending Romeo a letter. However, the letter never reaches Romeo, a twist of fate that leads the Friar to exclaim, "Oh, a happy fortune!" highlighting that fate can be unkind, particularly in a tragedy.
After killing Paris in Act 5, Romeo reinforces the idea of a predetermined future, saying to Paris, "O, give me thy hand, one writ with me in sour misfortune's book." As the play concludes, Romeo makes a final reference to the gods, exclaiming, "Here will I set up my everlasting rest / And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars / From this world-wearied flesh." 'Inauspicious' means unlucky, reinforcing the idea of preordained ill fortune. Romeo feels 'yoked' to these unlucky stars, weary of life due to fate.
The play ends with a confirmation of fate's role: "Heaven finds means to kill your joys with love." This suggests that heavenly forces (fate) caused the deaths of the Montagues' and Capulets' children. However, it also raises the possibility that the families' mutual hatred was the reason fate killed their children, implying the families share some blame for their own destiny.