Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare Argumentative

Fate, most people don’t even believe in it; in fact some don’t even know what it is. There are many definitions of Fate, but most seem to revolve around something like a force—in which no one can control—in life. But one of the few people—in that small percentage—that do believe in fate, so happens to include William Shakespeare himself, and he tries to proof Fate to be true through figurative language and incidents, in his book Romeo and Juliet. This story is about two families, very similar to one another, but yet different, for sadly, a family feud keeps them apart. The son and daughter of each family fall in love and due to all the pressures they feel from their family and others, they die, side by side in their unfortunate love.

Figurative language; although most do not take the subtle hints, many are indeed scoured all through out the book—clues about Fate being real. One of which are found in Act1.Scence4.Line113, “ ‘I fear too early, for my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars, shall bitterly begin his fearful date with this nights revels…By some vile forfeit of untimely death.’ ” This is Romeo, son of the Montague family. He is saying this just before he meets Juliet, daughter of the opposing House. He says solemnly that he feels that something tonight will happen here—at the Capulet’s party—where it will change his life forever, and lead to his death. Romeo ended it with saying; he felt it in the stars. Now, there is one peculiar thing leading up to this meeting between the two families. And that is how Romeo even got to know of—his supposedly hated people—Capulet’s party.

A servingman, with the list of people to attend asks Romeo to read it for him, due to this strange coincidence that he, bearing the invitations, cannot read. Now pray tell, is this not, but the Fates doing? Stars, is the hidden key meaning; it is the disguise of the Fates. Although not seen or spoken out loud, Shakespeare has ‘stars’—a reference to the Heavens—to stand for the three fates.

Then, there are the allusions—references to the Greek Gods. In this case, it is Cupid, in Act 1Scene4.Line4. “ ‘We’ll have no Cupid hoodwinked with a scarf, bearing a Tarter’s painted bow of lath.’ ” Cupid, as all people know, is the god with the power to shoot arrows of love and hate, at one another. In this quote it is blaming Cupid for making people fall in love, by the prick of an arrow; not in their own free will. Love, is not a choice, or an action one makes; Fate predestines it.

Now, for the more in-depth examples of Fates existence—incidents—that occur specifically in the play; the first is found in Act5.Scene1.Line6. “ ‘If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep… I dreamt my lady came and found me dead and breathed such life with kisses in my lips.’ ” Romeo’s dreams he speak of are usually about the future; the future in which his dreams happen. His first dream he spoke of, took place at the night of the Capulet’s party, which was about Juliet’s sudden entrance. He meets her, and indeed changes his life incredibly. For one, she got him out of his depression at losing the woman he loved before her. Two, had each other agree on getting married, in the short time they met. And three, their undying love becoming stronger than any other love known before. How is it that all of Romeo’s dreams he speak of become real?

Well, it’s not only Romeo’s dreams that seem to convert to reality, Balthasar, a servant of Romeo’s, has a dream which he talks of in Act5.Scene3.Line141. “ ‘ As I did sleep under this [yew] tree here, I dreamt my master and another fought, and that my master slew him.’ ” And odd enough, this servingman’s simple words appear to be true. Why? It’s because of Fate, Shakespeare decides. Fate had given Romeo and his servingman a glimpse of the near, unfortunate future. Fate had Romeo and Balthasar’s dreams to evolve and become reality. This incident is strange, but true.

Then there were all the other things that helped play into Romeo and Juliet’s death; such as the letter—of great importance— to not reach Romeo. The explanation of this incident lies within Act5.Scene2.Line5. “ ‘Going to find a barefoot brother out…It ere in this city visiting the sick and finding him, the searchers of the town, suspecting that we both were in the house where the infectious pestilence did reign, sealed up the doors and would not let us forth, so that my speed to Mantua was stayed.’ ” And yet, even at a time as important as this, such a coincidence that the one givenb the letter to send to Romeo—about the ‘rumor’ of Juliet’s death—is not able to because of accusation of being infected of a sickness. These incidents do not surly pop up out of the ordinary. Fate had it all set up. Fate had the letter—written to Romeo—not be send. And Fate also had Romeo drink the poison from a random show of an apothecary, who just happens to be carrying poison with him.

Of course, Romeo dies, and Juliet, wakes up due to the end of the effects of the potion drunken a day before—a potion to make her appear dead—finds him lying next to her, in her family’s tomb, dead. She, in her sadness stabs herself and dies alongside with Romeo. Fate also had Juliet get engaged—and supposedly married—to another man; a bachelor of whom her father, Old man Capulet, had taken to a liking. And to squirm her way out of this situation, she drinks the magical potion. And Romeo? Fate had it that he should be exiled, due to an incident where he kills a kinsman of the Capulet family, in revenge of a good friend. So he, Romeo, did not catch on to the trick Juliet had installed for her family and others to be with him. Fate had Romeo and Juliet’s love cursed—marked—ever since the beginning, as said here in the Prologue passage in line 8. “The fearful passage of their death-marked love.”

All in all, Shakespeare’s attempt at proving the existence of Fate is shown in the smallest, littlest details ever imagined possible, in the tragic ply, Romeo and Juliet. Figurative language and incidents both play as the technique Shakespeare chose to use in the novel. And the topic Fate just stands as an explanation of why things turned out the way it did in Romeo and Juliet. The topic of which Shakespeare writes of is important to readers because it might not just be a topic. It might instead be a message. Like for instance; even the wildest dreams can come true. So keep believing in them.