Fate in Romeo and Juliet - Book Report/Review Example

Fate in Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous of Shakespeare’s plays. The story of the passion between the children of two feuding families is often written of as a play about love: but in fact there is a strong undercurrent of bitter hatred and civil unrest which is the impetus behind the tragedy. Although the lovers attempt to put their names aside in order to find happiness, the blood feud of the families crushes them both. The children, with no way out of the hostility and vendetta which has already killed kinsmen and companions, take their own lives, leading the civic leader to declare that “All are punished”(Shakespeare, 1984, 921). As well as the themes of love and hatred within the play, the play also puts emphasis upon fate as the controller and manipulator of the families. Romeo and Juliet meet by accident, and it is love at first sight. Accidents follow in quick succession; Juliet is forced to accept Paris as her fiancée; Romeo and Juliet marry in secret; Mercutio and Tybalt are killed; the Prince banishes Romeo, and the lovers messages become lost – Juliet takes a sedative and is buried, but Romeo does not get her message that it is a fake death, and both they and Paris die. As the Prince says: See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys With love (Shakespeare, 1984, 921). The strength of passion, both love and hate, proves too great for the young couple, and they take their own lives. The two scenes here demonstrate the difference between the love which Romeo and Juliet feel for each other, and the hatred which governs the lives of those around them. In Act 2 scene 2, Romeo moves from the bland sentiment of courtly love (Pretending to admire an unobtainable woman) to true passion for an individual; in Act 3 Scene 1, the jesting and vital Mercutio is slain by Juliet’s cousin: Romeo immediately kills him in revenge. Whereas in the last scene (Act 2 Scene 6), Romeo had married is enemies daughter, amidst declarations of love, here the hatred is restored with the shedding of blood. ACT 2 SCENE 2 The act starts with both Romeo and Juliet speaking soliloquies (Monologues where the character gives voice to internal thoughts, or feelings which the audience would not expect to hear. Romeo begins, but his words are the typical sentimental poetry of courtly romance. He does not seek to love Juliet for herself, but instead admires her as an unobtainable lady: hence the references to ancient goddesses, and symbolism such as the moon, and the sun. “What light through yonder window breaks” (Shakespeare, 1984, 901) demonstrates that Juliet is far above him; she is the sun, higher than the moon, completely beyond the grasp of Romeo. Like a courtly lover of a noble woman, he is “Too bold” (ibid, 901), and he does not seek to be her lover or husband: instead, he seeks to be the glove on her hand touching her cheek. Thus far, it is not romance, it is a pose. Juliet, on the other hand, feels passionate, but she knows that Romeo is hugely unsuitable. “Deny thy father and refuse thy name” (ibid, 901) demonstrates exactly the bind in which the lovers will find themselves. Juliet knows that her love is of the forbidden kind – so while Romeo pines and poses in the style of a courtly lover, Juliet acknowledges the passion she feels, but considers the blood feud is insurmountable. The two then speak to each other, and true love blooms between them. Juliet is again afraid: the walls are high and the grounds patrolled by the Capulets. However, Romeo does not fear death; he mocks it, even, declaring himself as “Proof against their enmity”(Ibid 901). This will prove to be an inaccurate estimation. ACT 3 SCENE 1 Whereas the last scene was a dialogue between two characters, Act 3 Scene 1 involves twice as many; with a crowd scene at the end. In the Balcony scene, the act ends with the lover’s parting, in this act, two characters are killed, and a third flees, but the scene continues with the arrival of the ‘citizens’. This clearly demonstrates that, where the previous scene was a personal moment, the duel is a public act, in which the actions have civic consequences. The former act ends with the couple parting because there are no repercussions; the repercussions of the latter scene will continue for the rest of the play. COMPARISON At first, these scenes may seem to have very little to do with each other; the action of the first scene is passive and the imagery is full of symbolism of love: summer, flower, sea, dream, “Love’s light wings” (Ibid 901).These phrases encourage the audience to think of romance and love, although Romeo still does not bend enough to speak, except in terms of stereotypical poetic love. In contrast, the second scene is full of violent images: “Mad blood stirring” (ibid 906), repeated use of the word “Quarrel”; blow, discord, injuries, dishonourable, and references to swords. These phrases put the audience in the frame of mind for a battle. Shakespeare sets up the audience for, in the first instance, Romeo and Juliet to fall in love with each other, and in the second, for the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt. The fierceness of the imagery is also introducing the theme of tragedy into the story: until then, it had been a romance and a comedy. The humourlessness of Tybalt defuses Mercutio’s lightness of spirit, and with his death, the play becomes a series of ever-darkening spirals which the lovers cannot evade. We could see the first two acts as a separate play from the last, the romance ending happily with the marriage of Romeo and Juliet. The remaining acts are from a tragedy, and begin with two murders, and the flight of the hero. Plays which begin with a death do not have many places to go, except into even more death (See John Webster’s repertoire for examples). As the first acts were light and joyful, so the remainder of the play is dark and bleak; the happiness of the couple snuffed out with the murders, and their future set: The fearful passage of their death-marked love (Ibid, 893) Bibliography Shakespeare, William: Romeo and Juliet in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Hamlyn, London (1984) (23rd printing. First printing 1958) ISBN 0 600 00604 2. Preface by Sir Donald Wolfit; introduction by Dr Bretislav Hodek. Read More