4.2.3

Fate & Destiny

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Fate - Prologue

From the very beginning, the prologue introduces us to a key theme in the story: fate. We are told that Romeo and Juliet are fated to fall in love ('star-cross’d lovers') but also fated to die ('death-mark’d love').

Contemporary beliefs

Contemporary beliefs

  • It was a widespread belief that luck played a part in people’s lives.
  • Fortune was often represented as a blind woman, Dame Fortune, who spun Fortune’s Wheel.
  • These random movements often meant that people who were one day at the top of the wheel (having good times) could very quickly find themselves at the bottom.
<b>'Ancient grudge'</b>

'Ancient grudge'

  • Shakespeare also introduces the idea of the 'ancient grudge' between the Montagues and Capulets. This suggests that Romeo and Juliet are fated victims of this old feud (argument).
  • The prologue suggests that Romeo and Juliet actually have very little control over their own lives. They will have to succumb to this destiny, which was written for them before they were even born.
  • This could cause the audience to feel sympathy for the protagonists (main characters) right from the start of the play.

Premonitions

Throughout the play, Shakespeare constantly reminds the audience of the part that fate plays in the story itself. Remember that the wider forces (like fate) in the world can cause tragedy as well as the characters.

Premonitions

Premonitions

  • Romeo and Juliet have a number of premonition-like (feeling that something bad is going to happen) ideas that foreshadow their deaths.
Romeo's first premonition

Romeo's first premonition

  • Romeo has his first premonition in Act 1, Scene 4 of the play.
    • When Benvolio and Mercutio are persuading Romeo to attend the Capulet ball, Romeo suddenly gets the feeling that attending will lead to his death: 'My mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date' which will lead to his 'untimely death'.
Post-meeting premonition

Post-meeting premonition

  • After the party, when Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time but do not know who the other person is, Juliet asks the Nurse to find out his name and says, 'If he be married, my grave is likely to be my wedding bed'.
  • This foreshadows Juliet’s death because her marriage to Romeo leads to her suicide in the end.
Mercutio's premonition

Mercutio's premonition

  • As he dies in Act 3, Mercutio shouts: 'A plague o’both your houses!'.
    • This could be a premonition from him because both families do suffer from the plague of hatred - both suffer lots of deaths by the end of the play.
Post-marriage premonition

Post-marriage premonition

  • After Romeo and Juliet have married, Juliet has a premonition (in Act 3) about Romeo’s death.
    • As Romeo goes down from her bedchamber, Juliet says: 'I have an ill-divining soul, methinks I see thee, now thou art so low, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb'.
    • As he climbs down from her balcony, she feels as if she is seeing him dead in a tomb – this foreshadows his fate in Act 5.
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1

Context

1.1

Context

1.1.1Tragedy & Setting1.1.2Relationships1.1.3Religion & Fate1.1.4End of Topic Test - Context1.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Era1.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Location
2

Plot Summary

2.1

Prologue

2.1.1Prologue
2.2

Act 1

2.2.1Scene 12.2.2Scene 1 Quotes2.2.3Scene 22.2.4Scene 32.2.5Scene 42.2.6Scene 52.2.7End of Topic Test - Prologue & Act 1
2.3

Act 2

2.3.1Scenes 1-22.3.2Scene 32.3.3Scene 42.3.4Scenes 5-62.3.5End of Topic Test - Act 2
2.4

Act 3

2.4.1Scene 12.4.2Scene 22.4.3Scenes 3-42.4.4Scene 52.4.5End of Topic Test - Act 3
2.5

Act 4

2.5.1Scene 12.5.2Scenes 2-32.5.3Scenes 4-5
2.6

Act 5

2.6.1Scene 12.6.2Scene 22.6.3Scene 32.6.4Scene 3 - Quotes2.6.5End of Topic Test - Acts 4 & 52.6.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Drugs2.6.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Knowing about the Wed2.6.8Diagnostic Misconceptions - Order of Deaths
3

Key Characters

3.1

Romeo

3.1.1First Impressions & Juliet's Effect3.1.2Character Development3.1.3Reactions & Key Quotes3.1.4Diagnostic Misconceptions - Age3.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Banishment3.1.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Naivety
3.2

Juliet

3.2.1First Impressions & Character Development3.2.2Tragic Character3.2.3Key Quotes3.2.4End of Topic Test - Romeo & Juliet3.2.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Real People?3.2.6Diagnostic Misconceptions - Montagues vs Capulets
3.3

Mercutio

3.3.1Characterisation3.3.2Key Quotes
3.4

The Nurse, Benvolio & Tybalt

3.4.1The Nurse3.4.2Benvolio3.4.3Tybalt
3.5

Friar Laurence

3.5.1Characterisation3.5.2Key Quotes3.5.3End of Topic Test- Mercutio, Nurse & Benvolio3.5.4End of Topic Test - Tybalt & Friar Laurence3.5.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - What is a Friar?
3.6

Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.6.1Grade 9 - Key Characters3.6.2Grade 9 - Key Characters: Extract Analysis
4

Key Themes & Concepts

4.1

Power & Danger of Love

4.1.1Romeo's Loves4.1.2Friendship & Family4.1.3Violent Love4.1.4End of Topic Test - Love
4.2

Violence, Fate & Gender

4.2.1Violence, Conflict & Suicide4.2.2Exam-Style Questions - Violence & Death4.2.3Fate & Destiny4.2.4Gender4.2.5End of Topic Test - Violence, Fate & Gender4.2.6Grade 9 - Key Themes4.2.7Diagnostic Misconceptions - Type of Play
5

Writing Techniques

5.1

Writing Techniques

5.1.1Language, Rhythm & Rhyme5.1.2Symbolism & Imagery5.1.3Dramatic Irony & Soliloquys5.1.4End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques5.1.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Wherefore
6

Recap: Main Quotes

6.1

Main Quotes by Act

6.1.1Act 16.1.2Act 26.1.3Act 36.1.4Act 46.1.5Act 5
6.2

Main Quotes by Character

6.2.1Romeo6.2.2Juliet6.2.3Mercutio6.2.4Friar Laurence6.2.5Nurse6.2.6Benvolio6.2.7Tybalt

Practice questions on Fate & Destiny

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    What quote from the prologue suggests that Romeo and Juliet are fated to fall in love?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Which quote from the prologue suggests that Romeo and Juliet are fated to die?Multiple choice
  3. 3
    Quotes where characters have premonitions:Fill in the list
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Exam-Style Questions - Violence & Death

Gender