R&J - FATE Flashcards
“O I am _____’s…”
“…fool”
Romeo, a strong believer of fate, is quick to point a finger towards fate, whatever the situation he finds himself in is.
The possessive apostrophe used for ‘Fortune’s’ (fate), shows that fate owns, controls Romeo which goes hand in hand with his use of the word ‘fool’. ‘Fool’ holds connotations of being clown-like, or even a jester. Romeo’s purpose is to entertain fate. Fate plays games with him, tries him, mocks him, and as a result Romeo’s attempts at finding happiness, whether that’s by being with Rosaline, or Juliet, he believes are destroyed by fate.
By killing Tybalt, Romeo actually plays into fate’s hands by his own error. He is a character who almost completely acts upon his emotional instinct. For example, he kills Tybalt recklessly, with the purpose of gaining revenge for Mercutio’s death, who was one of his closest friends.
Dramatic Irony = the audience knows that it’s his own fault for playing into fate’s hands.
Romeo’s views on fate and prophecy, juxtaposes Mercutio’s. (CHARACTER FOIL)
Act 3 Scene 1
“A pair of ____-crossed lovers…”
“…take their life”
This foreshadows the main plot of the play, as well as the end.
The idea that fate and prophetic outcomes are written in the stars is reflected here - the stars are ‘crossed’ not ‘aligned’ so their love wasn’t bound to unravel neatly anyway. Their ending was determined before they even met.
‘Take their life’ - a love is born, they take life, come into existence together + (double meaning), they literally take their lives too (suicide), foreshadows the end, they kill themselves.
A pair + one single ‘life’ - Romeo and Juliet are so intertwined and in love, that they breathe and share the same life. One cannot exist without the other, so once Romeo finds out that Juliet has “died”, he kills himself and vice versa. with Juliet.
PROLOGUE
“O fortune, fortune!…”
“…All men call thee fickle”
Romeo and Juliet cannot understand their fate - ironically Romeo does return to her but they are only united for them to die. “Fortune” is constantly referred to as a physical object or person; the people in Verona believe that their lives are entirely written by fate and feel vulnerable and helpless at its hands. The dramatised ‘O’ proves her desperation as she begs fate and relies on it to reunite her with Romeo. ‘Fickle’ = changing frequently - perhaps due to this shifting and ever-changing nature of fate and fortune, the play happens over a very short period of time where many ill-fated characters meet their ends.
Act 3 Scene 5
“Be fickle, Fortune: For then I hope thou wilt…”
“…not keep him long, But send him back”
Act 3 Scene 5
“I fear too early…”
“…Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars”
Romeo has a feeling that the consequences of his decision to go will be “bitter.” He suspects that this is his fate—“hanging in the stars”—and his use of the word “stars” reminds the audience that he is “star-crossed” (I.i.). Romeo’s fear that he will arrive at the masque “too early” points to an important theme of the play. Almost every event in the play happens too early. Tybalt finds Romeo too early, before the news of Romeo’s marriage has been announced. Juliet’s marriage to Paris is decided too early, before Romeo can return from exile. The lovers die too young.
Act 1 Scene 4
“I defy…”
“…you stars!”
Celestial imagery - he is in conflict with fate
Once again Romeo turns to fate to blame ‘the stars’. Throughout the play he believes that fate is coming between him and Juliet. So, by dying and joining Juliet in death, he can defy fate and regain control of his life (R + J are in a constant strive for control, since everything in there lives has been
predestined for them (again linking to fate).
Act 5 Scene 1
“O God, I have an…”
“…ill-divining soul”
Juliet has a premonition of Romeo’s death. This foreshadows how she will see Romeo for the last time: in her tomb.
Act 3 Scene 5
“My grave is like to be my…”
“…wedding-bed”
Juliet says that if Romeo is already married, she’ll never love again. We get another sense of foreboding here - her love for Romeo will lead to her death.
Act 1 Scene 5
“This day’s _____ fate”
He is trying to say fate is a bad thing because the word ‘black’ is used. That means Darkness is implied and Romeo knows that more bad things are going to happen because of Mercutio’s death and that the day is the start of a terror that will end in the days ahead.
Mercutio Act 3 Scene 1
