William Shakespeare wrote many great plays in his day. His tale of Romeo and
Juliet portrays a tragic love. This play ends with the deaths of the key
characters Romeo and Juliet, because of their forbidden love. Many factors
contribute to their demise. The scene of when they first meet, the fight between
Tybalt and Mercutio, and the final death scene all reveal why the two of them
cannot be together in the end. Romeo and Juliet are ultimately killed because of
their decisions and fate. The effects of Romeo and Juliet’s decisions and fate
are first apparent in the scene when they first come together. When Romeo says
to Juliet in the Capulet party, “Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is
purged” (I,v,108), and then he kisses her, it obviously exhibitions how they
exercise their choice to love each other. After discovering each other’s
identities, Romeo proclaims, “My life is my foe’s debt” (I,v,119), and
Juliet states, “My only love sprung from my only hate” (I,v,140). These
lines foreshadow that there will be many impediments keeping them apart and
eventually killing them both. It might be thought that the tragic ending is
caused by them choosing to love each other. However, if fate does not bring them
together in the first place, they will never have the opportunity to establish
their love. Romeo and Juliet are affected by their choices and fate right from
the beginning. Romeo’s actions and chance also cause the chaos in Romeo and
Mercutio’s fight scene with Tybalt. When Romeo replies to Tybalt when he is
first insulted and threatened on the street, “I do protest I never injure
thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise” (III,I,67-8), it means he
does not mean Tybalt any harm and is walking away from the fight. Then, Mercutio
steps in for Romeo and starts fighting with Tybalt. Romeo gets between them,
which allows Tybalt to kill Mercutio, and later results in Romeo killing Tybalt.
It is very easy to point the finger at Romeo and accuse him of allowing Mercutio
to be killed. His decision directly allows Tybalt to stab Mercutio, but he is
trying work it out so no one will be injured, like peer mediation. Although he
has no clue that he will do more harm, Romeo is actually trying to help.
That’s where fate affects him. Also, it can be said that Romeo is entirely
responsible for killing Tybalt. When Romeo exclaims to Tybalt after he comes
back from killing Mercutio, “And fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!”
(III,I,123), it shows how he is furious and wants to fight. A lot of people say
that Romeo has no need to fight, but what if he does not? Didn’t something
horrible happen the last time he walked away? Maybe Benvolio will start a fight
with Tybalt and be killed as well. So fate does have a role in deciding the
outcome. It is hard to conclude that everything will be all right for Romeo if
he does not fight Tybalt. In this sense, the fight scene shows how fate and
Romeo’s decisions are responsible for two deaths and banishment. The final
scene itself shows how Romeo and Juliet’s decisions and fate lead to their
deaths. Their destiny “A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life. . . doth
their death bury their parents’ strife” (1st prologue, 6-8), stated in the
prologue, describes how they are foretold to die and many people agree that it
is fate that ultimately causes their deaths. If the friar in Mantua arrives
earlier to deliver Friar Lawrence’s message or if Romeo arrives just a few
minutes later in the Capulet tomb, it’s possible that the finale would change.
Even though fate will allow Romeo and Juliet to carry out their plan, they are
the ones who decide to commit suicide in the first place. Juliet speaks to
herself before she drinks the friar’s potion: Come, vial. What if this mixture
do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning? No, no! This shall
forbid it. Lie thou there.” (IV,iv,21-3) After speaking, Juliet lays a dagger
down beside her and that displays how she is prepared to kill herself instead of
not seeing Romeo again. Also, Romeo says to the nurse in Friar Lawrence’s
cell, “Doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack the hateful mansion”
(III,iii,107-8) and offers to kill himself. Since there is virtually no chance
of them being able to live together happily ever after, Romeo and Juliet have
ultimately chosen to die. Romeo and Juliet’s decisions and fate affect them to
the very end. Romeo and Juliet are not able to live happily ever after because
of their decisions and fate. Though it is chance that brings them together in
the first place, it is their decision to choose loving each other. Romeo’s
actions cause the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt, and finally his own banishment.
Whereas, if he does not act that way, he might suffer some worse fate. The death
scene might not happen if there would be a change in fate. However, Romeo and
Juliet have already planed to kill themselves if they cannot see each other
again. Even if the plan does work, they will still encounter many other
obstacles. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet shows how fate and decision making
affect their lives and probably has some relation to real life. Shakespeare
might have been trying to show how much people can control their own destiny.