Romeo and Juliet: Fate or Freewill?
Uploaded by crazybowl1 on Apr 23, 2002
"Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought. Chaos always defeats order because it is better organized." Terry Pratchett (author of DISCWORLD series) This quote relates to Romeo and Juliet in the sense that they are battling for order among the families and that chaos wins in that Romeo and Juliet must die before the chaos ends. William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet, is a dramatic tragedy that teaches us of the "religious" love felt by Romeo and Juliet, and how the hate between their feuding families will dispute this love. Throughout the play, we learn of themes that center around the rising conflicts of chaos vs. disorder, of fate vs. freewill, and the impatient idea of haste makes waste which will eventually cause the title characters’ downfall in the end.
In the beginning, we learn of the feud between the Montague and Capulet families when a fight breaks out in the market place of Verona. A few kinsmen have words and end up in a fight which the prince ends. Tybalt, a Capulet, expresses his hate during the fight when he said, "What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee. Have at thee, coward! (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 71)" Another example of how the feuding force causes so much chaos in the lives of Romeo and Juliet is when they first meet each other at Lord Capulet’s party. They both fall in love but Juliet realizes how their love would not be accepted when she said, " My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathed enemy.(Act1, Scene 5, Line 152)" This force of hate between their families proves to be the only force that denies the true love of Romeo and Juliet.
One quality that affects the lives of these two lovers is the fact that their love is so impatient. They base their love on first sight and make haste on their road to marriage. Romeo and Juliet are to immature to make adult decisions of love. One scene that displays this haste is when Juliet impatiently awaits Romeo’s message from the nurse. She expresses this haste when she said, "Nay, come, I pray thee, speak. Good, good Nurse, speak.(Act 2, Scene 5, Line 29)"...