This five-page undergraduate paper has the thesis that

Shakespeare set "Romeo And Juliet" so that they had no

choice in what they did. Other authors agree with this
idea. Many things in the play prove that this is correct.

Determinism in "Romeo and Juliet"

"Romeo and Juliet" is a play that really makes the

audience wonder if the two young lovers had any chance for

a life. In the prologue, Shakespeare states that "From

forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ A pair of star-

cross'd lovers take their life" ((37). There is a debate in

philosophy that applies very much to this play. The debate

is concerned with two opposite ideas about human beings,

free will and determinism. If you have free will, then you

can do something else besides what you did. What happens in

the play is important because it could happen to two people

today. The thesis of this paper is that Shakespeare set

this play in such a way that there is absolutely no way

Romeo and Juliet could have done otherwise.

 Romeo and Juliet are young teenagers who were born

into a very negative situation. Romeo is of the house of

Montague and Juliet belongs to the house of Capulet. The

worst part of their trouble is caused by the feud between

their families. However, there are a number of complicated

events and much more confusion that leads to their deaths.

One of the most important events in the entire play is just

a small one. It is when Friar John is delayed and cannot

get the message to Romeo in time. This is actually the main

reason that Romeo kills himself. However, there are much

more important reasons that lead to the tragedy. The main

one is when Romeo kills Tybalt.

The love between Romeo and Juliet is intense. The

language that Shakespeare uses makes their love

unforgettable. Romeo literally risks his life to see

Juliet. When she warns him of the danger, he replies: "With

love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls/ For stony

limits cannot hold love out,/ And what love can do that

dares love attempt" (65). From the very first words of the

prologue, everything in the play is working against their

love. Shakespeare manages to make the negative events that

much worse by breaking them up. "Before their love can be

consummated, the lovers become entangled in the chain of

events which leads to their deaths" (Best 3). The main

event is when Romeo becomes involved in the duel with

Tybalt.

With all the tragic events, Romeo and Juliet have just

one night of happiness, and even that is really only a few

hours. As Romeo prepares to leave, Juliet mentions that in

a few hours they will meet to be married. As she puts it,

"It is twenty years till then" (68). Then she speaks the

very famous words: "Good night, good night! Parting is such

sweet sorrow,/ That I shall say good night till it be

morrow" (68). Juliet mentions just before that point that

she could kill Romeo with too much cherishing. At another

point, she speaks of cutting him into little stars. The

passion that they felt for one another was almost violent

in its strength. They also seemed to have some idea of what

might happen. The only way Romeo can see Juliet is in

disguise and climbing over orchard walls. Romeo very

clearly realized exactly what was going to happen. ""I

fear, too early; for my mind misgives/ Some consequence,

yet hanging in the stars, Shall bitterly begin his fearful

date/ With this night's revels, and expire the term/ Of a

despised life clos'd in my breast" (54-55).

It must be remembered that Shakespeare intended Romeo

and Juliet to be very young. Romeo was fourteen years of

age, and Juliet was slightly younger than him. It is not

possible to view these two characters in light of adult

themes. However, the question of moral behavior is very

important. After all, the final choice is suicide.

Teenagers and law do not fit together very well for many

reasons. Porter mentions one point of view on the moral

question in the play: "to be taken up wholly by one's

passion for another human being would be seen...as likely

to induce a general disregard of the moral law" (9). This

idea cannot be correct, for the simple reason that for some

reason Romeo and Juliet found it very important to go to

Friar Laurence and be married by him in secret. They did

care about the church and about moral law.

Another question is why Romeo and Juliet did not

simply run away. This idea would be completely unreasonable

for a number of reasons. Each one of them was from not only

a very rich house but a very powerful house. As Porter

states, we must remember the "sense of an enhanced degree

of life which Shakespeare's lovers experience along with

the danger they freely encounter" (9). Most people cannot

even imagine the luxurious life they had. Juliet, for

example, had her own personal maid. For then to run away

would be worse than suicide. If they were lucky, they would

live like peasants, if the peasants even accepted them.

They were certain to be caught, anyway, since the two

houses were powerful.

 Another extremely important point is that the fact

that both Romeo and Juliet's parents were absolutely

against the two lovers was just one problem among many. The

prologue explains the long feud between the houses of

Capulet and Montague. The main situation was set by

history. There are many other incidents that lead to the

question of what could have been changed. "It may seem at

first like ill luck, but we are made to see that Romeo's

refusal to fight, Mercutio's indignation, and Romeo's

revenge for his friend's death all arise, by necessity or

at least probability, out of the nature of the characters

and their situation in Verona" (Porter 11). Another problem

is that many of the characters, and especially Romeo and

Juliet, are not mature. They, are particularly Romeo, are

forced to deal with the most complicated adult situations,

but do not have the means to face those situations well.

In the scene when the audience first sees Romeo, he

speaks very meaningful words that predict the future.

"Here's much to do with hate, but more to do with love./

Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!" (43). Shortly

after this, Romeo talks of love's transgression and the

grief that lies heavy in his breast. His friends make fun

of him for his obsession with love. They are quite right to

do this since, at that point, Juliet is hardly interested

in him. She is very happily obeying her parents and

preparing to marry Paris. If any character is morally to

blame for the tragedy, it is Romeo.

With regard to morals, the scene that has most

relevance to the modern world is when Juliet believes Romeo

to be dead. The situation at this point has reached a real

dilemma since Juliet's single alternative will be to marry

Paris. She, of course, is already married to Romeo. This is

why it is very understandable when Juliet says: "What's

here? A cup, clos'd in my true love's hand?...I will kiss

thy lips; Haply some poison yet doth hang on them, To make

me die with a restorative" (131). If Juliet had chosen

instead to tell her parents that she was secretly married

to Romeo, they may not have taken her seriously. Another

possibility is that Friar Laurence would have been killed.

This moral dilemma is not precise because Romeo and Juliet

did sleep together before their marriage.

In order to change the course of events, aside from

the feud between the two houses, it would be necessary to

change things that cannot actually be changed. One of these

things is Romeo's character. It is obvious that he is

passionate, and he also is impetuous or hasty. This is why

he becomes involved in the duel with Paris. Juliet is

immature, but she does become confident and determined as a

result of her love for Romeo. The ages of the characters

would have to be changed, as well. If Romeo and Juliet were

at least young adults, they would have had greater control

over events. Shakespeare worked out every detail so that

they could not have acted otherwise.

References

Best, Michael. "Romeo and Juliet: Study Plan". Open

University of B.C. http://www.engl.uvic,ca
Porter, Joseph. Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Romeo and
Juliet. Toronto: G.K. Hall, 1997.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. (Edited by William
Rolfe). New York: Harper, 1890.