Inevitability in Romeo and Juliet - Essay Example

Inevitability in Romeo and Juliet Human fate has always attracted and poets. In their works the tried to discuss and analyze what fate actually is. Shakespeare belongs to the authors in interested in human fate research. The main idea of Shakespearian tragedies is inevitability of human life or, simply to say, human fate. Further discussion of Shakespeare’s appeal to inevitability in “Romeo and Juliet” is another attempt to reveal secrets of Shakespearian great talent of a dramatist and correlate the issue of inevitability with beliefs of Elizabethan times. The discussion would be based on Aristotle’s discourse he applied to tragedy and its basic elements: misfortune, fear and the catharsis (McEvoy, 2006). Aristotle claims that inevitability occurs when a character is subjected to pity and fear and puts up with a tragic flaw (Williams, 1966). A trivial attitude to inevitability is a great personal catastrophe. Moreover, triviality of inevitability is even more scaring than inevitability itself. Inevitability leads to an indissoluble panic and the inevitable tragic end absorbs a hero. Shakespeare makes an emphasis on fate as an inevitable factor. Shakespearian times were marked by human beliefs in fate. His plays reflect this tendency. Events from real life or imaginary events are correlated with beliefs in fate in Shakespearian tragedies. Nevertheless these beliefs have a strong religious background: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Bible. Jeremiah 1:5). Shakespeare tells his readers about inevitability from the first lines of the play: he mentions that his heroes Romeo and Juliet are “star-crossed lovers” (McEvoy, 2006). In such a way Shakespeare underlines that the sky or some invisible powers are responsible for their future if not on the Earth then in the Heaven. He mentions that their love is ‘death markd’ and readers are informed about a tragic end of the play. The main heroes don’t conceal their attitude to fate. Romeo: “I fear too early; for my mind misgives some consequence yet hanging in the stars shall bitterly begin his fearful date with the nights revels...” (Act 1, Scene 4, 106). So, in accordance with his words it is clear that Romeo accepts his fate and doesn’t make any attempt to fight against it. Romeo takes the line of the least resistance and transfers responsibility for his actions from him to Heaven. He pays court to Heaven and fate. Inevitability is trivial for him. Romeo’s trivial attitude to inevitability is influenced by others. Thus, in the second Act, Scene 3, Friar Lawrence warns Romeo against a tragic end of his marriage: “Wisely and slow: they stumble that run fast”. The role of fate can be traced in these lines as well: Romeo is indifferent to the signs fate gives to him. Further on, Murcutio’s death in the third Act, Scene 1, makes Romeo blame his fate for inevitability though he hopes that family feud would be seized after his tragic end: “This days black fate on mo days doth depend; This but begins the woe others must end”. Romeo calls him a ‘fortunes fool’ (Act 3, Scene 1, 132-136). Juliet follows Romeo’s attitude to fate and doesn’t want to fight against it as well: “Can heaven be so envious” (Act 3, Scene 2). When Juliet is told about Tybalt’s death she is sad, she feels pity and fear thus inevitability absorbs her. Nevertheless, unlike Romeo, Juliet makes attempts to look for positive sides of inevitability: Juliet wonders in Act 3, Scene 5: “is there no pity sitting in the clouds” (line 197) and thinks that in the Heaven things would go better. Fear before fate is substituted by illusionary dreams about easy way of life in the Heaven. Thus Juliet shows a trivial attitude to inevitability, but she looks further behind it, behind inevitability and fate. Romeo shows a great desire to fight against fate when Juliet dies: he says, “I defy you stars” (Act 5, Scene 1, 24). Thus inevitability is the main idea expressed by Shakespeare in this play. A storyline is build around this idea. What was the main intention of Shakespeare when he chose this pillar for his play? Maybe, it is not enough to interpret this idea directly? In other words, Shakespeare supposedly makes fun of beliefs in fate. He wants to show that his heroes are subjected to fate, but if they didn’t believe in it then they would have another life stories. It’s not accidentally that Orgel mentions the play Romeo and Juliet as “the iffiest drama in the Shakespeare canon” (Djordjevic, 2003, p. 90). Tragedy as a genre was chosen by Shakespeare as a favorable field for making assumptions. Principles of comedy are interwoven with the principles of tragedy in Romeo and Juliet. It s possible to claim that Shakespeare uses ‘bawdy language’ (Djordjevic, 2003, p. 90), describes romantic allusion of the main heroes, - all these features are appropriate for comedy and not for tragedy for sure. Shakespearian comedian and tragic features are reflected in two characters: Tybalt and Mercutio (Djordjevic 2003, p. 92). The former embodies tragedy to the greatest extent; family feud is the most important issue for him. The latter embodies comedy and easy-going way of life. Not unintentionally Shakespeare brings them together in the duel. In such a way, Shakespeare depicts a fight between a tragedy and a comedy. The duel is a starting point of tragedy in the play. Basically, Shakespeare “develops tragedy on the example of the feud between the Montagues and Capulets” (McEvoy, 2006). He relates inevitability to the family feud: The fearful passage of their death-marked love, And the continuance of their parents rage Which, but their childrens end, naught could remove, Is now the two hours traffic of our stage…(Prologue, 9-12) Family feud is a background to consider fate and inevitability in the play. Shakespeare ‘heats up’ cruelties of family feud throughout the play. He wants to show that these two families are subjected to a tragic end because parents are not wise and are even immature: “See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,/ That heaven finds a means to kill your joys with love/…All are punished” (act 4, scene 3, 292-293; 295). It is possible to interpret family feud introduced by Shakespeare as social conditions of Elizabethan times: the society was closed and restricted by severe religious dogma and moral restrictions. The Church captive Elizabethan society and propagated the idea that human fates are predetermined in the Heaven (Williams, 1966). Montagues and Capulets are perfect examples of such kind of oppression. Figuratively speaking, Shakespeare substituted human subjection to the Church by subjection to the family feud. The main heroes had to follow this historical family feud and kill each other. They realized their wrong actions only after a tragic end. Deaths of five young representatives of these two families made their parents raise their heads and look in the sky with no fear. They managed to cope with pity and fear and avoid inevitability though the price was too high! A tragic outcome of family feud could be avoided if representatives of two families made attempts to fight against their fates. They should be sound and live their lives with no intention to continue family feud. As far as we can see, Shakespeare is a master to describe realities of his times covertly. The main idea of his tragedies is inevitability of human life or, simply to say, human fate. Not unintentionally some scientists discern comedian and tragic features in Romeo and Juliet, because in such a way they try to inform readers about a real intention of Shakespeare: to laugh at dehumanized principles of Elizabethan times. Human lives were nothing. Individuals were subjected to fears before fate. The easiest way for the rulers of those times was to scare people by inevitability and take away a hope from them to fight against their fates. In such a way, inevitability in Romeo and Juliet is the basic element of tragedy and the best means to humiliate human destructing features, such as cowardice, indecision and irresponsibility. Works cited 1. Djordjevic, I., 2003. Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet): From Shakespearean Tragedy to Postmodern Satyr Play. Comparative Drama 37 (1), p. 89+. 2. McEvoy, S., 2006. Shakespeare: The Basics. Routledge, 2nd ed. 3. Shakespeare, W., 2008. Romeo & Juliet. Oxford World Classics ed. 4. Williams, R. 1966. Modern Tragedy. 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