“There was once a merchant in the famous market at Baghdad. One day he saw a stranger looking at him in surprise, and he knew that the stranger was Death. Pale and trembling, the merchant fled the marketplace and made his way many-many miles to the city of Samarra. For there he was sure that Death could not find him. But when, at last, he came to Samarra, the merchant saw waiting for him the grim figure of Death. ‘Very well’, said the merchant. ‘I give in. I am yours. But tell me, why did you look surprised when you saw me this morning in Baghdad?’. ‘Because’, said Death, ‘I had an appointment with you tonight… in Samarra’”. Just like the novel ‘Appointment in Samarra’ by John O’Hara, the tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is shown to have a strong belief in fate. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo is shown to have a strong belief in fate and destiny and believes that a supernatural entity is guiding him to his destiny. He believes that no matter what he does, he will eventually cross over into the destiny that he was supposed to take in the beginning. As is described, fate is depicted to have a tyrannical hold on someone so that one can control what actions they take, but whatever course they decide to take, they cannot control what happens to them as time continues.
Fate has an almost tyrannical grip on a person, and a person can do nothing but go on with fate, doing as fate pleases. The first instance of this concept happening is when Romeo is about to crash the Capulet’s party, when he remembers his dream and says: “Some consequence yet hanging in the stars/ Shall bitterly begin his fearful date/ But he who hath the steerage of my course, direct my sail” (Shakespeare, 113-120). This displays the idea that a person can begin with a single choice, but once that choice is made, their fate cannot be undone. A person’s fate is also decided long before they are born, no matter what they may believe about it. In the prologue of the play, both Romeo and Juliet’s fate has been decided since, “…From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life…” (Shakespeare, 7), solidifying the claim that a person’s fate is decided long before it happens, so that no matter what courses a person takes, they always end up going back to what will happen.
No matter which side of a crossroads a person chooses to go down the road of fate, they always will end up in the location that they were supposed to end up in. It does not matter is Romeo did kill Tybalt to avoid his death, by becoming “... Fortune’s Fool!” (Shakespeare, 142), since even if he survives this fight, the pair of lovers will still kill themselves. In the prologue, it states that both Romeo and Juliet would die, so even if Romeo did not die in this fight, he is still destined to die in the near future. Even if Romeo did not survive this fight, Juliet would have killed herself in her grief of losing Romeo. Surviving the attack just prolonged their longevity by a few days, and failed in changing anything. Even if someone has controversial viewpoints with what fate had planned for them, their view will change. In the play, Juliet just asked the nurse about who the man she had just danced with was. When she told her that she danced with her family’s only enemy, she did not repent inside, and instead believed that it was, “[her] only love sprung from [her] only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late!” (Shakespeare, 152-153), showing that it does not matter to fate about who one is supposed to hate. Since as soon as one sees someone their fate is entangled to, they will go with each other, no matter if they are enemies or not.
Since one’s fate is unstoppable, what can one do? The best one can do is to embrace their own fate, no matter how dark it may be. In the play, Romeo knew that his fate was sealed as soon as he went to Capulet’s Party, but he embraced his fate since he was not the one who controlled his fate, “But he who hath the steerage of my course, direct my sail” (Shakespeare, 120), displaying one way how someone can embrace their fate. Another example of this happening is after Romeo is pronounced banished and is leaving Juliet’s room for Mantua, when Juliet has a premonition about Romeo dying, but Romeo puts it aside. When Juliet notes how pale he looks, Romeo remarks that she looks pale too, and that “Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu, adieu!” (Shakespeare, 58-59), showing the reader how at ease Romeo is with his fate. As one embraces their own fate, they become more at ease with what will happen to them, good or bad. Even if other people worry about their fate, they are still at ease, and one with their fate.
Fate is shown to have a true grip on someone so that one can control what actions they take, but whatever course they decide to take, they cannot control what happens to them as time continues. Since Romeo and Juliet couldn’t be together, they both tried to get to each other in their own ways, in order to defy the fate given in the prologue, but by doing that, they ended up accelerating their fate. It doesn’t matter what turning point in the crossroads of fate one takes on the journey to their end, for they will always reach the same destiny they were sentenced to uphold. When the merchant decided to go from Baghdad to Samarra to avoid his own death, he unintentionally set in the events for it. If our fates are already predetermined, we should worry less about what we think, speak, and interact with, and should be more confident in ourselves, knowing that we are going to end in the same place as where we were determined to be.
Citations
- 'The Appointment in Samarra' (W. Somerset Maugham's Version), http://k-state.edu/english/baker/english320/Maugham-AS.htm
- Rev. 'Shakespeare's Macbeth: A Lesson In Fate'. Medium, Literally Literary, 15 May 2017, http://medium.com/literally-literary/shakespeares-macbeth-a-lesson-in-fate-9698205f2d36
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Choice vs Fate in ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
(2023, September 19). Edubirdie. Retrieved December 22, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/crossing-between-choice-and-fate-in-the-tragedy-romeo-and-juliet-critical-essay/
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2023 Sept 19 [cited 2024 Dec 22].
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