Fate is expressed in many different ways in Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare explores fate by allowing the audience to be party to his characters destiny. In the opening lines of the play the audience is told what is going to happen to the lovers: “a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.” This line is basically saying that two lovers kill then selves. Already at the beginning of the play you know what is going to happen later on. This is just one way Shakespeare explores fate in his play.

Another way Shakespeare explores fate in Romeo and Juliet, is when Mercutio shouts “a plague on both your houses” in Act 3, Scene 1, we are reminded of the protagonists’ fate. This bloody scene in which characters are killed gives us a glimpse of what fate has in store, marking the beginning of Romeo and Juliet’s tragic downfall. This is used cleverly because people wouldn’t normally realise it because it is hidden but they still know it’s there, it gives them that sense of mystery because if they do realise what Shakespeare is trying to do they will worry whether it is the time where Romeo and Juliet suffer there sad fate.

Fate wasn’t just explored in what the characters said but was also explored in what was happening in the play and the actions that were taken by the characters. An example if this is that the two families are enemies ( Capulet and Montague ) and they are not even allowed to be friends but some how Romeo and Juliet became star crossed lovers. This is fate because it didn’t just happen, it was meant to happen or in other words “it was written in the stars”. Another way fate was explored was when the messenger not getting the message to Romeo. This can be seen as fate because if it was meant to be the message would have reached Romeo and Romeo and Juliet would of had the best life together but Romeo did not get the message which led them to there sad ending.

But there is one point that got everybody stumped and it was Juliet waking up a few seconds to late to stop Romeo from drinking the poison. This is probably one of if not the saddest bit in the play and again it explores fate because it was fate that she woke up a few seconds late it was fate for Romeo to kill him self and it was her to kill them self because they were in love with each other and it was FATE.