¡ §Your own fate may be said to be determined by the time, date and place of your birth. We may say that in some ways it outlines the things to come. ¡ Æ' ¡ Throughout many great pieces of literatures, fate is the element that moves the plot. In the tragic play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, fate intervenes very frequently and cruelly. The tale begins with two prosperous households who continue their rivalry and hatred in Verona, Italy. By a twist of destiny, Romeo from the Montagues falls in love with Juliet from the Capulet house. Their innocent love follows a path to a fate driven tragedy. Destiny and fate first brings together the lovers, then reinforcing the family feud that keeps them apart, and ultimately causing the catastrophic conclusion.
The sequence of events commences as fate initiates Romeo and Juliet ¡ ¦s first rendezvous and thrusts them together into a spiral tornado of ¡ §star-crossed ¡ § love. On Romeo ¡ ¦s parents ¡ ¦ behalf, Benvolio inquires ¡ §what sadness ¡ Romeo takes pain in. The response is that Romeo has ¡ §grief too much ¡ of his own to tell. (I. i. 167, 196). Romeo is heartbroken by his unrequited love for Rosaline and desperately in love. He is rendered gloomy and melancholy. This is the perfect time for Romeo to search for a new maiden. Benvolio evokes this idea and asks Romeo to ¡ §examine other beauties ¡ §. (I. i. 236). The opportunity for such examination arises almost immediately as a servant from the Capulet house fortuitously runs into Romeo and asks him if he will read a guest list for the Capulet ball that very night. Romeo agrees to ¡ §go along ¡ only because he hopes to ¡ §rejoice in the splendor ¡ § of Rosaline. (I. iii. 107-108). The servant encounters Romeo is not by pure accident. Instead Romeo and Juliet ¡ ¦s meeting is predetermined by fate. Juliet is subject to fate in very much the same way. Lord Capulet invites Paris to the ball with ¡ §most welcome ¡ and Lady Capulet encourages Juliet to ¡ §think of marriage now ¡ .