Group Essay on Romeo and Juliet: Sec 3/4

Literature- Romeo & Juliet Group Project

      Alexandra ________, Ashleigh ______), Jan _______

Q: (a) “A pair of star-crossed lovers.” How has Shakespeare explored this concept throughout the play? Support your answer by close reference to the play.

Shakespeare conveys different aspects of the theme of “star-crossed lovers” through various scenes throughout the play. Aspects of this concept are highlighted through the emotion it elicits from us as well as the emphasis on the unfairness of their love, which could not be and is hence tragic. Specific scenes where this theme is thoroughly explored centers around three sub-themes: timing, miscommunication and existing conditions which stem from the problem of their warring families. These unfortunate circumstances constantly stand in the way of the lovers being able to love freely or even love at all and highlight the tragedy of their plans which is consistently thwarted.

Shakespeare first introduces the concept of Romeo and Juliet being “A pair of star-crossed lovers” in the chorus of the play. By introducing the concept so early on, Shakespeare has been able to emphasise how Romeo and Juliet’s love will be constantly thwarted by bad luck throughout the play and hence is tragic since they face several obstacles in their relationship.

Romeo and Juliet falling in love and being born into two warring families- the Montagues and the Capulets is a significant example of how the two are thwarted by bad luck as their love for each other cannot be expressed freely and must be kept secret. This is demonstrated in Juliet’s line in Act 1 Scene 5, “My only love sprung from my only hate” which reiterates the true misfortune of their falling in love with each other as their warring families prevented their love from ever being accepted. Had circumstances been different and rivalry non- existent between their two  families, Romeo and Juliet would have no need at all to love in secret and the tragedy could have largely avoided. They would have been able to love and marry freely without secrecy or scandal, or the fear of being discovered. This fear was a driving force in what caused the resultant  course of action, as they were willing to try just about anything, just to avoid the consequences of their public relationship. The line,”Capulet, Montague, see what a scourge is laid upon your hate, that heaven finds means to kill your joys with love” fully encompasses the fault of the two warring families and the significant role this enmity played in contributing to the  bad luck the two had to face.

The timing at which Shakespeare has recurred the concept is another way that he has explored this throughout the play. Timing played a pivotal role in creating tension and drama which made the incidents even more unlucky and subsequently tragic for the lovers. Such incidents could have been avoided if the timing had been more favourable towards them. An example of this is at the end of the play where Romeo arrives too early in the tomb to see Juliet lying “Dead” in the vault. had he arrived 10 minutes later, he would have seen the effects of the potion wear off and would be reunited with Juliet. instead, romeo kills himself while under the impression that Juliet has died, saying “here’s to my love! O true apothecary! thy drugs are quick. thus with a kiss i die”, and because he so happens to visit juliet at the same time paris does, he gets into a fight with paris without knowing who he is, resulting in even more death (paris’).

Just after their marriage in Act 2 Scene 6, the peak of their happiness in the play, Romeo impulsively kills Tybalt to avenge Mercutio- “their stolen marriage-day was Tybalt’s dooms-day”. In this scene, Shakespeare has brought up the idea of Romeo’s fortune being the one that doomed him, incorporating the concept of his and Juliet’s love being filled with misfortune. Romeo’s fate is sealed in the line,”And for that offence, Immediately we do exile him hence.” Shakespeare’s way of making the Prince directly conclude Romeo’s fate immediately breaks the two lovers apart as Romeo and Juliet would have to leave each other even after Juliet had only been “three-hours’ wife” to him. The escalation from bliss to tragedy allowed Shakespeare to thus convey the misfortune the two lovers would face throughout the play.

Furthermore, with Juliet’s arranged wedding being brought forward at such a crucial time, after Romeo’s banishment, only propelled the lovers towards their unnecessary deaths as it caused them to turn to measures “as desperate an execution- as that is desperate which we would prevent” in order to escape. The timing being of the essence with Juliet’s wedding to Paris being brought forward to be within the next few days pressured Juliet into absolute desperation to remain chaste for her true love- Romeo. This desperation is especially evident when she seeks help from Friar Lawrence. The line, “Give me, give me. O tell me not of fear.”, hints the pressure and fear she has to face all due to her determination to be loyal to Romeo. The fact that she has to turn to such measures places emphasis on their love being thwarted by bad luck, which Shakespeare brings out through his manipulation of the timing of the events.

 In addition, these two incidents link closely to our final example of when timing interfered in their plans: their eventual deaths. It is because of Romeo’s exile that he could not meet Juliet to hear about the plan to fake her death to “free (Juliet) from this present shame”- being their elopement. hence only logically rushed to see Juliet at her tomb upon hearing the news of her death.

Even when Friar Lawrence had a letter prepared, Friar John who was to deliver the letter was too late for “he could not send it”, “Nor get a messenger to bring it to thee”. Their plan was falling apart. In the line, “Unhappy fortune”, the sheer bad luck of the scene was demonstrated once again as even Friar Lawrence states that “this three hours will fair Juliet wake” as the time left to prevent their deaths was dwindling. 

Other than Shakespeare’s manipulation of timing in this scene, miscommunication is also another way that Shakespeare reiterated this concept. Fate and luck play large roles in causing the domino effect leading up to the tragic ending of the play. Now, had Friar John delivered the news, Romeo would have been informed of Friar Lawrence’s plan and he would have been able to successfully reunite with Juliet, thus, avoiding the tragic ending which resulted in Romeo, Juliet and even Paris losing their lives.

However, the climax of the play which fully represents their love thwarted with misfortune is when Romeo takes his life just  before Juliet awakens- “some minute ere the time of her awakening, here untimely lay the noble Paris and true Romeo dead”. This  does not only demonstrate the true significance of timing in the play to bring up the concept of “star-crossed lovers” but it draws frustration and outrage from the audience as well. This is because both their deaths could have been prevented had timing not been mismatched. It is clear that an aspect of tragic love, thwarted with bad luck is due to the undeniably “bad timing” at which all actions and decisions are made.

Aside from these sub-themes that affected the progress of the play in terms of the development of their tragic love, Shakespeare also conveys this theme as intrinsically linked to fate, or the concept of bigger, unseen forces intervening in their relationship. Fate is expressed as constantly standing in the way of their love and is the ultimate reason why they cannot be together: because they are predestined to not be able to love freely, because the outcome of their love has already been decided and cannot be changed no matter what the lovers do, because fate has decided for them. This is highlighted when Romeo cries “O! I am fortune’s fool!” and finally at the end in the line,”One writ with me in sour misfortune’s book.”, often indicating that the outcome of their love has already been decided for them. This is again highlighted even within the phrase “star-crossed lovers”, which indicates that their stars, which represent their fate, have crossed paths and hence they must not be together as has already been decided.  when we are reminded yet again that, the fate of their love was never in their control and that they were fated to be apart. As such, Shakespeare conveys the theme of love riddled with bad luck and being undeniably tragic precisely because the outcome of their love has been pre-destined and highlights that all the lovers attempts to be together are in vain. This elicits sympathy and frustration from the audience as Shakespeare exposes the almost ironic, cruel aspect to the theme “star-crossed lovers”.

Whilst Shakespeare shows us the more despairing aspect of being “star-crossed lovers”, he also provides the audience with what can be considered as a loophole, where the lovers defy fate and do end up together in death, where the concept is not entirely devastating. This too is part of the exploration of “star-crossed lovers” in the aspect of the two lovers triumphing fate in death. Although they are fated not to be together in life, where their love is “death marked” and constantly thwarted. it would seem that the lovers are able to only be with each other in death and can be taken as their love overwriting what fate had planned for them. It would seem like a meagre victory but Shakespeare emphasizes the extent of the lovers’ passion for each other and their willingness to either live with each other in life, or in death. For example, when faced with the prospect of marrying Paris, Juliet says “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, Things that, to hear them told, have made me tremble— And I will do it without fear or doubt, To live an unstained wife to my sweet love.” Hence, whilst this is a rather macabre aspect of the theme, it comforts us to know that perhaps they were not doomed to be “star-crossed” forever and that the lovers’ managed to enter a  loophole and were able to be together, as they wished.

As such, Shakespeare explores the theme constantly through several different aspects. The true meaning behind being “Star-crossed lovers” -- being unable to be with each other in life, and their tragic love, which is tragic due to several factors that stand in their way. However, he leaves us with a bittersweet conclusion on the theme: that whilst the stars had crossed and a larger force decided against their love by consistently thwarting their plans to be together, the immense love that they possessed with each other triumphed it in the end as the lovers escaped to the only place they could be together -- the afterlife. The concept of the “star-crossed lovers” allowed us, as the audience, to truly reflect on the  injustice of their circumstances but also forces us to grudgingly find a new respect for the determined, irrevocably-in--love pair of lovers whose love proves to exist in the truest form, whether in life or death.