HONORS ENGLISH I

Romeo and Juliet Essay Assignment

Here it is! The moment youve all been waiting for! To conclude our study of Romeo and
Juliet, you will be writing an essay that answers the following question:

Write an analysis of Romeo and Juliet that argues

EITHER that Romeo and Juliets conditions were
determined by fate OR that it was the result of bad
decision making.
You should include a discussion of the ways Shakespeare uses foreshadowing,
characterization, and figurative language in your argument.

While this may seem like a daunting task, you may notice that the entire time you have
been reading this play, you have been taking notes, writing blogs, and participating in
activities that will help you answer this question.

Requirements:
3-4 pages in length
MLA formatted (1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced,
Works Cited page)
Thorough and well-written paragraphs
Due Friday, February 17, 2017 (11:59 p.m.)

Once you have finished writing the paper, you will publish it to your website so that it can
be part of your portfolio

As you write this paper, we will be discussing the structure of a well-written paper. Dont
worry, were all going through this together. Youll be in great shape.

When you are ready to begin writing, copy and paste this document into a document
created on Google Classroom. When you are ready to submit your paper, delete these
directions and hit the turn in button at the top of the document.
Romeo and Juliets Death Was Fate

Romeo and Juliet-- a classic story of forbidden love between two star-crossed lovers

written by the one and only William Shakespeare-- has been read century upon century. There

are many controversial topics discussed between readers, such as this: was Romeo and Juliet

bound to die by fate, or could this have been avoided by different decisions? Shakespeares plays

have all shown great examples of tragedy and despair, such as Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.

Even today, readers enjoy to read the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet. Films and other

interpretations have even been created in order for readers to properly visualise Shakespeares

wise words. Evidence collected points to one valid option: Romeo and Juliet were bound to die

due to fate itself.

Firstly, it is well known that Shakespeares plays provide hints of foreshadowing. In

Romeo and Juliet, this is shown many times, one of which, is this, for example. This days

black fate on mo days doth depend; This but begins the awful woe others must end

(Shakespeare 1048). The meaning of this rather dark sentence is simple: Romeo predicts more

sorrow and tragedy to happen in his future. He means that the day he killed Tybalt and was

banished was terrible, but worse tragedies would occur. This explains why exactly this is fate

rather than bad decisions because Romeo himself sees misfortune in his future, despite his

desperate attempts to change he and his loved ones inevitable fates.

Next, Juliet, while speaking to Romeo, says this chilling line: O God, I have an

ill-divining soul! Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, as one dead in the bottom of a tomb!
Either my eyesight fails, or thou lookst pale (Shakespeare 1065). This means that she saw

something chilling in the future for Romeo-- his death. Juliet says that she saw Romeo, lying

dead in a casket. This provides specific information and proper evidence because when Romeo

killed himself due to Juliets death,, he was on top of the casket young Juliet lay on. This is

major foreshadowing coming from Juliet. Foreshadowing is the warning of an event that will

happen in the future, so, Juliet saw her true loves future-- death. This is considered fate because,

despite every decision they have made together and alone, nothing could stop this vision from

coming to Juliets attention.

Finally, this next piece of evidence is not only a vision, but truth. Romeo, who had been

sleeping, awoke to remember his chilling dream. Waking up, he says this: I dreamt my lady

came and found me dead (Strange dream that gives a dead man leave to think!) (Shakespeare

1087). Romeo had dreamed that Juliet had found him dead, and had said that the dream was

rather strange for someone dead to think. He had referred to himself as dead and laughed it off,

as though he believed it was merely a dream and not a prophecy. Yet, in the play, this had

happened. The exact scenario had happened, to be exact-- Romeo had found Juliet dead on her

casket, poisoned himself, and Juliet, his lady, awoke to see her husband dead in front of her.

This had all turned out to be true. This is fate because Romeo dreamed of his own accurate death

and thought nothing of it-- that is, until he was actually dead. His fate was death, shown to him

before he died as a loud warning. This was a vision hidden within a dream for Romeo, yet, such

a larger hint of foreshadowing towards the readers.

The evidence given is enough for readers to understand that nothing at all could stop

Romeo and Juliets death from occurring. Foreshadowing and visions were given to Romeo and
Juliet individually, as if attempting to warn them of their inevitable fates that lay ahead. The

evidence does make sense, and, Shakespeare has been known for writing comedies but, most

popular, tragedies. Romeo and Juliet has a few scenes with comedy relief to stray from the

oncoming sense of tragedy in the readers as well, acting like a distraction towards the tragedy

about to happen. Romeo and Juliets death was very tragic, especially between star-crossed

lovers. The information given proves that this play-- Romeo and Juliet by the one and only

William Shakespeare-- was determined by fate itself, despite their past decisions and actions.

Hello fellow reader- could you give me ideas on how to make this a little longer? Thanksss

( ^^)
 Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, Applebee, Arthur N. The Language of Literature, Romeo and

Juliet Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 1997. Print.