Author: Christopher Waugh

It is fall, the paths in Yorkshire are glazed with a rich leaf pigment. The air bitter but not cold enough to freeze. The morning still early due to the radiant red and yellow light beginning to peer over the horizon, each cobbled walled house beginning to awaken with a stretch. The newspaper covered homeless people begin to pack their belongings and move to their next street, taking all worry and doubt with them. The sun lets streaks of light burst through the grey clouds. A thin ghosted body of white follows the path through the small township, removing visibility to the naked eye.

Listen. The birds build high pitch mimics of the wind whistling through their mouths, not a singular note out of range. The grass crispy due to the previous night’s frost. Howels of wolves are let out, causing shivers down the people’s spines, with a crunch of the gravel each worker heads off for the day. Hear the thunder generate power through the sky, letting out unsettling bursts. The cries of the newborn babies and the hushes of the mothers. The footsteps are loud and the words are quiet.

It is towards the east where the small family lives, creaky floors can be heard from the outside and the sounds of four peaceful snores, bodies will continue to lay still until a swift hand hits 9. Above the house is a field, a musty green blanket, the smell of burning wood lingers through the air, hands exposed blister with goosebumps. The embers of the burnoff still made apparent on the ground, the smell of petrol remains in the air. The windows hold a frosted glaze, the white paint peels from the walls. The sound of water drops hitting the pale vibrate throughout the house. Dark Shadows bounce off the walls, all different shapes and sizes.

See the orange pastel colours of the sky turn to a black and white film, the shadows grow larger, a deafening black. The lightning produces bright light and vanishes again. The chests of the sleeping family begin to rise with pace, the rhythm of their hearts begin to pulse through the air. Curtains shut in each house, followed by doors and windows. Eyes peer out of the houses, looks that could kill. Fingers scale the outer wood of the house, oblivious to the splinters pulsating through the skin. See the water submerge the lungs, breaths are lost.

Water breaks your forehead, your breath begins to normalise a steady beat. Your mind bounces through different situations, scrambled images come and go. For now, your nightmare is over but the story of the family has only just started.

 

Fate, what is fate ? its an pre determined outcome , in this area its for the character /Romeo and juliet. Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet is structured around fate, its an added depth  and motion. Its used almost to connect with each character personally, it helps understand and develop  the idea in a more detailed perspective, Fate is out of a persons control, it’s an ending or beginning or even an event that supposedly happens on purpose ,  Romeo and juliet where predetermined fate , they were born into families with a hate and despise of each other, there pre-determined fates were revealed in the prologue ” two star crossed loves , take their life” with that simple sentence ,  the theme of fate is continued on in  the play. As these words go on im going to tell you about Romeo and juliets lives and how fate is apart of it, through metaphors and then onto coincidences its shown from the beginning to the end.

In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses metaphors often, he uses them to pull together unlike events or descriptions and  to compare them to a completely  different event happening at the same time, they allow us to show the audience another perspective of something without giving away anything. Often Shakespeare metaphors are hard to pick up on, you have to think about the words your reading and the order they are in , which keeps the audience  tuned in and guessing what the fate of the characters could be. A metaphor is a context of words that compare two alike things  without using the word like or alike . An example of a metaphor  used in the play is…..

” I fear, too early, for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night’s revels, and expire the term
Of a despised life closed with in my breast,
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.”
– Romeo

Which is saying that he feels his fate is that he might die soon, which is true . Which brings me to my next point…..

Fate is tied in at many occasions in the play, many of the fates can be questionable , like was its Romeos fate to drink the poison before she woke up? the story started of with the prologue revealing the fate of Romeo and juliet to the audience, the characters unaware of it however knew that the love was doomed. The fate throughout the play seems to change,  as events make the ending look happy, however the ending stays the same and the fate of Romeo and juliet stays consistent.

“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou her maid art far more fair than she.
Be not her maid, since she is envious.
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it. Cast it off.”

This quote is comparing juliet to the stars and sun, Romeo  is clearly in love with her and starts to describe her with words connected with earth and  connected to  their world ,but doesn’t know yet that his fate  indeed will end in a negative manner, could this be a coincidence?

By using coincidences , Shakespeare is able to connect the story line using his different aspects. Coincidences are a unlikely event joint to another that changes the outcome or fate. An example of a coincidence in Romeo and juliet is when the  servants from the Capulet house   are in the street and they come across  Romeo and Benvolio , the servant ask for their assistance to read the names for the party,totally unaware of who they are, Romeo reads it and comes across Rosaline. Benvolio challenges Romeo to go to the party, this is when Romeo meets juliet and the coincidence unrolls.

Had Rosaline and Romeos love not just ended, then would Romeo and juliet ever meet? quite possible not but its questionable , the coincidence here is that the time Romeo is finally single he happens to meet juliet , which sparks a new form of love and frankly death.

Another  huge coincidence  in the play is that Romeo falls in love with a Capulet, which just so happens to be the worst enemy of his bloodline ( family) which results in a deadly love and ultimately death.

“Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, Too rude, too boist’rous, and it pricks like thorn.”

“What’s here? A cup, closed in my true love’s hand?
Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end.—
O churl, drunk all, and left no friendly drop
To help me after! I will kiss thy lips.
Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,
To make die with a restorative.              She kisses him
Thy lips are warm!”

This quote is the final part of Romeos life an juliets, he just drank the poison and juliet realises it, the love was doomed and ended in two deaths

” Thus with a kiss i die” thus with a kiss i must end this essay ( maybe minus the kiss) with a simple answer , just because you quite possibly might need one after my long and stretched attempt to answer our fabulous teachers question or so called topic for our assignment  …..

FATE..

Romeo and Juliet were strung along fate, it made a huge impact in this play and the characters lives, their fates were displayed at the start and played through till the end, fate was the main part of this play and seemed to be built around it . It was planned and structured to every detail , with almost every  second pulling back to the topic of fate, Romeo and Juliet were fated to love and fated to die. With that simple conclusion i must bid you farewell , Thankyou

Kirsten Blackley

Per sempre essere contuined nelle vite degli amanti attraversati dalla stella ( shakespeare got his idea for romeo and juliet from a poem which was itallian )

31/5/17 xx