Stars as the Ultimate Determinant in Romeo and Juliet

For he hath still been tried a holy man…

(IV,iii,25-30)

When Romeo believes that Juliet is dead, he cries out, “Then I defy you, stars!” (V,i,25), completing the idea that the love between Romeo and Juliet is in opposition to the fate mapped out by the stars.

Juliet later has doubts about taking the drug that Friar Lawrence has given her, as her misgivings foreshadow her death and Romeo’s in the near future. is initial encounter at the ball with Juliet may seem appropriate for their love and romance, the meeting of the two is actually in opposition to the laws of destiny outlined not only in the stars, but also by the lawgivers of their society.

Either my eyesight fails or thou lookest pale.

Friar Lawrence also senses the power of fate and gives a warning to Romeo, “Wisely and slow. The priest understands that Romeo may be acting hastily, resulting in a quick demise, and thus warns him not to rush into a marriage with Juliet. Even though the children are dead, the city of Verona is now at peace as the stars reveal their plan; the feud between the Capulet and Montague families has finally ended, though tragically.

Juliet herself directly alludes to Romeo’s death as she says:

O God, I have an ill-divining soul!

Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low,

As one dead in the bottom of a tomb. Romeo and Juliet were links between the families, and fate took both of their lives. The image of Romeo’s death is a pre-figuring allusion that Juliet notes. Although Romeo tries to reject his fate, the seeming “bad luck” that he later experiences in the tomb with Juliet, resulting in a murder and a double suicide, is no doubt a show of destiny working against the desires of two young lovers. Although the two families are opposites, they have more in common than they have different.

(III,iv,54-57)

Juliet, along with several other characters in the play, can intuit the turmoil that inevitably will result from the lovers’ determination to resist the stars’ plan.