Everyone and everything is to blame for the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet – from luck to the feud between the families to even the Friar and Nurse. But none of these would be at fault if it wasn't for that one factor that was the basis of the play – fate. This becomes apparent during the Prologue when the Chorus even says that "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life" (I, i, 6). This means that the stars already determine their fates and even if there wasn't a feud, there's nothing that they could do about it to avoid a tragic ending. Throughout the play, Romeo and Juliet's fates are shown by way of bad luck and coincidence. One obvious coincidence is how their love couldn't work because they belonged to enemy families, but happened anyway.
             The first sign of coincidence is when the Servingman runs into Romeo and asks him if he could read the names of the people invited to the masked banquet because the Servingman didn't know how to read. Obviously, the chances of the Servingman running into Romeo are slim, and the fact that it was a masked banquet, only made it easier for the Montagues to sneak in without being caught. Romeo saw Rosline's name on the list, so he decided to go to the banquet, where he will meet Juliet.
             In Act III, Mercutio doesn't act usual to himself, but rather wants to fight and provokes Tybalt. Mercutio's death starts a chain reaction because Romeo then kills Tybalt in revenge for Mercutio, and gets banished from Verona by the Prince. If it weren't for Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet's fates probably wouldn't turn out to be so tragic. Mercutio's death was just the beginning of the tragedy in the play. He foreshadowed the Montagues' and Capulets' fates when he said "A plague o' both your houses." (III, i, 111) and near the end, Friar John wasn't able to deliver the letter to Romeo because there was a plague. This unlikely coincidence only helps prove that fate controlled their lives, and they were destined ...