In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, several clues are provided foreshadowing the deaths of the title characters. Despite all of the insinuated opportunities to dodge the gruesome ending, fate, written in the stars, cannot be avoided; and these characters, not destined to have their love, must die.
             This central idea of fate is first introduced in the Prologue when the chorus refers to Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers" (Prologue,6): fate is a power often vested in the movement of the stars. This sense of fate guided by the stars remains throughout the play, and the characters themselves are highly aware of it.
             The first major example of foreshadowing in relation to Romeo and Juliet's deaths appears when Romeo prepares to go to the Capulet ball, as he fears "some consequence yet hanging in the stars" (I,iv,14). And although his 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.
             Friar Lawrence also senses the power of fate and gives a warning to Romeo, "Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast" (II,iv,101). 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. This warning further foreshadows the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
             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.
             Either my eyesight fails or thou lookest pale.
             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. The image of Romeo's death is a pre-figuring
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