Fate

• "The earth, that's nature's mother, is her tomb;/ What is her burying grave, that is her womb." (Act 2, Scene 3)
• Nature Metaphor:

  • Friar Lawrence employs a nature metaphor to envision the Earth as "nature mother", a transcendant force that simultaneously nurtures life and reclaims it in death. The image demonstrates Friar Lawrence's understanding of the world as governed by fate, a fate that is both benevolent and destructive in equal measure.
  • The metaphor illuminates the moment as one of philosophical insight; Friar Lawrence sees natural order as cyclical, something that Romeo and Juliet tragically fail to grasp in their inevitably pointless attempts to overpower fate.
  • The Friar serves as a foil to Romeo as his acceptance of fate makes him the play's philosophical antithesis to Romeo's impetuous nature.
• Juxtaposition:

  • Friar Lawrence's juxtaposition od "womb" amd "grave" encapsulates the tumultuous nature of fate in Romeo and Juliet. Life and death are not shows as sequential, but as intertwined. Through this conflation of life and death in the case of Romeo and Juliet, the Friar serves as a didactic figure by framing the play as a cautionary tale of passion without restraint.
  • The Friar becomes increasingly disillusioned with fate, his language demonstrating resignation, suggesting he is powerless against the forces he attempts to manipulate.
• Key context it relates to:

  • Astrology: Friar's description of Earth as both "womb" and "grave" mirrors this astrological worldview as he suggests that human lives, like the Earth's cycles are ruled by preordained forces, presenting a deeply disillusioned understanding that fate is inexorable.
  • Ovid's Metamorphoses: Friar Lawrence's quote evokes Ovid's cyclical notion of love and death in the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe, where the "grave" becomes the "womb". Like Ovid's lovers, Romeo and juliet, despite the Friar's benevolent intentions, are destined to die as a result of their loving reunion.
• WOW Knowledge:

  Proleptic Prologue:

  • The Chorus in the Prologue acts as a structural device that breaks the conventional suspense of tragedy by revealing the ending. This intensified the dramatic irony and encourages the audience to focus not on what happens, but how and why it unfolds.