Play Analysis

• Fate


  The idea that the events in our lives are predetermined and set, that there is nothing we can do to escape them
• Examples of fate in Romeo and Juliet


  • Romeo predicting his own death before going to the Capulet ball
  • Friar John failing to deliver the important letter to Romeo
• Prologue in Romeo and Juliet


  • Summarizes the entire plot
  • Reinforces the theme of fate
  • Gives a sense of inevitability and inescapability
• Sonnet form of the prologue


  Reinforces the idea of inevitability and fate
• Tragedy genre of Romeo and Juliet


  Includes the death of the tragic hero, reinforcing the inescapability of fate
• Parallel scenes in Romeo and Juliet


  • Romeo and Juliet talking at the window in Act 2 and Act 3
  • Friar Lawrence advising Romeo and Paris against haste
• Parallels between Romeo and Paris


  Heightens the sense of tragedy that the star-crossed lovers cannot pursue Juliet in the socially accepted way
• Repeated events retold by characters


  • Benvolio retelling events after the brawl, Mercutio and Tybolt's deaths, and the whole plot
  • Reinforces the cyclical, inescapable nature of fate
• Nurse's use of blank verse


  Highlights the nurse's significance and her role as a nurturing, comedic character
• Nurse's role


  • Nurtures Juliet and the relationship between Romeo and Juliet
  • Provides comic relief
• The nurse is absent from the final scene, unlike in the source material
• The play ends on a positive note with Montague pledging to create Juliet's statue in pure gold
• The final scene shows over a dozen characters on stage: Paris, Paige, Romeo, Balthazar, Friar Lawrence, Juliet, first Watchman, second Watchman, third Watchman, princess, attendance, Montague, Capulet, Lady Capulet, and unnamed others
• The nurse is the only major character absent from the final scene
• Friar Lawrence's long speech in Act 2 Scene 3


  It foreshadows the apothecary's use of poison later in the play, and suggests Friar Lawrence thinks he can manipulate human beings like he uses herbs
• Benvolio


  • His biblical language and role as a peacekeeper suggest a Christ-like figure, but he is unable to prevent the tragedy from unfolding despite his best efforts
• Paris suddenly becomes a more heroic character in Act 5, paralleling Romeo as an antagonist
• Romeo and Juliet are both young, adolescent characters