FLE: Romeo and Juliet: Destiny versus free will"... Two star-crossed lovers commit suicide;/...Dealing with their death buries the conflicts of their parents./ The frightening passage of their love marked by death,/ And the continuation of their parents' rage,/ Which, except the end of their children, nothing could erase,/ It is now the two hours traffic of our stage;/ Which if you attend with patient ears,/ What shall be wanting here, our labor shall endeavor to repair” (Prologue, lines 6-14, p.7) Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare begins with. the chorus tells the audience how the tragedy ends. He describes Romeo and Juliet as “starry” (Prologue, line 6, p.7) and their love as “marked by death” (Prologue, line 9, p.7), implying that the outcome of their love – their death – was the fate fixed by the stars. However, the audience does not seem to be the only ones to experience this tragic end: throughout the play, several characters systematically believe that destiny is in action, while often confusing it with free will. Using diction, dramatic irony, and foreshadowing, Shakespeare compares fate and free will and connects them to the theme of responsibility. Romeo is one of the characters who repeatedly suspects that he is being led by fate. In Act 1, Scene 4, just before meeting Juliet, he claims to fear that there is "a consequence still hanging in the stars" (Act 1, Scene 4, line 114, p. 49) which would begin this that night and would end with his “untimely death” (Act 1 scene 4, line 118, p.49). Shakespeare's repetitive use of the word "star" connects Romeo's thoughts to the mention of Romeo and Juliet as "star-crossed lovers" (Prologue, lines 6-14, p.7), foreshadowing what would happen that night- there. This is also an example of dramatic irony; the audience knows he had... middle of paper ... tragedy resulting from his own choices and free will. The literary devices that appear in the lines that Shakespeare considers the result of fate are important. Both dramatic irony and foreshadowing are forms of ignorance; it shows that a person has not made a choice to affect their destiny. Then recounting more of the circumstances of Romeo and Friar Lawrence, although they try to make themselves and others believe that it was really fate that caused the deaths, in the end they are both forced to take responsibility for what was caused by their own will; the prince banishes Romeo and suggests that he will punish Brother Lawrence accordingly. In this way, Shakespeare connects fate and free will by showing that free will can bring about one's destiny. In other words, to lead a stable life, a person must be responsible and ready to take on all the consequences of their choices..