Chance within the play Romeo and Juliet Essay

George Aberto once said â€Å"above anything else, fate is what brings lovers together.† In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, fate, chance, and coincidence are all important to the development and eventually the conclusion of this tragedy. Without these three closely related themes the play would not have been able to make it out of the first act. These themes are pivotal to the development of the play and there are many instances where this is very obvious. These themes play a part in the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues, the invitation of Romeo to the ball, and the death of the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet. For as long as the two families, The Capulets and The Montagues, can remember, they have both been at war with each other and held an â€Å"ancient grudge† (Prologue). The purpose and goal of this feud is never revealed thus it must be assumed through the Prologue that their hatred is solely based on tradition from past generations. This feud is visible within the first line of Act 1 Scene 1 where Sampson, a servant of the Capulet family says that he will â€Å"not carry coals† (1.1.1). He says this in talking to another servant, Gregory, about how he will not be humiliated by a Montague servant. This allows the audience to see the importance of the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. Romeo, a Montague, and Juliet, a Capulet, meet and fall in love at the ball in Act 1 Scene 5. This is visible in Romeos dialogue â€Å"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! / It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night / Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear.† (1.5.46-48). It is chance that Romeo’s true love happens to be part of the family he was brought up to hate. Romeo is aware that Juliet is a Capulet but Juliet is not aware that Romeo is a Montague and even though the feud between the families is existent, fate takes its course and allows enough time for Juliet to fall in love with Romeo. Therefore, once Juliet learns that Romeo is a Montague, she has already fallen in love with Romeo and she cannot turn back now. This is one of the most important examples of fate in the play because if she had known that Romeo was a Montague she would have never pursued a relationship with him and the rest of the play would have never turned out the way it had. Romeo and Juliet’s relationship begins at the Capulets house during the ball  without Juliet knowing that Romeo is a Montague although the fate involved in getting Romeo to the ball is just as important as Juliet not knowing Romeos last name because if Romeo would not have gone to the ball then he would have never met Juliet and fallen in love with her. It all starts with one of the Capulets servants in the streets of Verona with a list of the different guests which are invited to the ball. This list contains the names Mercutio, Tybalt, and Rosaline among others. The servant which is given the list is not able to read and this is another example of fate because once Benvolio learns that Rosaline is going to be at the ball he decides that him and Romeo will attend. Benvolio wants to â€Å"Compare her face with some that I shall show / And I will make thee think they swan a crow.† Meaning that he will bring Romeo to the ball to show that a comparison of Rosaline with other girls will make a difference and possibly relieve his sadness and love for Rosaline. This is also fate because if Rosaline was not invited, Benvolio didn’t create a plan, and if the servant would have been able to read then Romeo would have never been invited and he would have never met Juliet. The meeting of the two lovers is important although the death of the two lovers is probably one of the most important roles fate plays in the play. The first instance where fate makes its mark leading up to the death of the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, is when the Prince banishes Romeo from the city of Verona for the death of Tybalt. The Prince reacts to the situation by saying that â€Å"for that offence / Immediately we do exile him hence.† This gets the ball rolling on the events that will lead to the two lovers death. After Romeo flees on the recommendation of Benovlio, Romeo finds himself hiding out in Friar Laurance’s Cell and then in Mantua. The next event which fate is involved in is the idea of Juliet faking her death so that she is not required to marry Paris. Friar Laurence devises a plan which he tells Juliet in Scene 1 of Act 4 as they are both talking in the Friar’s cell. He tells her to: Hold, then; go home, be merry, give consent To marry Paris: Wednesday is to-morrow: To-morrow night look that thou lie alone; Let not thy nurse lie with thee in thy chamber: Take thou this vial, being then in bed, And this distilled liquor drink thou off, (4.1. 91-96) These lines explain everything she must do so that she does not have to marry Paris and can be with Romeo instead, although he has forgotten to tell her one thing. That one thing is that the Friar has not told Juliet to tell Romeo that she is going through with this plan, faking her death. Friar Laurence realizes this and sends Friar John to give Romeo, who is hiding in Mantua, the message of his plan. What happens next is a perfect example of chance and coincidence. Right as Friar John is preparing to deliver the message an outbreak of the Plague occurs in the city of Verona and Friar John â€Å"could not send it,–here it is again,- / Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, / So fearful were they of infection† (5.2.14-16). Therefore this causes Romeo to not receive the message of the Friar’s plan but instead he receives news of Juliet’s death so it then becomes a race to the tomb, in which Juliet was placed, to stop Romeo from seeing Juliet dead. So Friar Laurence â€Å"Now must I to the monument alone; Within three hours will fair Juliet wake†(5.2.25-27) . Fates second last appearance in the play occurs Romeo arrives at the tomb first, before the Friar, and he sees Juliet, his love, â€Å"dead†. If the Friar would have arrived first, Romeo and Juliet would have never killed themselves and they would have been able to live together but that was not the case and it led to the suicide of both lovers. The final appearance of fate occurs after the lovers death and it is the end of the feud between the two families. It was fate for the lovers to die and resolve this feud. Fate, Chance, and Coincidence play an extremely pivotal part of the development of the play as well as the ending and without them the play would have turned out anything like it had and it would have never gotten  out of Act 1. The feud between the Capulets and the Montagues, Romeo’s invitation to the ball, and the death of the two â€Å"star-crossed† lovers which led to the end of the feud between the two families are all examples of how fate was able to sway the development of the story so it would lead to the death of Romeo and Juliet, â€Å"For never was a story of more woe /Than this of Juliet and her Romeo†.

Outline Worksheet for Persuasive Speech

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the advantages of the online courses. Thesis Statement: Now, the online courses become more and more popular. However, why increasable students chose online courses, there are lots of homework, the limit time and the higher quality of the class. With the improvement of the online courses, the students can get same knowledge, but spend less time in the online courses. Introduction I. Attention-getter: At the beginning of my speech, I have several questions. Did you always spend a lot time between the school and home? Did you usually worry that you couldn’t catch up with the teacher? Did you ever think about the solutions for those? II. Establishment of ethos: In fact, I usually don’t get up until the class will begin in the morning, so I ever think that the classroom could move into my room someday. Now it becomes true. The online courses will bring more sleep time for me. III. Preview:Even though many students still prefer face-to-face lecture classes, I think online courses are more beneficial because the content is the same as classroom courses, the time is flexible and there is no peer pressure in online courses. With such great benefits, students should sign up for online courses considering the hectic lifestyle everyone has today. (Transition: Now, I will talk about the advantages about the online courses. ) Body I. First, the content of online courses is the same as the courses in a classroom. A. Professors can record their lectures into videos and teach live online, and professors can also assign homework for their students easily. The only difference for students is that they have to hand in their homework through the internet. However, this has nothing to do with the quality of the class. B. I found an article named â€Å"Students Can Take Class Online at Home,† which was published in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, said that â€Å"students log on to a designated Web site where lecture notes and slide shows are posted. † Therefore, online courses already became a helpful way to teach students. II. Second, the schedule is very flexible for students. A. For some online courses, professors will just put the materials on their own website and let students take courses at their own pace. For example, a math teacher can allow students to run through a lesson on the computer or use the computer to help illustrate what is being taught personally. The online courses can also be used to give extra help to students about to fail a class. B. In addition, if it is a class that requires a lot of time, they can take breaks whenever and then continue later on. It is also an effective way to take a class, because after a break, students can concentrate on the class better and remember more things at the same time. III. Third, some students think that if they take a classroom class, they will feel peer pressure, because if another student finishes faster than he or she does, then he or she will get nervous and can’t finish the rest well. A. The problem will be solved if they take an online course because it is just the students themselves at home so they can study the questions at their own pace without the pressure of feeling nervous. They may help the students get a high grade in the exam or an assignment. B. For example, in my Chinese university, there will often be a lot of students taking an exam in the classroom at the same time. I remember that one of my classmates in my English class took the mid-term exam with me and that he took a long time during the reading part. As time progressed, more and more students finished before he did and after the time was up, I asked him how he did and he told me he couldn’t concentrate on the test because of text anxiety and the constant distraction of students leaving before he did, so he got a low grade on this exam. Conclusion I. Summarize and Review: In conclusion, students can greatly benefit from online courses. The content in lecture classes is the same as online classes. Also, the peer pressure is gone when it comes to online courses. Most importantly, students who take online courses have more flexible study time. II. Tie to the introduction: Therefore, taking online courses, we will waste no time between school and home, but get the same knowledge. III. Creative concluding thought: I think online courses will become more available to all students in the future then students can probably learn more effectively from the online courses. References: Sophia Lezin Jones, Aug 7, 2000, Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Gwinnett students can take class online at home Carter, Rochelle, Aug 1, 2002, Atlanta Journal & Constitution, BACK TO SCHOOL: Online courses expand Clayton's Class.com gaining popularity http://oedb.org/library/distance-vs-local/10-advantages-to-taking-online-classes/ http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Are-The-Advantages-And-Disadvantages-Of-OnlineCourses?;id=317526 http://www.ehow.com/facts_4797506_online-training-advantages-disadvantages.html http://seacstudentweb.org/top-benefits-of-online-education.php