Fate’s destruction of freedom and morality in Shakespearean tragedy.

• Main Author: Ng, Bertram Jian Wen.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities::Literature::English
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/14499
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The prologue of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet describes the driving force of the plot in how “from forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life” (Prologue.5-6). The term “fatal” is explained in the footnote as “ill-fated”, while “star-crossed” is elaborated as “thwarted by the adverse influence of the stars appearing at the time of their birth, which controlled their destinies.” The concept of fate playing a hand in one’s destiny can been seen in Shakespeare’s tragedies, from Romeo and Juliet to Hamlet to Macbeth. The significance is that fate is a power that cannot be ignored. It is the power of not just an unavoidable destiny, but also the power of taking away responsibility and removing morality. This power is the problem that Fate introduces in its single minded path to one’s destiny.