In many ways, fate seems to be the driving force in the play. It is even referenced in the Prologue; after the Chorus describes the feud between the Capulets and Montagues, they say, "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life" (lines 5-6). Thus, there was even something fateful ("fatal") in the births of Romeo and Juliet, and they are "star-crossed," or impeded by fate through the destructive influence of the stars. Even from their births, then, they were destined to die; their relationship could be nothing but "misadventured" or unlucky (7).
Later, when Romeo's friends are trying to convince him to go with them to crash the Capulets' party, he says that he fears some events that have not unfolded yet, and that -- by going to that party -- he will set into motion these events which will eventually "expire the term / Of a despised life closed in [his] breast / By some vile forfeit of untimely death" (1.4.116-118). Romeo has a kind of premonition that going to Lord Capulet's home will be the action that initiates some consequences that will absolutely result in his own death. However, he doesn't seem to think that he has much choice in the matter, as he says, "But he that hath the steerage of my course / Direct my sail" (1.4.119-120). He does not feel that he actually controls his own life, as he feels compelled to take this action regardless of the fact that it will lead to his destruction.
Even the way Romeo and Juliet compare one another to celestial bodies seems ill-fated. He compares her to the sun when he sees her on her balcony, and she asks for him to be cut into little stars and placed in the sky after he dies.
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