The Role of Fate and Society in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, Ruhr-University of Bochum, course: Einführungsübung Literatur, 9 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare deals with the love of two young lovers, who are members of noble but hostile families of Verona. This paper will try to analyse the role of fate and society inRomeo and Juliet.This will be done on the level of fate as part of the Elizabethan World View, as a typical means in the tragedy and in form of a consideration of different scenes which depict fate. Furthermore emphasis it put upon the society in the Elizabethan Age, the aristocracy's behaviour, the hate as an evil force and the different characters in Romeo and Juliet. It will be shown that these circumstances lead to their death, which is not the fault of the young lovers, but the work of coincidences, of fate and members of the society.