Coincidences in Romeo and Juliet Free Essay Sample

“Romeo and Juliet” is a classic story that has withstood multiple generations. The story lives on today through interpretation as movies and plays . Even though “Romeo and Juliet” was already a play, modern plays enhance it in quality to fit our times today. Despite all of its praise, many criticize the story for its plot and how it is reliant on coincidences. I disagree with these critics and have a different outlook on the coincidences found in the play. In “Romeo and Juliet” coincidences are seen throughout the whole tragedy and these coincidences chain together to create a perfect tragedy

As stated before, I think the coincidences in this story piece it all together to create a perfect tragedy. Each coincidence in this story leads into one another creating a chain of events to make the tragedy the classic it is. When Tybalt first sees Romeo interacting with Juliet is when the violence and tragic events in the story ensue, like Romeo’s banishment which was destined after his meeting with Juliet (Baker). A common case found in the story is that one event leads to other coincidences. An example of this is right at the beginning which was the battle between the two houses. The Prince then forbids any fighting between the two families after the battle that just happened, and this main event is why all the events happen in the story. One coincidence after another, after another, soon leads to the end of the story all from one battle and how the Prince coincidentally decided to forbid any fighting between the two families. 

Many factors of luck and fate can be seen in the play to support my argument, for instance Romeo’s failure in trying to stop the fighting between Mercutio and Tybalt and Friar John not being able to reach Mantua due to a plague (“Overview of Romeo and Juliet”). I would say that these factors of luck and chance are what makes the tragedy so complex, but some critics of the story disagree with my argument. Critics say that most of the coincidences in the story could be easily avoided by the characters and how it depends too much on the coincidences (Lyon). I beg to differ saying that, even though the plot does heavily rely on coincidence, the chances of coincidence found in the story make it the classic it is. Everything lines so perfectly together creating a true chain of events to make a play to be remembered for generations. 

Fate and coincidences are just things we have to face in life and having a whole story around coincidence is genius. How all the coincidences chain together to create a perfect tragedy is what makes it such a staple in literature history. One simple event of the two lovers meeting eye to eye caused so much violence and death.My argument may be controversial to some people because of the argument on how the entire story revolves around coincidence. This may be correct, but I think that it is very unique and adds to the story as a whole.