Fate and free will in
Romeo and Juliet
GCSE English Literature
Les van English
In deze les zitten 29 slides, met interactieve quizzen en tekstslides.
Fate and free will in
Romeo and Juliet
GCSE English Literature
Lesson 4 of 5. The fate versus free will debate is a rich route into "to what extent" questions on any GCSE specification. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop Image credit: Ivana Cajina / Unsplash
Yes
No
Partly
Not sure
Do you believe our lives are controlled by fate?
A quick starter to get opinions on the table. Come back to it at the end - has anyone changed their mind? Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Lesson Aims
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Explain what Shakespeare's audience believed about fate
Track how fate and foreshadowing run through the play
Argue how far fate, or the characters' own choices, cause the tragedy
Modify these aims as you see fit! Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
What does the word 'fate' mean to you?
Expect destiny, luck, "meant to be", the stars, God. Keep the web visible for the next slide. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Fate in Shakespeare's time
Many Elizabethans believed that the stars and planets could shape a person's life - astrology was taken seriously.
Others spoke of Fortune, a goddess who spun a wheel that could raise people up or throw them down.
Christians also believed in providence: that God has a plan for every life.
All three ideas appear in the play - the stars, fortune ("fortune's fool") and "a greater power" in the Friar's final speech. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop Image credit: Ivana Cajina / Unsplash
The Prologue
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life
The Chorus, Prologue
"Star-cross'd" - their path is blocked by the stars. "Take their life" has two meanings: they are born, and they kill themselves.
The double meaning is worth lingering on - the lovers' birth and death are in one phrase, as if their whole life is already written. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Fate or free will?
Fate
Free will
Events are already decided and cannot be changed.
If fate controls the play, the lovers are victims: nothing they did could have saved them.
People make their own choices and must live with the results.
If free will controls the play, the characters - young and old - are responsible for what happens.
Shakespeare never settles the question, which is why it makes such a good essay topic. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Fate in Romeo and Juliet
Note down two quotations about fate from the video.
Dr Aidan - "'Fate' in Romeo and Juliet - Key Quotes and Analysis". Checked September 2026. Replace or delete this slide if it will not play. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Tracking fate through the play
Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Key quotation
...my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night's revels...
Romeo, Act 1 Scene 4
On his way to the Capulet feast, Romeo senses that tonight will start a chain of events that ends in his death. This is foreshadowing.
Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Key quotation
O God, I have an ill-divining soul!
Methinks I see thee, now thou art so low,
As one dead in the bottom of a tomb.
Juliet, Act 3 Scene 5
As Romeo leaves for Mantua, Juliet has a vision of him dead. It is the last time she sees him alive.
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Key quotation
Is it e'en so? Then I defy you, stars!
Romeo, Act 5 Scene 1
When he hears Juliet is "dead", Romeo tries to take control of his destiny. Ironically, his defiance is what leads him to the tomb.
Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Key quotation
A greater power than we can contradict
Hath thwarted our intents.
Friar Laurence, Act 5 Scene 3
The Friar blames a higher power for the disaster. Is he right - or is he avoiding responsibility for his own plan?
Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Quick-fire quotations
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Who says "Then I defy you, stars!"?
Romeo
Juliet
Mercutio
Friar Laurence
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Where do we first hear the phrase "star-cross'd lovers"?
Act 3 Scene 1
The Prologue
The balcony scene
The final scene
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In Act 3 Scene 5, what does Juliet "see" as Romeo leaves?
Romeo dead in a tomb
Romeo married to Rosaline
Tybalt's ghost
Her own wedding to Paris
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Who blames "a greater power than we can contradict"?
The Nurse
The Prince
Friar Laurence
Lord Capulet
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Chance or choice?
Chance and coincidence
Human choices
A servant who cannot read asks Romeo to read the Capulet guest list
Plague quarantine traps Friar John, so the Friar's letter never reaches Romeo
Balthasar reaches Romeo with the news before anyone else can
Juliet wakes just moments after Romeo dies
Romeo gatecrashes a Capulet feast
The lovers marry after knowing each other for one day
Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge for Mercutio
Capulet moves the wedding forward
Romeo buys poison instead of waiting
Ask students to rank the events in each column by how much they contribute to the ending. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Is each event caused by fate and chance, or by a human choice?
FATE AND CHANCE
HUMAN CHOICE
Friar John is trapped by the plague
Romeo kills Tybalt
Romeo is asked to read the guest list
Capulet moves the wedding forward
Juliet wakes moments too late
Romeo buys poison from the apothecary
Balthasar reaches Romeo before the letter
The lovers marry after one day
Some students will argue that a "choice" was itself fated - reward that thinking in the discussion afterwards. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Romeo buys poison from an apothecary in Mantua
Romeo kills Paris outside the Capulet tomb
Balthasar tells Romeo that Juliet is dead
Romeo drinks the poison just before Juliet wakes
Friar John is shut in by the plague and cannot deliver the letter
Friar Laurence gives Juliet the sleeping potion
Put the chain of events that leads to the tomb in order
Items are listed here in the correct order; students see them shuffled. Ask - at which link could the chain have been broken? Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
"Fate, not the characters, is to blame for the lovers' deaths." Do you agree?
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Explain your vote. Use at least one quotation to support your view.
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Evidence for fate
Evidence for free will
Sort the evidence - add quotations and events to each side
This board becomes a plan for the essay question on the next slide. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
How far is fate responsible for the tragedy? Write a PEEL paragraph.
minute
second
A "how far" question rewards a balanced argument - students should consider both sides before reaching a judgement. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.
Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson, so they can judge their own learning. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Write down 2 things you want to know more about.
Students name two things they want to know more about - this builds involvement and ownership. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.
This shows you which parts of the material students still find difficult, and gives a starting point for the next lesson. Image credit: LessonUp Romeo and Juliet series backdrop
Not confident yet
A little confident
Quite confident
Very confident
How confident do you feel writing about fate in the play?
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