In Shakespeare's tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet,' Shakespeare presents Romeo and Juliet as ill-fated lovers, starting with the prologue where they are described as 'star-crossed,' as if the heavens had preordained their destiny, and throughout the play there are references to fate. For example Juliet's words after watching Romeo depart after their wedding night, 'me thinks I see thee now/ thou art so low/ as one dead at the bottom of a tomb.' However, we are also constantly shown how their deaths, the tragedy could've been prevented and we must consider how far the feud between the families made their relationship problematic. The prologue Shakespeare wrote reveals the importance that the theme fate will play in his tragedy in the prologue through his use of the prologue written in the form of a sonnet. The prologue refers to Romeo and Juliet as 'star-crossed lovers' which suggests their destiny's have been somehow written in the stars and that their ruling planets are at odds with each other, similar to the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. The prologue also foreshadows that their deaths will be the only way their parents' rage will end. The use of the sonnet, a classical fourteen line structure, was a classical form used inEnglish love poetry and is utilised here to explain the tragic love story to follow. Interestingly, the last fourteen lines of the play also follow the sonnet form. This is a cohesive structural feature it ends the play in the same way it started. However, these lines are spoken by the loving fathers and the concluding sixteen by the prince which could have been a force for peace, ultimately following the message of the prologue: their deaths will resolve the feud. In this extract, Shakespeare uses Romeo's pessimistic language as a symbol of premonition of what is to come from his attendance at the Capulet ball. Shakespeare uses verbs such as 'misgives' and adverbs such as 'bitterly' and 'ultimately' which suggests that Romeo is feeling anxious about the ball, worrying about a 'consequence'. He uses two worrying noun phrases, 'fearful date' and 'vile forfeit', which imply he believes that this night will lead to a chain reaction of events. He even calls on God to help him, 'But he that hath the steerage of my course, Direct my sail,' clearly fearing that 'some consequence, yet hanging in the stars will lead to his death. 'Hanging in the stars' revisiting the language and ideologies of the stars we saw in the prologue. Alternatively, this shows Romeo placing his fate in God's hands could be an example of the lovers ignoring their intuition and going forward on actions they know are risky. Which suggestsHowever, it is important to consider the impact that the conflict surrounding Romeo and Juliet from their families had on their deaths. Conflict is immediate in the play, in Act 1, Scene 1, the young men of Verona are swift to draw their swords, however, the Prince stops the fight "put up your swords" and threatens banishment to those who engage in violence from then on, which serves as an opportunity for the characters to take control but throughout the play, life still seems to be melancholy. We witness the loss of Tybalt, Mercutio, Paris, Romeo, then Juliet. This is evidence that the characters aren't capable of accepting free will and seem to give their lives to the hands of fate, therefore presented as incompetent. Alternatively, Romeo and Juliet were pushed to an unwanted fate by the feud within their families. Juliet is fourteen and Romeo is a few years older. Even with the difference in life expectancies in the sixteenth-century, this was still young for marriage. Capulet forces Juliet into marrying Paris "get thee to church o' Thursday, or never look me in the face" even though he doesn't want to. This gives urgency to the story, possibly forcing Juliet to near marrying Romeo so quickly and taking the potion. Additionally, Juliet is a young girl in a patriarchal society.meaning she likely feels pressure to carry her Capulet name to a stable respectable family and she would also worry about disownment and the consequences of that. Thus, pushing Juliet into making misjudged, rash, decisions, which play into her character as ill-fated. Romeo also had little support from his family, with the Montague family making few appearances in the play. They seem more moderate than the Capulets, but still Romeo doesn't approach his family about his love for Juliet and instead confides in the Friar. This could suggest that the distant relationship between wealthy parents and their children is damaging as it could be what leads Romeo to placing too much trust in the Friar.