Romeo and Juliet Essay

"I fear too early, for my mind misgives

Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Shall bitterly begin his fearful date

With this night's revels, and expire the term

Of a despised life closed in my breast

By some vile forfeit of untimely death.

But he that hath the steerage of my course

Direct my sail. On, lusty gentlemen."

This quote, spoken by Romeo, is this most important quote in the first scene. This is a perfect example of foreshadowing by Romeo on what is going to happen to him in the future.

First, Romeo knows that if his friends force him into going to the party, an event that happens at the party will eventually lead to his untimely death. Before this quote, most of what Romeo had said was all about how tragic his love life was so it is easy to dismiss this quote as another one of Romeo's cries for attention when he is really foreshadowing what is to come.

Next, Romeo suspecting that this night could very well lead to his death, decides to give into the peer pressure to go to this party with his friends. It makes no sense that someone who has just predicted his own death would still follow through with the plans that his friends have. This is most likely another attempt at Romeo trying to get attention on himself. On the other hand, maybe Romeo knows that what usually comes out of his mouth is just him gushing about how his life is awful when every person who is there to listen knows that it is all nonsense, and Romeo doesn't even realize that what he had said will really happen.