term to refer to the foretelling of the future involved in astrology and to the idea that the course of the stars in the sky has already decided what will happen. The human beings only act out what the stars have already indicated will happen.
This is conveyed clearly in the prologue as the Chorus proceeds to tell the audience how the story will end--the lovers commit suicide and so end the antagonisms between their parents. Indeed, the death of the children seems to be both an inevitable outcome of the parents' rage and also the only thing that can end that rage. This is the story that "Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage" (12). While the story that follows clearly fills out this general description of the story and makes the characters much more real to the audience than does the description offered by the Chorus, the story still follows this basic outline precisely. The audience is told the story and then sees the story unfold in just that way--the deaths could not have been avoided.
Yet, as noted, an observer could find a number of places where some element could be changed that would make the outcome different. For one thing, the Friar's letter could have been delivered to Romeo in time. Indeed, this is the point at which the fate of the two lovers is sealed for all time. By this point, only the knowledge in this letter could change the outcome, and the
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