Read the fable by Aesop and the excerpt from Act 1, Scene 4 of Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. What is the purpose shared by both texts?

Question

A king had a dream that his son would be killed by a lion. Afraid the dream should prove true, he built for his son a pleasant palace and adorned its walls with life-sized animals, among which was the picture of a lion. When the young Prince saw this, his grief at being thus confined burst out afresh, and, standing near the lion, he said: “O you most detestable of animals! Through a lying dream of my father’s, I am shut up on your account in this palace!” With these words he stretched out his hands toward a thorn-tree, meaning to cut a stick from its branches so that he might beat the lion. But one of the tree’s prickles pierced his finger. A violent fever suddenly set in, from which he died not many days later.

ROMEO Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace.
Thou talk’st of nothing.
MERCUTIO True, I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air
And more inconstant than the wind, who woos
Even now the frozen bosom of the north
And, being angered, puffs away from thence,
Turning his side to the dew-dropping south.
BENVOLIO
This wind you talk of blows us from ourselves.
Supper is done, and we shall come too late.
ROMEO
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 despisèd life closed in my breast
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.

(1 point)
Responses

to describe the author’s personal experiences

to instruct with a moral lesson

to entertain readers

to elicit strong emotions

Answer 1

The purpose shared by both texts is to instruct with a moral lesson.

In Aesop's fable, the king's attempt to prevent fate ultimately leads to unintended consequences, illustrating the futility of trying to escape one's destiny. Similarly, in the excerpt from "Romeo and Juliet," Romeo's foreboding about the events of the evening suggests that one's fate is often unavoidable, and his speech hints at the tragic consequences that may arise. Both texts convey lessons about the nature of fate and the limitations of human control over it.