Characters in Gothic literature present their tales to us as “case studies,” in which they describe all the internal and external forces that have caused their situation to exist. Choose which of the following “forces” you think is MOST responsible for controlling the events in our lives, and explain why you think that one compared to all the others is the strongest factor. Choose from heredity, fate/destiny, the will of supernatural beings, society/peers, personal choice, fear, authority figures, past or present traumas, mental health issues, or love.

Which lines in this excerpt from act ii of william shakespeare’s romeo and juliet reveal that mercutio thinks romeo would be better off if he stopped thinking about love? mercutio: i will bite thee by the ear for that jest. romeo: nay, good goose, bite not. mercutio: thy wit is a very bitter sweeting it is a most sharp sauce. romeo: and is it not well served in to a sweet goose? mercutio: o here's a wit of cheveril, that stretches from an inch narrow to an ell broad! romeo: i stretch it out for that word 'broad; ' which added to the goose, proves thee far and wide a broad goose. mercutio: why, is not this better now than groaning for love? now art thou sociable, now art thou romeo; now art thou what thou art, by art as well as by nature: for this drivelling love is like a great natural, that runs lolling up and down to hide his bauble in a hole. benvolio: stop there, stop there. mercutio: thou desirest me to stop in my tale against the hair. benvolio: thou wouldst else have made thy tale large. mercutio: o, thou art deceived; i would have made it short: for i was come to the whole depth of my tale; and meant, indeed, to occupy the argument no longer.