Based on Romeo's line, "O, I am fortune's fool," how does Shakespeare utilize fortune in Romeo and Juliet, and how is Romeo fortune's fool?

The term
"fool," in the sense thatwould be using it in the line, "O, I am fortune's
fool!" (I.iii.138), would most likely refer to a person who is
kept, especially at the royal courts, to entertain and
amuse. Another term for a fool is a court jester.
However, the term "fool" can also refer to a person who has been "tricked or
deceived" into doing something "silly or stupid" (Random House Dictionary). In
this line, Romeo is personifying "fortune" to say that
"fortune" is either using him for entertainment as
"fortune's" court jester or using him as entertainment to do something
foolish or stupid. Either way, Romeo is claiming that fortune is using him for
"fortune's" own personal entertainment. In addition, the
term "fortune" can be interpreted to refer to either
prosperity, such as wealth and happiness, or things that are about
to happen, which is synonymous with fate. Therefore, Romeo is also
claiming in this line that either prosperity and happiness is using him for
personal entertainment, or fate is using him for personal
entertainment.

Personifying prosperity or
happiness in the term fortune and saying that Romeo is prosperity's fool
certainly fits in with a common theme in the play. We see from the
very start of the play that Romeo is plagued with sorrows. First he
is plagued with feeling desperately brokenhearted over Rosaline's rejection, so brokenhearted
that he has been seen each dawn under a grove of trees, "[w]ith tears augmenting the fresh
morning's dew," meaning crying (I.i.128). Now that he has met , he feels that he has
finally found happiness and prosperity. Not only does she love him in return, she has just
hastily married him in secret. At the moment when Romeo says the line in question, "I am
fortune's fool,"has just killedwhile Romeo attempted to break up the fight, and
Romeo sees the bitter of the situation. The situation is
ironic because Romeo and Tybalt, without Tybalt's knowledge, have
just become family members, which is why it is so important to Romeo not to get into a fight
with Tybalt. However, Mercutio becomes angered by Romeo's attempt to pacify the situation and
answers Tybalt's challenge to a duel on Romeo's behalf. Romeo tries to separate them, but as
Mercutio phrases it, "Why the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your arm"
(III.i.102-03). Hence, one thing ironic about this moment is that
death happened when Romeo was only trying to bring peace.
Another thing ironic about this moment is that now Romeo is
compelled to avenge his friend's death by killing
Tybalt who is now his own cousin. Therefore, at a moment when Romeo has just
found peace, prosperity, and happiness in his own life, he sees himself now being
tricked into destroying all of his own happiness, serving as
entertainment to "fortune," making him "fortune's
fool," or court jester, and since irony can be equated with
comedy, we can easily agree with Romeo that it does in deed seem as if prosperity
was intentionally making a fool out of him. In addition, since Romeo's circumstances with Tybalt
has a great deal to do with fate, we can also see how he has been
used by fate for entertainment or as a court jester through the
same bitter irony.