Many know the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, and they are aware of the sequence of events that lead up to the young couple’s death. Although, not many realize that there were characters who contributed to Romeo and Juliet taking their lives. For instance, when the couple meet in the beginning of the story and the Nurse breaks the news to them that they are the heirs of their enemies. Though she tells them, she does little to stop the couple from being together throughout the play. An additional character who played a role in their death was Tybalt because he decided to add more fuel to the Capulet and Montague feud by fighting with Romeo which resulted in his banishment. Let's not forget Lord Capulet rushing …show more content…
From the start, Friar Laurence was secretive and deceitful when he does not tell the families of Romeo and Juliet about their relationship, and he is the one who marries them. Though he was hesitant to unite the couple at first, in the end, Friar still agreed to officiate the marriage. As a result of him marrying them, Romeo and Juliet felt like they had to do anything and everything to save their marriage, which included dying for one another. Since Friar was considered a man of God, he should have lead the couple to tell their parents or told the parents himself. Friar Laurence’s irresponsibility, another one of his disturbing character flaws, likely lead to the couple’s death. Knowing the effects of the vial (“If thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself....take thou this vial...no warmth, no breath shall testify the living” IV.i.72,93,98) he should have taken the opportunity to again, inform their parents; instead he hatched a plan for Juliet to fake her death. Had Friar Laurence not given Juliet the vial, she would not have been put in the position she was in, which rippled to Romeo’s death and her real death. Friar makes multiple bad choices throughout the play, and as he made such choices, he inevitably doomed Juliet to her death therefore leading to Romeo taking his life
Friar Lawrence in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet "We still have known thee for a holy man"
Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare's first authentic tragedy. It is about two lovers who commit suicide when their feuding families prevent them from being together. The play has many characters, each with its own role in keeping the plot line. Some characters have very little to do with the plot; but some have the plot revolving around them. While the character of Friar Lawrence spends only a little time on stage, he is crucial to the development of the conclusion of the play. It is Friar Laurence’s good intentions, his willingness to take risks and his shortsightedness that lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
A hero is described as someone who, in the opinion of others, has "special qualities and is perceived as a role model.” In the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, Friar Lawrence fits this definition of a hero. Friar Lawrence is a selfless character who is always trying to help others and make people happy. In the play, the Friar does heroic acts, such as marrying Romeo and Juliet and by doing that hoping to end the feud between the Capulet and Montague families. Also, he comes up with a plan for Juliet not to kill herself and have her escape to be with Romeo, and finally he admits to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. All three of these deeds deem The Friar as the hero in Romeo and Juliet. The author, William Shakespeare uses literary
"Friar:'Take thou this vial, being then in bed, ?And this distilling liquor drink thou off"'(IV, I, 93-94) This was an easy task for the Friar since he grows and sells herbs and medicines to the people of Verona. Although he tried to send word to Romeo explaining the plan he had produced, it never made it to him. “Friar: ‘Hold! Get you gone, be strong and prosperous/ In this resolve, I’ll send a friar with speed /To Mantua, with my letters to thy lord.’ ” (IV, I, 122-124) Instead of hoping that the letter would make it to Romeo, the Friar should have made an excuse to delay the wedding and spoke with Romeo the next day. Hearing that Juliet had died, Romeo poisoned himself by her corpse. Upon awakening, Juliet discovered her dead husband and stabbed herself so that she may also be dead.
Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is a very dramatic text, based on two teens falling in love and ends with both characters committing suicide. The friends and family of the two teenagers are to blame for the devastating tragedy. Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) plays an important role in the text as his aggressive and defensive behaviour contributed to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Capulet (Juliet’s father) is also to blame as he was very selfish and wasn’t supportive of Romeo and Juliet. Lastly, Friar Lawrence played the biggest role in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet as he was sympathetic and impatient with the two of them.
In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, it is clear that Friar Laurence causes Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. First, the Friar was not as responsible as Romeo needed him to be especially when he agreed to marry him and Juliet without thinking it through. Secondly, he put Romeo and Juliet, among others, in danger with his uncertain plans. Lastly, he had other priorities when he married Romeo and Juliet which caused poor judgment to cloud his decision. While he did not plan to kill them, his actions landed them dead. In conclusion, if he had not acted so rash and irresponsibly, Romeo and Juliet would still be alive along with others who died in the destructive pathway that was Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.
In reading critical analysis of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" I found that many people call Friar Lawrence a moderate man who elicits to others his voice of wisdom and reason. An example of this sort of conclusion is George Ian Duthie's opinion that Lawrence is "A very worthy man", "prudent" and "worldly-wise"(xix.xx). G.B. Harrison views him as "sympathetically treated", "wise, grave, patient"(6). Due to this continuing interpretation, the view of Friar Lawrence has not really changed through the years. Mutschman and Wentersdorf followed the herd when they stated in their book that
of the couple. He is of the Catholic faith and very often has to give
In this act the audience is introduced to a new character filled with many complex qualities and motivations. When Romeo proposes marriage to Juliet and she says yes, he goes to a man named Friar Lawrence to ask him to marry them. Friar Lawrence agrees to marry them immediately. Here, Friar Lawrence is shown as an imperfect religious figure because of his willingness to compromise the sanctity of marriage for a political goal. He believes that if Romeo and Juliet are married then the feud between the two houses, Montagues and Capulets would cease.
The first major reason that Friar Laurence is responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet’s death was that he gave Juliet a potion that would make her look dead. He did this so that she could try to avoid marrying Paris, and so that she could also meet Romeo at the tomb before he was forced to flee Verona. This step in his plan went horribly wrong, as the timing of the potion is what ultimately made Romeo commit suicide. This decision was a poorly thought out decision by the friar because he did not think about the possible consequences if something were to go wrong. The friar show his irresponsibility by saying, “If, rather than to marry County Paris,/ Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself,/ Then it is likely thou wilt undertake/ A thing like death to chide away this shame,/ That c...
Friar Laurence was once looked up to by both Romeo and Juliet, constantly telling them to act with more caution and restraint. Despite this, he doesn't wait long to marry these lovebirds. It has broken many hearts of the citizens of Verona and left many others in shock. At one point, Friar Laurence admitted to agreeing to marry the couple, knowing Romeo only loves Juliet due to her appearance. "
Friar Laurence, through his lack of good judgment, is largely responsible for the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. Rather than being supportive of them and helping them disclose their loving situation, Friar Laurence took the “easy” way out. He succumbed to their desire to elope. He secretly married Romeo and Juliet instead of standing behind them and encouraging them to confront their families with the facts about their commitment to and love for each other. As a result, an even stronger bond between them was created through marriage: "For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone / Till holy church incorporate two in one" (2.6.36-37). Friar Laurence married Romeo and Juliet, hoping that their union would bring an end to the constant feuding between their two families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Though the friar’s intentions were good and above reproach, they were certainly missteps along a pathway to tragedy. None of the tragedies would have occurred if Romeo and Juliet were not married. When Tybalt challenged Romeo...
His actions throughout the play merely prove his irrationality, irresponsibility and foolishness which gave him the title of being the killer. His consensus on marrying Romeo and Juliet in secret, the lack of not knowing whether the note about his plan reached Romeo and the fact that he faked Juliet's death by giving her a fake potion all, in turn prove that Friar Laurence is guilty and should be blamed for killing the unforgettable lovers. What makes a person strong is their empathy, dignity and wisdom, three things that Friar Laurence clearly lacks. Friar Laurence was the reason that the problems occurred and was the reason why agony and depression flooded Romeo and Juliet's families, Verona and the
One of the main reasons that Friar Laurence was held accountable for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is because he married them. First of all, this marriage was done without the consent of the parents. Secondly, he could have tried to support their relationship instead of marrying them and not telling anyone. He speaks of how these two will become one in marriage; “For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone /
Unfortunately, their love comes to an end, along with their lives, because of a misunderstanding and a persistent feud between their families. Although there are many characters in this play that have contributed to Romeo and Juliet’s death, Friar Laurence is the person most to blame. Friar Laurence’s actions throughout the play resulted in the two star crossed lovers’ death. He assisted the two when they wanted to get married, which began the disastrous events in the play. Friar Laurence says to Romeo: