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The role of Friar Laurence in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
The role of Friar Laurence in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
The role of Friar Laurence in the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
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In the play Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, both the main characters, Romeo and Juliet, died at the end, but what caused their death? There is many characters and factors that had a hand in it. First, Friar Lawrence's support for them and his carelessness had a direct impact on their death. Second, Lord Capulet, as being Juliet's father, affected her internally by insisting on her to marry Paris and obliging her to hate the Montagues. Lastly, the impracticality and senselessness of the Nurse and the Prince of Verona, Prince Escalus, had a great influence on the stories resolution. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet shows how teenagers mistake love for lust.
Friar Lawrence's character being supportive, thoughtless and careless
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He was careless while setting the plan and applying it, as well. Friar Lawrence's plan went wrong, not only his message did not reach Romeo, but also knew about her death. Furthermore, no one was going to be there when Juliet wakes up, as he thought, but Romeo was there before him with fake news. When the plan wenwrong that is a proof for his carelessness while planning and fulfilling it. Also, when he discovered that it went wrong, his reaction was not fast enough. The plan not working was a result of his unplanned steps, not ensuring Romeo got the true news before the fake one and that he was there when Juliet wakes up. While it may be true that his incautious moves resulted in Romeo and Juliet dying from the thought that their partner is dead, but it also resulted in the Prince Escalus and the families feeling guilty, stopping the arguments and reuniting in keeping this memory shinning. Likewise, Friar Lawrence's support to Romeo and Juliet gave them more courage to move further and doing it secretly, which made everything worse and laid more responsibility on him. Friar Lawrence, " Well, come with me, young man. I shall do this for one reason: perhaps this marriage will turn your families …show more content…
His pressure on Juliet to marry Paris without knowing or understanding her reasons behind the refusal caused her to think of fleeing as an option. When Juliet proclaimed her refusal to marry Count Paris, her father, Lord Capulet, did not show acceptance to her decision, but instead he got angry and reacted by forcing her whether she liked or not. He pushed her without negotiating with her or asking for clarification for refusing Paris, he just wanted her to do what he wanted, which left her with no choice except reacting herself. He was not glad, even angry, that she argued about the marriage and did not give her the chance to explain or refuse, she had to pretend the approval, but she can not marry Paris, so she had to fake her death to evade from this marriage. He did not show welcoming to any decision or suggestion, he only wanted to do what he thought is right without delay, so she thought another way to stop it, which ended her life and Romeo's, too. Secondly, Lord Capulet's obligation on everybody to feud the Montagues affected Juliet's decisions and the story's plot line. The Capulet's servant, "Come and have a glass of wine with us – as long as you are not a Montague. Good day, sir." (Shakespeare Act 1, Scene 2, Page 17). The servant's emphasize that they are welcome unless they are a Montague is surely not unasked,
The leading force, in my opinion, that led to Romeo and Juliet's death is the conflict between the two fathers, Capulet and Montague. It's because of this conflict that Romeo and Juliet feel they must hide their love, which, in the end, is the cause of their deaths. Because of this conflict, confrontations occurred and insults were thrown. Hatred is bred which is evident when Tybalt, who is Lady Capulet's nephew, joins the fight against the Montague family. Tybalt hates Romeo and doesn't hesitate to let it be known.
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy- but it did not have to be. Romeo and Juliet is the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who are the son and daughter of two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Written by the famed playwright Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet take place in the 14-15 century in the cities of Verona and Mantua, cities in northern Italy. After a series of events that involves Romeo getting banished from Verona and Juliet getting forced to marry a count, Paris, they kill themselves. It has been argued for centuries about who is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. But, once reading the book thoroughly and consulting several sources, it is obvious who is solely to blame- Friar Lawrence. Because of the actions of Friar Lawrence, the play ended with two grieving families instead of two happy newlyweds. Although many characters contributed to their deaths, only Friar Lawrence was solely responsible for them. Friar Lawrence’s cowardice, secrecy, and miscommunication led directly to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Lawrence plays a very important role in the play between Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare has presented Friar Lawrence much to blame for the horrific ending of their lives. Not only was Friar Lawrence the brains behind the plan of getting them together after his banishment he was also the man who agreed to the marriage in the first place. ‘for doting, not loving, pupil mine’ Romeo holds a lot of respect for Friar Lawrence and he is a father figure towards him in the play. Friar Lawrence’s opinions therefore are considered by Romeo so therefore he should have been more careful in his decisions of marriage. Before agreeing to marry them both Lawrence had his suspicions that Romeo did not love Rosaline it was just lust, he therefore thought that this was the same case with Juliet. Shakespeare holds him to blame by allowing him to marry Juliet which causes all the problems and betrayal by easily believing that he loves Juliet.
Friar Lawrence does not have very much time on stage, but the time he does have is crucial to the plot line. Through his words, Friar Lawrence demonstrates that he is well intentioned, yet sometimes shortsighted, and is not afraid to take risks to help others. He may do something out of the ordinary, if he thinks the outcome will help someone for whom he cares. For example, when he says "In one respect I'll thy assistant be;/ for this alliance may so happy prove, / to turn your households rancor to pure love" (II.iii.97-99), he is saying that the only reason he will marry Romeo and Juliet is that he hopes that the marriage will end the hostilities between the two houses. When he says "Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, / and hither shall he come; and he and I/ shall watch thy waking, and that very night/ shall Romeo bear thee to Mantua" (IV.i.116-119), his intention is clearly to comfort and reassure Juliet.
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.
Although Friar Lawrence is a member of a religious order, he too is also to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The Friar can be described as quick to think or secretive. For example, he agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet without even informing the parents about the marriage. Friar Lawrence says to Romeo before the marriage, “So smile the heavens upon this holy act, that after-hours with sorrow chide us not!” This shows that Friar Lawrence, the adult in the situation, knew of the consequences they would have to face if they were caught (2.4.1-2). He even has the secretive idea to hide the marriage from both families. He knows that the families were not fond of each other, but still thinks it is right for him to marry them without notifying the parents. If Friar Lawrence had decided to inform the parents that Romeo and Juliet were going to be married, he would not be in this mess. Near the end of the play, Friar Lawrence realizes the mistake he made by marrying Romeo and Juliet. He admits to his actions saying, “Miscarried by my fault, let my old life be sacrific’d some hour before this time, unto the rigor of severest law” (5.3.267-269). Friar Lawrence took the blame for his impulsive actions because he knows it was mainly his fault for marrying Romeo and Juliet, and he does not want to feel guilty anymore. Although Friar does not die, he is going to be jailed for his
First, it was Friar Lawrence's fault Romeo and Juliet committed suicide. Friar Lawrence not only made one, but three mistakes that led to the death of Romeo and Juliet. He had gave a poison to Juliet, he trusted someone else with a letter of great importance to deliver to Romeo, and he fled to Juliet’s tomb, instead of trying to help her. Friar Lawrence was planning for Romeo and Juliet to be together but it did not end well. Friar Lawrence made the mistake of trusting a unstable fourteen year with a potion.
Friar Lawrence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s stronger affections for each other because he married them and therefore binding their love. Friar Lawrence also came up with a risky solution to get Romeo and Juliet together for the rest of their lives without anyone knowing. However, it consisted of faking Juliet’s death and Romeo did not know she was not actually dead, but alive. Friar Lawrence’s messenger did not tell Romeo the plan in time because Romeo had already heard of Juliet’s death and had gone to her tomb to die with her. Friar Lawrence is responsible for the star-crossed lovers’ death because of his miscalculated
Friar Lawrence thought it was a good idea to keep Romeo and Juliet’s relationship a secret. He was unaware that this would be a cause of their deaths. Friar Lawrence said to Romeo when he gave consent to marry Romeo and Juliet, “come, young waverer, come, go with me, in one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to your households’ rancor to pure love” (II. iii. 83-93). Friar Lawrence believed that he was doing the right thing. He believed that if he married and Romeo and Juliet he would be ending the feud between the two families. Instead of saying no that he won’t marry them and they should wait Friar should’ve warn both of their parents about what the lovers were planning. He just decided to marry them even though they had known each other for only a couple hours and without their parents consent. Another time that Friar Lawrence was secretive about Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, which then led to their deaths, was after Romeo killed Tybalt and was banished and then later on Lord Capulet decided to accept Paris’ request to marry Juliet. Juliet went to Friar Lawrence and he told her this after she threatened to kill herself “ Hold, daughter. I do spy a kind of hope, which craves as desperate as an execution as that is desperate which we would prevent… if Thou hast the ...
In greater detail, when Juliet desperately visits Friar Lawrence in his cell, he immediately advises, “Tomorrow night [...] take thou this vial [...] No warmth, no [breath] shall testify thou livest. [...] Thou [shalt] be born to that same ancient vault/Where all the kindred of the Capulets lie [...] Romeo by my letters shall know are drift [...] [giving Juliet the vial]” (4.1.93-124). Basically on impulse, Friar Lawrence directs Juliet to take a potion, which will allow her to mimic death and flee an arranged marriage. Continuing this, he explains that after Juliet’s parents place her in the family tomb, she will be able to escape with Romeo (her husband). However, Romeo never receives a letter notifying him of Friar Lawrence’s plan. With this in mind, Romeo finds Juliet and thinks she is dead; from heartache he kills himself. This tragedy was the outcome of Friar Lawrence’s plan, which he hastily puts together the moment Juliet explains her predicament. Furthermore, if Friar Lawrence took the time to consider possible flaws and their consequence in his plan, Romeo would have never thought Juliet was dead. Nonetheless, haste prevents Friar Lawrence from analyzing his plan, which causes Romeo to commit suicide. Considering this, Friar Lawrence conveys that haste is the paramount cause of tragedy when he urgently advises
Friar Laurence’s interference in the families of Romeo and Juliet set much of the fighting, rage and death of these characters into motion. Romeo and Juliet is the title of a great tragedy. This tragedy has been caused by Friar Laurence’s involvement in the marriage of Romeo and Juliet, the Friar’s lying to Capulet and his family, and his involvement in the false death of Juliet.
The attempt that Friar Lawrence had made to fix up his wrong doings was a mistake and took a huge role in leading up to the two deaths. He had a second chance to come clean and tell the families the truth, but he chose to ignore that opportunity and came up with a plan that resulted in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. After Romeo had been banished, the plan that the Friar conjured up was for Juliet to take a potion which would make her appear dead.
Finally, the friar gives the letter about "the fake death plan" to Friar John when he should have delivered it himself. Despite any other "at fault" characters in Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is the most responsible for the tragic events that occur in the play because of his miscommunication, dishonesty and poor decision making. Beginning with Friar Lawrence's first mistake, he marries Romeo and Juliet not knowing that it would create a controversy. When Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet, no one knows and there is no parental consent. By not telling anyone, Romeo and Juliet are put in danger because of this secret.
Primarily, the lazy and neglectful Friar Lawrence is to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s death. First of all, Romeo discovers Juliet supposedly dead, unaware that she is actually not dead. Romeo is obviously not informed about the plan, Friar Lawrence’s thoughtlessness is clearly shown when Romeo says “Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide! / Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on / The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark! / Here’s to my love! [Drinks]. O true apothecary” (Shakespeare V, iii, 116-119). If Friar personally went to tell Romeo about Juliet’s plans, instead of promptly assuming that Romeo would get the letter, then Romeo would have not killed himself. The Friar should have taken the time and energy to make a face to face verbal exchange with Romeo, therefore it would have been merely impossible to
He did not give much thought on how Juliet feels about the marriage and agrees to marry the two even though Juliet had not given him consent. For example, when Paris asks Capulet if Juliet would love him; Capulet responds, "Of my child 's love: I think she will be ruled. In all respects by me; nay, more, I doubt it not." (4.3.13-14). Capulet’s relationship with Juliet is superficial; he does not understand or know his daughter well. By creating the wedding, he causes Juliet to become desperate as she would be marrying someone she doesn’t love. To add to the matter, instead of trying to understand his daughter’s perspective, he becomes aggressive and gives her with an ultimatum. Capulet shouts, “Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o 'Thursday, Or never after look me in the face.” (3.5.160-163). By forcing Juliet into marriage, she becomes desperate and causes her to begin considering death as a way out. "I 'll to the friar, to know his remedy; If all else fail, myself have power to die." (3.5.241-242). Capulet’s controlling and aggressive parenting forces Juliet to marry someone she does not love. Furthermore, this causes Juliet to starts considering suicide as a way out. Capulet’s actions to forcefully marry Juliet to Paris brings her death because it results in the Friar’s potion plan which would cause the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. If Capulet did not