The Roles of Friar Lawrence and the Nurse in the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

The Roles of Friar Lawrence and the Nurse in the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

Friar Lawrence and The Nurse both contributed to the death of Romeo

and Juliet. But could fate and coincidence also be held responsible.

In this essay I will analyse the characters of Friar Lawrence and the

Nurse, and examine the role of fate and coincidence in the play.

Friar Lawrence is respected for being an educated and holy man; he is

also kind and thoughtful. A Friar is basically a monk, who does the

majority of the jobs that a parish priest does, he can perform

weddings and funerals, and people go to see him with their problems,

almost like going to confession.

Romeo and Juliet often go to the Friar when they need help and advice

when they can not get it from their parents, for example when Romeo

wants to marry Juliet, he visits the Friar and asks if he will marry

them, "When, and where, and how we met, we woo'd, and made exchange of

vow, I'll tell thee as we pass; but this I pray, that thou consent to

marry us today." Also when Juliet wants to get out of marrying Paris,

"Tell me not, friar, that thou hear'st of this, unless thou tell me

how to I may prevent it." This shows that both Romeo and Juliet are

close to the Friar and tell him there most secret issues.

The Friar is not only good at listening to others but he is also good

at giving advice. He persuades Romeo not to kill himself in Act 3,

Scene 3, "Wilt thou slay thyself? And slay thy lady that in thy life

lives, by doing damned hate upon thyself?" the Friar also talks Juliet

out of killing herself in Act 4, Scene 1, "Hold, daughter; I do spy a

kind of hope, which craves as desperate an ex...

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...ath. There are loads more reasons in the play for why

it all went wrong, but there is not one reason that explains it all.

Romeo and Juliet never had a chance of ending the play with a happy

ending. With everyone slightly pushing them closer to death and, with

even the stars against them the odds were never really on their side.

The Nurse and Friar Lawrence played a relatively big part in the

deaths of Romeo and Juliet. They both took part in Romeo and Juliet's

wedding and talked them into changing their minds about things that

they were going to do. But the Nurse and the Friar only pushed them

onwards they did not actually kill them. At the beginning Shakespeare

hinted we knew that the stars were not on their side and this meant

that they were always going to die in whatever circumstances no matter

who intervened.