The Roles of Minor Characters in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet remains prevalent throughout popular culture, film, and literature, despite its hundreds of years of age. The “love” story, with its family rivalry, compassionate lovers, and grand battle scenes, is a story custom made for theater and film. However, Hollywood movies often avoid the seemingly unimportant minor characters such as Friar Lawrence and Nurse. However, popular culture’s disregard for this aspect of the play does not make it irrelevant. In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet forms relationships with Friar Lawrence and the Nurse, which benefit both parties, are necessitated by 16th family structures, and provide considerable character development for Juliet.

In many pieces of literature, younger characters seek advice and assistance from their parents. However, this does not occur in Romeo and Juliet, with the characters instead opting to seek for guidance from outside of their families. Juliet’s Nurse and Friar Lawrence are the primary advice givers for Juliet. The need for this counsel largely stems from the structure of 16th century families. In these families, the children mantain more formal relationships with their parents, rather than intimate, day to day, connections. In general, children and parents conversed less often than they do now. This often led to parents lacking sufficient empathy for their children, in large part because they did not understand the experiences of a younger generation. For example, in Act 3, after Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished, Lord Capulet observes an upset Juliet. He incorrectly assumes that this comes from about the death of Tybalt, rather than her love for the now banished Romeo. Thus, he decides to arrange a marriage between Paris and her. When this fa...

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...centive comes from his desire to end the family feud, as well as the potentially major benefits that could come from ending the conflict between the Capulets and the Montagues. This significant action creates the ability for the climax to occur. The relationship with Juliet provides Friar Lawrence and the Nurse with important benefits, which lead to important aspects of the plot.

In conclusion, the assistance that Friar Lawrence and the Nurse provide to Juliet influences Juliet, Friar Lawrence, and the Nurse. In addition to the character development that it provides for Juliet, this advice searching helps her maintain stability as a part of the Capulet family. The need for seeking advice from Friar Lawrence and her Nurse comes from the gap of satisfactory advice from her family. Finally, it provides benefits for Friar Lawrence and the Nurse in addition to Juliet.