Friar Lawrence Essay

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He really was a good confidant. A long-time feud between the Montague and Capulet finally resolves after many family members dying, including Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, Friar Laurence, is a sympathetic listener because he is well trusted by the society, acts as a father figure for both Romeo and Juliet. Friar Laurence is also one of the main causes that lead the death of Romeo and Juliet.
First of all, Friar Laurence is a holy man who is well trusted by the society. During the play Friar Laurence did not once mention the secret planned marriage between Romeo and Juliet. He kept it to himself until the very end. Another scene where Romeo shows his trust to Friar Laurence, when Romeo confesses his love …show more content…

Friar feels like a dad to Romeo, as he calls Romeo his “son” (2.3.33-35). As a “father,” he wants to teach Romeo things that he might not have learnt. Friar Laurence says, “Therefore love moderately; long love doth so. Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.” (2.6) In this quote, I believe Friar Laurence was trying to tell Romeo, to slow down and enjoy the relationship. They shouldn’t move to fast, otherwise it would be boring at the end. Friar Laurence says that he can stay until the watchmen take their positions and then should leave for Mantua (3.3). This shows his care as a father for Romeo, he doesn’t want Romeo to be killed by the watchmen. Romeo also looks up to Friar Laurence as his “holy father” as mentioned in line 46 of Act 2 Scene 3. (2.3.46) In Act 2, Scene 3, Friar Laurence metaphorically talks about how it wasn’t smart of Rosaline to not love him back in lines 87-88. (2.3.87-88) When the Friar says, “love read by rote, and could not spell,” he is making the analogy between Romeo’s love and a child who pretends to know what he is doing. This hints that Friar believes that Romeo is too young to understand what love is. All of these examples show how comfortable Romeo is with Friar Laurence and how Friar Laurence is comfortable with Romeo. This is a good thing to have, especially in a “father-son” relationship. Friar Laurence is also acting realistic. Romeo needs a father figure

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