It is undeniable that intense passion permeates Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet. Yet on a closer examination it is also evident that the characters, do not always comply with the expectations placed upon them either by society itself or the authority figures in the play. This can be seen in the flouting of Prince Escales’ edicts, as well as in the insurgency against the church, and also in Juliet’s refusal to respect her parent’s expectations and authority.
In Romeo and Juliet, the peace of the city of Verona has been disrupted by outbursts of hostile voices and violence. Exasperated by the refusal of members of the Capulet and the Montague families to obey his orders, Prince Escales issues an edict which promises death to anyone guilty of further disturbances: "If ever you disturb our streets again, / your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.”(I.i.90-91) This, however was completely disregarded by the members of the two feuding families, which resulted in tragic consequences. Such as the murders of Tybalt and Mercutio. As well as the banishment of Romeo to Mantua by Prince Escales. The infractions of Prince Escales’ orders from the two feuding families is what ultimately leads to the tragic deaths of Romeo, Juliet, County Paris and many more.
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Friar Lawrence, goes against the accepted ways by allowing Romeo and Juliet’s love to blossom; and also allowing the without notifying the parents nor when Friar Lawrence agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet, without their consent: “For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone/ Till holy church incorporate two in one.” (II.vi.36-37) This was an act of rebellion against societal expectations of members of the
First, Friar Lawrence knows the danger of wedding together a Capulet and a Montague without the consent of either of their families. Despite the risk, Friar Lawrence is loyal to his friend Romeo, who believes he has found ‘the one’ and wishes to marry her the same day “O, she knew well Thy love did read by rote and could not spell/But come, young waverer, come, go with me/In one respect I'll thy assistant be, For this alliance may so happy prove marriage To turn your households' rancor to pure love.” (2,3,94). Secondly, Loyalty is not only displayed by Friar Lawrence, it is also returned to him when Friar John helps Friar Lawrence on a risky mission to get a message to Romeo, who was banished from the town of Verona. For instance, Friar John was to invite Romeo back to town so that Romeo and Juliet are able to elope after the fake death of Juliet “This same should be the voice of Friar John. Welcome from Mantua! What says Romeo? Or if his mind be writ, give me his letter” (5,2,2). Lastly, Juliet, just like all the other citizens of the Verona, look to the church committee for help in tough times. In fact, Friar Lawrence helps Juliet out of committing suicide by finding a way to get Romeo and Juliet together as he creates a deceiving plan after Juliet goes begging to him for help “Take
In this essay, I will take a gander at the play of Romeo and Juliet. I will examine how Shakespeare has utilized dialect in the play for symbolic impact. I will also see how Shakespeare has displayed love and the path in which Romeo and Juliet converse with each other, I might choose whether their affection was genuine and discuss their parents differentiating perspectives and conclusions. I will likewise remark on the play's pertinence today and perceive how Shakespeare has utilized dramatic devices and structures to improve the discussion between the youthful lovers. All throughout the play, there is a consistent theme of love and destiny, I will be dissecting this subject and show how it influences Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Lawrence is responsible for the marriage of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence is completely aware of the feud between the Montague and Capulet families, which does not deter him from organising the marriage of this young couple. With the hope of restoring peace between Montagues and Capulets by turning the “households' rancour to pure love” Friar Lawrence agrees to organise the marriage (II, iii, 92). Friar Lawrence expresses his doubts about this marriage only a few scenes later by saying, “so smile the heavens upon this holy act, that after-hours with sorrow chide us not (II, vi, 1-2).” Friar Lawrence hopes the heavens will approve of his decision to organise this marriage, as he does not want to regret it later. He says this as he recognises that Romeo is far too young to understand what love is and that he should not be in such a serious relationship. Even though Friar Lawrence knows that this marriage could have Romeo and Juliet punished by their families and that this decision
Secondly, Friar Lawrence’s intentions are always for the benefit of others. He helps his fellow citizens when they are in despair, such as when Romeo arrives at the friar’s cell crying himself to death. The friar responds, “Thou shalt live, till we can find a time to blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends, beg pardon of the prince, and call thee back” (3, 3, 150-152). Here, Friar Lawrence acts as a mentor to Romeo, and uplifts his spirits by guiding him through the difficult times of banishment. Friar tells Romeo what he wants to hear because he understands Romeo’s boundless love for Juliet, and what may happen as the consequence of forbidden love. Moreover, Friar Lawrence has noble intentions that give himself no personal gain. When he agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet, 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” (2, 3, 90-92). Friar decides to marry the young lovers not only to help his friends, but because he believes it will end the long bitter feud of Verona. He only cares about the wellbeing of the city and the safety of the opposing families. Lastly, Friar Lawrence always assists his fellow citizens in their time of desperation. When
First of all, Friar Lawrence explicitly knew better than to do many of the things he did. First, he should not have agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet so quickly. Romeo wanted to marry Juliet after
Friar Lawrence asked Romeo and Juliet to marry in an effort to end the feud between their families, the Montagues and the Capulets. He initially made this point by stating, “But come, young waverer, come go with me…. For this alliance may so happy
Friar Lawrence carelessly marries Romeo and Juliet together, even when he knows that their families are opposites. This just shows how impulsive he is and doesn’t think about the consequences he could create. In Act 2 Scene 3, Page 340 and line 91 it states, “for the alliance may so happily prove.” Meaning the marriage may hopefully stop the fighting, but this does not help the feud between the families. If he was a wise and responsible man, many people would think of him as he should have realized the problem it could create and not just look at the good in the situation rather than the bad it could create.
When Romeo goes to the friar to ask Friar Lawerence to marry them he agrees saying, “So smile the Heavens upon this holy act, that after-hours with sorrow chide us not” (II, vi, 1-2) This quote shows that he hoped that the odds will be in their favor. Friar Lawrence was a first optimistic about the marriage hoping it would bring the feuding families together; even though just a few pages before he criticises Romeo for changing his love from Rosaline to Juliet telling him, “Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies, not truly in their hearts but in their eyes” (II. iii. 70-72). Friar Lawrence knew that Romeo’s love for Juliet was only in the eyes and not from the heart. He already doubted Romeo’s youth and immaturity. But he marries them anyway in secret hoping the feuding will
“The most obvious example of Friar Lawrence’s rashness or impulsiveness occurs in Act II, when he decides to honor Romeo’s request to marry Juliet” (Cardullo 213). It is evident that Friar Lawrence made a foolhardy decision, even though he had benevolent intentions. He did wish to stop the conflict between the two families, but he attempted to solve it in the wrong way. He hoped that the bitter relationship between the two households would be converted to happiness, through the
Friar Lawrence imprudently agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though he knows that it will cause later consequences. At first, Friar thinks that “For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your households rancor to pure love” (2.3.98-99), meaning that he thinks the marriage will bring about peace to the two opposed families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Immediately, however, he tells Romeo,” Wisely and slowly, they stumble that run fast” (2.3.101). Friar Lawrence warns Romeo that if he is too hasty, then it leads to bad consequences. Friar Lawrence is clearly aware that if he and he alone marries the two, then their marriage will collapse, yet he decides to marry Romeo and Juliet. This causes both of them to sink into depression after Romeo gets banished from the city of Verona, his home town. Without Friar Lawrence, the two would not have married, which would not lead to their depression and further
Imagine yourself, dear reader, transported to Shakespearian Verona, a bustling, peaceful city (aside from the occasional death or two), with its obligatory social classes going about agreeably (aside from the occasional brawl or two), and all people happy and successful (aside from the occasional poor wretch or two). The Verona in which Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet takes place in is made sinister by the deadly consequences than ensue from its strict, unbending society. Romeo and Juliet paints a tale about two young lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, whose attempts to be together are cruelly thwarted by society. Society’s fixation on honor and disgrace, poverty-creating laws, and austere social roles all have crucial
With a flicker of hope that the marriage will work and end the feud, Friar Lawrence remarks that, "this alliance may so happy prove to turn [their] households' rancor to pure love" (II iv 91-92). The blame can be placed on Friar Lawrence because he cares too much for Romeo and Juliet and eventually takes an extreme and risky approach to facilitate their union.
Throughout the book, Friar Lawrence shows the he has a virtue of peace to bring to feuding families together. Friar Lawrence’s soul reason for the marriage of Romeo and Juliet is to make an attempt at ending the feud between the families. Friar Lawrence said,“In one respect I'll thy assist be: / for this alliance may so happy prove/ to turn to your households’ rancour to pure love” (II.III.90-93). By marrying Romeo and Juliet he sees an opportunity to end the feud, once the parents of each households find out about the marriage maybe they would put aside their feud for the sake of their children. Friar Lawrence is wondering when Romeo will tell everyone about his marriage. “Where thou shalt live till we can find a time/ to blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends” (III.III.150-151). Friar Lawrence shows in this quote that he wants Romeo to tell everyone about his marriage so that it will bring harmony between the two feuding families.
He took it upon himself and married Romeo and Juliet without any consent. Friar Lawrence states “Here comes the lady. O, so light a foot will never wear out the everlasting flint. A lover may bestride the gossamers that idles in the wanton summer air, and yet not fall, so light is vanity” (2.6.16-20). Juliet rushes to the cell to marry Romeo. Without questioning Romeo’s love for Juliet any further, he marries the couple. All along he knew they were star crossed lovers but continued with his plan. “Bid her devise some means to come to shrift” (2.4.160) says the Friar. He married the two in secret behind the backs of two feuding families which then added to the tragedy and made things worse. Friar lawrence's idea to secrecy was not a strong plan. Anger built up and secrets were not kept for
Friar Lawrence is a local priest in Verona. Romeo and Juliet look up to him. His string of bad decisions starts with the decision to marry