In William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet, there are numerous of dramatic purposes that the characters serve in the building of the story. One major character that stands out is Friar Laurence who is a wise and holy man respected by everyone in Verona. However, you should not let that presentation of him fool you. There are a variety of times Friar Laurence has committed sins of dishonesty and deception. The few but many dramatic purposes Friar Laurence has in Romeo and Juliet include: being a mastermind with medicine, peacemaker, and the main reason for Romeo and Juliet’s death. One of Friar Laurence’s major dramatic purposes in Romeo and Juliet is being a peacemaker. “For this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households rancor to pure love (2.3.90-92).” Friar Laurence makes this statement thinking that if he married Romeo and Juliet, there would be peace between their families. However, the Friar already knew that Romeo and Juliet are not really in love with each other, but merely charmed by each other’s lust. “So smile the heavens upon this holy act that after hours with sorrow chide us not (2.6.1-2)!” Since Friar Laurence is known in Verona as being a holy man, he takes this marriage proposal as being a message sent from the heavens, and hopes that nothing unfortunate happens later. Soon after the marriage, Friar Laurence takes into consideration that the marriage he officiated between Romeo and Juliet was his own foolish idea and not a message sent from the
Friar Laurence did not want to commit a sin, by marrying someone who was already married to someone else. Since this was the case, he did not want to marry Juliet to Paris. Juliet wonders about this in one of her soliloquies. “What if it be a poison, which the Friar / Subtly hath minster’d to have me dead, / Lest in this marriage he should be dishonour’d / Because he married me before to Romeo? / I fear it is” (Shakespeare 85).
The first reason why Friar Laurence is at fault because he married to Romeo and Juliet. Romeo went to Friar Laurence place to tell him about Juliet “ I have been feasting with mine enemy, where on a sudden one hath wounded me, that’s by me wounded”. After Romeo told Friar Laurence about how much he love Juliet and wants to marry her. Friar Laurence told Romeo he will marry them to, “ But come, young waverer, come, go with me, In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to turn households’ rancor to pure love”. Friar Laurence thought if Romeo and Juliet would of got married that would stop all the fighting between their families the Capulets and Montagues.
SAMPSON A dog of that house shall move me to stand. I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague’s.
Without even thinking about it Friar Lawrence's plan was a terrible plan just out of common sense as there were too many things out of the Friar’s control that could have happened. First, he has to worry if the potion even will work when Juliet takes it or even if she takes it at all. Then he has to worry about getting the word to Romeo about the plan which of course never happened. “But look thou stay not till the watch be set, For then thou canst not pass to Mantua; Where 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 With twenty hundred thousand times more joy Than thou went'st forth in lamentation.” (4.2.100-105). Here Friar Lawrence explains his badly thought-out plan. His impulsive acts and plans end up getting him in trouble and costing Verona to Young people's lives. His plans failed because he did not take his time and did not think of being more reasonable because his Solutions were completely unrealistic. In a way, Friar Lawrence could be seen as a little bit selfish. Friar Laurence's religion does not permit already married people to get married. This would mean that the Friar would be going against his oaths. Marrying Romeo and Juliet when Juliet already has an arranged marriage with Paris would have
Young lovers defy their families’ long-established vendetta and jeopardize all they have to continue their relationship. The violent commotion between the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, finally bring peace to their feuding families, with their own death. Like with many suicide cases, there are challenges and decisions being made that lead up to this decision. Often times, we question who contributed to the suicide. Regardless, others argue that Romeo and Juliet should be held accountable for their ultimate decision. Then again, there is no definite reason to assign fault to Romeo and Juliet. Not only are their brains not fully developed, but pressures from outside forces caused such stress within the relationship.
Therefore, Friar Laurence is the most responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet because he acts irresponsibly, doesn't realize the importance of the “letter”, and becomes self-conscious. Many blame Friar Laurence for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet due to his irresponsible decision making skills.
A large part of trying to accomplish his goal are the three plans he makes for Romeo and Juliet to be together. The first plan was the marriage. The second plan for Romeo to get a pardon from the prince for killing Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. That does not work out so Romeo consummates the marriage then says bye to Juliet before leaving to Verona. Juliet would then leave to Verona too. Friar Laurence does all this planning as the story goes on. If the plans are done correctly, it can lead to peace but if not, it can be dangerous and even deadly. He puts in much hard work and effort trying to make things go right. This is vital to have success. He has to make these plans off the top of his head as new problems arise. He knows how life threatening helping Romeo and Juliet
Even though Friar Laurence was aware of Romeo’s prior love for Rosaline, he quickly accepts Romeo’s newfound love for Juliet. Instead of continuing to urge Romeo to slow down, he soon forgets his initial opinion and gut feeling and encourages Romeo's unrealistic ideals even more. He also gives Romeo a false sense of hope that by being with Juliet they can end their family’s feud. Friar Laurence later tells Juliet, “Come, come with me, and we will make short work...till holy church incorporate two in one” (2.6.177). Friar Laurence personifies the church, or marriage, stating that it will make them one, continuing to mislead them into believing that their relationship can overcome their family’s dispute. After Romeo is banished for murdering Tybalt, Friar Laurence tells him, “Go; get thee to thy love as was decreed… but look thou stay not till the watch be set, for then thou canst not pass to Mantua, were thou shalt live, till we can find a time to blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends, beg pardon of the Prince, and call them back with twenty hundred thousand times more joy than thou went’st forth in
Love is like a flame, it provides you with warmth, but too much of it can also burn you. Such is the plot of the play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It is a tragedy about two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who unfortunately, belong to families who bear an ancient grudge against each other. In the play, Romeo and Juliet fall in love and quickly decide to marry each other. At the end, Romeo and Juliet’s decisions cause their untimely death, but in reality, there were other people who also contributed to the lover’s death. Friar Laurence, the Nurse and Lord Capulet are responsible for the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Lawrence made many mistakes that led to the tragic events in “Romeo and Juliet”. Friar Laurence’s first mistake was marrying Romeo and Juliet without their parents’ consent. When Romeo approached Friar Laurence about marrying Juliet, Friar Laurence doubted Romeo’s intentions and reminded him that young men often loved not with their hearts “but in their eyes” (2.3.72). Despite his reservations about the potential marriage, Friar Laurence agreed to marry the two in an attempt to turn their families’ hatred “to pure love” (2.3.99). Later, Friar Laurence prays for a good end to his actions, asking the heavens to “smile…upon this holy act” (2.6.1). Friar Laurence’s second
Characters in stories plays a role in reshaping or even shifting the outcome of the story. Characters in Romeo and Juliet made by William Shakespeare have a significant impact by resulting in the death of the main characters. There are many characters to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, even the lovers themselves. There are many characters to blame for the tragedy, even the lovers themselves. However, the cause of the catastrophe in the end of Romeo and Juliet maybe due to them with their foolish love, but there were many instances in which Friar Laurence was at fault. Friar Laurence is most at fault for the outcome of the play because he did not successfully deliver the plan to Romeo, he set
First, Friar Laurence is the Father and Romeo’s mentor. He first agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet. His intentions were righteous but this started the whole chaos. Romeo and Juliet had it too easy. If the Father did not agree in marring her and Romeo they would find it hard in being together without being married. Therefore they would at some point tried to find the most possible
Friar Laurence plays a most intriguing role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. He is a priest, and a friend to Romeo. With the absence of Montague parental scenes, Friar Laurence also becomes like a surrogate father to Romeo. Romeo seeks him out to marry him and Juliet, obviously assuming that the friar would without parental permission. The friar greets him and addresses Romeo's past love. He even tells Romeo that he mistook what he felt for Rosaline as love when it was not, and therefore not be too haste, " They stumble that run fast" (2.2.94). Therefore, not only has Romeo discussed matters of the heart with the friar, but also the friar himself feels in the position to be able to
These are the only characters that have guided Romeo and Juliet though their lives and tell them what is the right thing. Friar Laurence is Verona’s priest that gudies everyone through life through the thoughts of their religion. But, he is very fond of Romeo. He was the man who married the two lusting lovers with barely any hesitation. Romeo even trusted him back, not only was he the priest to romeo, he was a friend.
After reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, it is evident that many types of love are incorporated throughout the play. Shakespeare makes it clear that the type of love for a friend is different from the type of love shown for a significant other or a relative. The actions and attitudes of a person towards another can be based on the type of relationship between the two. The author uses friendship, familial love, and romantic love to express the feelings of the characters, and provide an understanding of the true meaning of what love is.