Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet - Friar Laurence Essay

In the classic play Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence plays a major part. Romeo and Juliet trusted him entirely as he was the priest of their town. They turned to the Friar for help and advice at a few crucial points in the play. Little did these two lovers know that their decision to turn to Friar Laurence for help would eventually lead to their deaths. Friar Laurence was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because he married Romeo and Juliet, he was afraid of committing a sin, and because of his faulty plan for saving Juliet from a marriage to Paris.

He risks his reputation as a friar in the following quote by suggesting to Juliet that she drink a potion to avoid marrying Paris so that she can marry Romeo.

Romeo kept on forcing the idea upon him, so he marries them hoping that their marriage would end the Capulet and Montague feud, even though he did not ask for the parents’ consent. He displays his hope when he says, “For this alliance may so happy prove / to turn your household’s rancor to pure love”(Act I, Scene 4, Lines 91-92). Friar Laurence kept Romeo and Juliet’s relationship secretive, making the situation worsen. Later on, the Friar shows that he has regrets about the marriage. The Friar feels that, “Violent delights have violent ends / And their triumph die… too swift arrives as tardy as too slow” (Act II, scene 6, Lines 9-15). The Friar senses that the wedding is happening too quickly and doubts his decision. He had the potential to prevent the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, but his decisions led Romeo and Juliet to do reckless actions under his ideas. Friar Laurence’s thoughtless decisions led to the deaths of Romeo and

Friar Laurence knows about the problems between the Capulet’s and the Montague’s and he still marries Romeo and Juliet. Friar Laurence says, “For his alliance

The Friar is always ready with a plan. He has a civil relationship with most characters and doesn’t have any enemies, in the play, which is unusual as most characters have an enemy. Tybalts enemy is Romeo and Lord Capulets enemy is Lord Montague. As a character the Friar is concerned about the feud and will do anything in his power to stop it “To turn your households’ rancour to pure love”. He always wants to do the right thing by everyone but his decisions and actions end in

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

Friar Laurence simply influenced Romeo’s decision, it was ultimately Romeo and Juliet's decision to carry on with the marriage. In addition, Friar Laurence was put under immense pressure to marry the two lovers to promote peace or to stop the marriage and not be part of such a sinful act. Friar Laurence's inability to execute the most crucial aspect of the plan puts him at fault for the death. After being banished from Verona, wedding plans for Paris and Juliet being to start. Juliet has forsaken her love to Romeo, and decides that her marriage will be done with only one person, which is Romeo. The Friar promises Juliet that he will reunite them and they can live happily by telling Juliet “Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, and hither shall hem come; and he and I shall watch thy waking, and that very night shall Romeo bear thee to Mantua” (4.1.114-117). The Friar begins to tell Juliet that his plan is foolproof, and it will help them escape safely into Mantua where they can live happily ever after. As the play continues on into act 5, Friar Laurence begins to send out his letter to Romeo. However, Friar John comes back to Verona and tells Friar Laurence “I could not send it—here it is again, nor get a messenger to bring it thee” (5.2.14-16). Friar Laurence is most to blame because he is unable to perform the most vital part of the plan. If Friar Laurence knew that the letter

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

“But come, young waverer, come, go with me. In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may be so happy, prove to turn your households’ rancor to pure love” (2.3.96-99). In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet he constructed Friar Lawrence's character to come off as a helpful yet a deceiving man. He serves as a mentor and friend to Romeo and Juliet. Friar guides them through their marriage hoping to end the feud. Romeo and Juliet trust the Friar and hope he will keep their marriage a secret and possibly end the conflict. He also comes off as a very helpful individual, given that he has the power invested in him to marry the lovers and create a plan. Friar Lawrence’s motivation to end the feud enforced the demise of their ill-fated love

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’s character flaws greatly impacted the end result of the play. The Friar should be punished for his poorly made decisions throughout Shakespeare’s story. His first mistake was when he initially helped Romeo and Juliet with the aid of the Nurse. Both Romeo and Juliet are children and their parents should be included in every decision made for them. The Friar married Romeo and Juliet in Act 3 of the play. “Till Holy Church incorporate two in one” (3.1.37) The marriage was the start of many issues. Such as Juliet’s inability to wed Paris, being a married lady. This led to Friar’s next choice of giving Juliet the sleeping potion—making her appear dead. “Take this vial, being then in bed,” (4.1.93) Giving Juliet the poison was the reason why so many characters had died in the end of Act 5 of the play. Paris had died fighting Romeo because he thought he was attempting to steal Juliet’s “dead” body. Romeo, ignorant of the fact that Juliet was not dead, killed himself. Juliet committed suicide because of her fiancé lying next to her lifeless. The poison given by Friar

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

Friar Laurence performs their marriage secretly, without parent's consent, even though he knows about their family's feud. He agrees to two young, innocent star-crossed lovers, "Come, come with me, and we will make short work," (Act 2, Scene 6, Page 2, Lines 35-36) when they plead him to perform their marriage. As a grown, wise man, he does not stop Romeo and Juliet's wedding, for he knew that "after-hours, sorrow [will] chide [them]" (Act 2, Scene 6, Page 1, Line 2).

Friar Laurence is a priest in the city of Verona and a father figure to Romeo and Juliet in the play. Friar Laurence's rebellious actions show his many characterizations. Friar Laurence states, “These violent delights have violent ends / And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which, as they kiss, consume”(2.6-9-15). In this scene he is marrying Romeo and Juliet. While Friar Laurence knows what he is doing wrong, he continues; highlighting the contrast between his actions and the actions of moral priest. Friar declared, “Come, go, good Juliet. I dare no longer stay”(5.3-159). After the tragic death of Romeo, Juliet wakes to see him dead.

Throughout this play, immaturity shines through the teenage star-crossed lovers’ personalities and there’s only one person that makes sense of it: Friar Laurence. Shakespeare shows him as a holy man that everyone respects, including Romeo and Juliet who ask him for advice during tough times. Because he is on the neutral side of the feud, he was the right person to make Juliet’s death seem like it wasn’t as dreadful that it seemed. In the Friar’s dramatic monologue, he consoles the Capulets by telling them that everything’s fine while portraying the contrasting ideas of old and young.