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Friar Laurence's Part in Romeo and Juliet Essay

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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. One of the main reasons that Friar Laurence was held accountable for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is because he married them. First of all, this marriage was done without the …show more content…

Tybalt challenged Romeo to a fight, but Mercutio stepped in and ended up getting killed by Tybalt. Romeo sought revenge by killing Tybalt. As a result of murdering Tybalt, Romeo got banished from Verona. None of these events would have taken place if the Friar would have thought through his decision to marry Romeo and Juliet. 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 Friar should have been honest about marrying Romeo and Juliet in the first place. Because he was not honest, Romeo and Juliet’s parents did not know that they were married. If Juliet’s parents would have known about her marriage to Romeo, then they would not have forced her into marriage with Paris, ultimately causing their deaths. Another reason that Friar Laurence can be blamed is because of his faulty plan to save Juliet from having to marry Paris. He was rushed into concocting this plan because Juliet was threatening to kill herself if she had to marry Paris. Juliet said, “Unless thou tell

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