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The Role Of Friar Lawrence In Romeo And Juliet

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The Role of Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet At the end of the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet, the Prince of Verona says, “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” Throughout this star-crossed lovers’ tragedy, Romeo and Juliet’s grief and suffering can be blamed on a single person, Friar Laurence. His role was that of a trusted adult, who gave “good” advice to anyone that needed it; however, his helpful hints did not have the intended effect for those who followed it. Friar Laurence’s flaw was that he gave advice without thinking through the possible consequences. Friar Laurence agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet even though he knew Romeo had been in love with Rosaline. Just the day before …show more content…

His idea started off wrong when he had Romeo leave for Mantua. The Friar counseled Romeo, “For then thou canst not pass to Mantua; where thou shalt live till we can find a time.” Having Romeo leave town made the situation worse. Romeo had no way to hear the news of Juliet's marriage to Paris. He also was not able to understand that she pretended to kill herself, so she could be with him. Next, Friar Laurence wanted “to blaze your marriage” and “reconcile your friends.” He meant to tell the citizens of Verona about Romeo and Juliet's marriage and hoped that the marriage would reconcile the two feuding families’ long ago friendship. The Friar seemed to think that a marriage would bring everyone together; however, two kids who disobeyed their parents probably would not make each of their families happy nor end the long feud. Another problem was getting Romeo back to Verona. The Friar thought he could “beg pardon of the prince.” This was the least likely part of all his planning. If Romeo was to return to Verona, then the Prince would kill him on the spot. In this case, the Prince showed mercy and banished Romeo instead. The whole badly thought out plan ended with Friar Laurence idea to “call thee back with twenty hundred thousand times more joy.” The Friar thought he could send someone to bring Romeo back home after some time …show more content…

On the other hand, the Friar was a trusted, adult figure who was respected by both the Montague and Capulet families. This is inferred because Romeo and Juliet sought out the Friar separately for advice. Both Romeo and Juliet could not know the advice Friar Laurence offered would have such a harsh, unfavorable outcome, which resulted in their deaths. They put all their trust in the Friar’s counsel, and the Friar should be responsible for the

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