In the amazing and tragic play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare there are many characters that led to the plot and ending, but the most important character that gave Romeo and Juliet it’s plot and tragedy was the Friar. Every decision that the Friar makes affects the play in different ways, His decisions lead to the plot and the very catastrophic ending for the two lovers. Many of the Friar’s decisions were not very thought through, especially the ones that had to do with Romeo and Juliet that’s why without the Friar the storyline would have been very different and perhaps it wouldn’t have had such a tragic ending. One of the decisions that the Friar made was marrying Romeo and Juliet behind their parents’ back, even though the Friar was doing it for good cause or at least what he thought was a good cause “In one respect I’ll assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancor to pure love.” (II .iii …show more content…
He did not exactly make a mistake by choosing his next decision since Juliet did not give him much time to even think about it “If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, do thou but call my resolution wise, and with this knife I’ll help it presently.” (IV. i. 53-55) Juliet is threatening the Friar if he doesn’t do something about it she’d kill herself so the Friar was in dilemma between either letting the girl killing herself and he would not get in any trouble for more lying or give her a potion that will help her escape her parents and live with Romeo in Mantua. Since he was a Friar he could not let a young girl get married twice and or kill herself so he gave her the potion that helped trick her parents into thinking she was dead and then she can wake up and leave with Romeo, and in the Friar’s mind this is a great plan and it’ll work out just
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.
Juliet ask Friar Laurens to help her avoid her marriage to Paris or she will kill herself. Friar Laurens comes up with a plan and gives Juliet a potion and tells her to fake her death. In Act 4, Scene 1 Friar Laurens tells Juliet “I hear thou must, and nothing may prorogue it, On Thursday next married to this county And, if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy.” Although he didn’t force Juliet to take the potion he still came up with the plan to help Juliet get out of the marriage and meet up with Romeo, which failed because Friar Laurens sent another Friar to give Romeo the letter.
Friar didn’t want to have to marry Juliet to two people as that would be against the law. So, Friar then gave Juliet a sleeping potion where she was supposed to be asleep for 42 hours. This plan lead her family into great devastation. Friar knew that it was wrong to give Juliet the potion, but he thought that if he didn't she would proceed to kill herself right there in his cell. "If, rather than to marry County Paris, Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself, Then it is likely thou wilt undertake A thing like death to chide away this shame, That copest with death himself to scape from it: And, if thou darest, I’ll give you thee remedy” (Shakespeare 453). Because Friar gave Juliet the sleeping potion he had to keep up his end of the deal by letting Romeo know the
Although this seems as if it would cause more problems it did the complete opposite. With Romeo away, work needed to be done back in Verona. Friar sparked up yet another plan that would end the family feud for good. “Take thou this vial, being then in bed,/And this distillèd liquor drink thou off,/When presently through all thy veins shall run/A cold and drowsy humor, for no pulse/Shall keep his native progress, but surcease.,/No warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest,” (Shakespeare IV.i.96-101). This was a plan to fake Juliet’s death so that she could avoid marrying Paris. However, the message was not delivered to Romeo in time causing him to kill himself before Juliet awoke from the
In Romeo And Juliet, Friar Lawrence plays a very important role in not only being a friend of the lovers, but also the person who is to blame for their deaths. Many people argue about who is the one who caused their deaths; Friar always seems to be the most popular. There are different explanations on who is to blame for Romeo and Juliet's death, two big ones being Friar Lawrence and Nurse.
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
If the Friar would have actually thought his plan through he would have decided that the servant would be faster because he has delivered every letter to Romeo with haste, making the servant the best option. There were many points in which the Friar could have prevented the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, but he decided, do to his own lack of will to stop them, to make the same bad decisions over and over again leading to the deaths of two kids who did not deserve to die as they
Friar lawrence is the one to blame for all mistakes and tragic events that occurred between both of the families because when Romeo rushed over to the church and asked he the friar if he could marry Romeo and Juliet secretly the friar should have denied his request because Romeo had told the friar that he just met Juliet the other day. If the friar would have denied Romeo’s request that would have left him sad but it would have also gave more time to know more about each other. Also the friar should have never kept the marriage a secret because since he did that the families did not know that they were now related, so if the two families would have known this then it would have stopped the hatred between them and Tybalt never would have started
I believe the Friar is the one to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. One reason is that if he didn't marry Romeo and Juliet. “In respect I’ll thy assistant be; for this alliance man prove to turn your households into pure love”(act 2 scene 3). The Friar thought that by marrying the two young lovers would fix the family feud but in the end it all fell apart. The Friar also gives Juliet the poison. “And, if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy” (Act 4 pg 453). Not to mention that Juliet didn't know the Friar so all for she knows he can be a criminal trying to kill her. “I hear thou must and nothing may prorogue it on Thursday next be married to this county” (S.S 452).
He had absolutely no business doing that at all. Yes, Juliet was panicking, but he could have easily talked to her to calm her down instead of giving her a potion that would basically kill her. The potion could have easily killed her for good, so it was a fifty-fifty chance the potion would actually work. Even Juliet had doubts about the potion. Juliet says in lines 24-25, “What if it be a poison when the Friar subtly hath ministered to have me dead,” in act four, scene three.
Furthermore his death was the last part of the play that showed the Friar's significance. In Act 4 Scene 1 it shows how Friar plan is very dangerous when, Friar says "Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilled liquor drink through off,". So Juliet has planned to awaken to find young Romeo looking back at her, but finds him dead on the floor of the church. Which causes her to kill herself with a dagger. Also the Friar did not take in to effect what could happen when she was unconscious and even if Romeo would receive the message in time. His role is defined in the end of the play in Act 5 Scene 3 when he talks about he is responsible for what has happened to the two lovers. "And I here stand both to impeach and purge myself condemned and myself excused". This is when he talks about how he made the mistake which inevitably lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
According to Act V Scene III it states, “Come, I’ll dispose of thee among a sisterhood of nuns.” Juliet relies “ Go, get thee hence, for I will not away. Then Friar Lawrence left Juliet to be with her husband. According to this quote, it seems like Friar Laurence does not care for Juliet. He is only trying to protect himself from the watchman. He should not have done that because earlier in the book she was threatening to kill herself. According to Act IV Scene I, it states “ I long to die if what thou speak'st speak not of remedy. According to that quote, she's saying if you don’t have anything to fix this I will be able to take my own life to be with Romeo, hat s when Friar Lawrence gives her the potion and tells her to take it.He left her in a upsetting mood. Hs e had more of a chance to take her life. He should have conforted her, but he didn’t, and left her to be on her own. Then she had killed herself.
Friar Laurence makes not only one, but three mistakes that will eventually lead up to Romeo and Juliet’s death. The Friar’s first mistake was giving Juliet, an unstable fourteen year old, a powerful potion that would make her look dead, so she would not have to marry Paris. Friar Laurence actually shows his irresponsibility by saying, “Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself…take thou this vial…no warmth, no breath shall testify the livest”( Act 4.1.). Had Friar Laurence not given Juliet the poison, she never would have been put in the position that she was in, which lead to her death.
In Conclusion, this proves that Friar Laurence is one of the main characters to blame for Romeo and Juliet death at the end of the play. Friar Laurence Marries Romeo and Juliet, Make Juliet fake her death, and Left Juliet in tomb alone. These are all strong main idea’s to put blame on Friar
The irresponsible decisions made by Friar Laurence in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, lead to fatal consequences. Friar Laurence made thoughtless decisions that could have easily been much more successful. The Friar constructed plans that were made within minutes and did not consider the more consequential outcomes. Even though Friar Laurence strived to help Romeo and Juliet’s marriage work, it resulted in drastic consequences because his decisions were impulsive and reckless.