Discrimination In Romeo And Juliet

724 Words2 Pages

Romeo and Juliet is a widely known play, and arguably Shakespeare's most famous play. It's about two star crossed lovers who were doomed from the start. In Verona, Italy, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet met at a party, and instantly fell in love. Their love is forbidden because Romeo is from the Montague family and Juliet is from the Capulet family. Both families despise each other. Despite the rivalry, Friar Lawrence marries them. After the wedding, Romeo kills one of Juliet's cousins in a fight, and gets himself banished from their town. Juliet's parents set her up in an arranged marriage, and she has to be married to a man named Paris by Wednesday. Desperate, she goes to Friar Lawrence who tells her she must pretend to kill herself by …show more content…

While Romeo was banned from Verona and Juliet was sleeping, Friar Lawrence had to make sure his letter got to Romeo in Mantua. The man he sent came back telling him that there's an infection going around near Mantua and nobody wants to go and get infected. As Friar states, "Hath had no notice of these accidents. But I will write to Mantua, and keep her [Juliet] at my cell till Romeo come" (5.3.28-30). What he is saying is that he will write to Romeo again and keep Juliet at his office. While Romeo never got a letter from Friar Lawrence, Balthazar came to Romeo and told him that Juliet was really dead. Balthazar could get to Romeo but the man whom the Friar sent couldn't. Either Friar has a poor choice in delivery men, or he truly didn't care enough to make sure Romeo got that letter sooner. Friar's carelessness lead Romeo to kill himself, because he thought she was really dead. That leads Juliet to kill herself when she wakes up and finds Romeo dead.

To conclude, Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet. He gave Juliet a potion to make her seem dead, and then he was careless in letting Romeo know of Juliet’s plan. Even though he did not literally kill them, his actions lead to their untimely deaths. This story is a classic that should be read to everyone, not because it's famous, but because the story shows how life is fragile, and how teenage love is one of the most powerful and destructive

Open Document