The Extent to Which Friar Lawrence is Responsible for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet
Friar Lawrence is partially responsible for the deaths of Romeo and
Juliet, however I believe he is not totally responsible. There are
also other characters that have reason to be held responsible for the
deaths of the ‘star-crossed’ lovers.
Friar Lawrence was the man who married the two. This marriage caused a
lot of the problems which led up to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
For example if they had not been married Juliet would not have been so
obliged to marry Paris and would not have had to take the potion that
made Romeo think she was dead. Also Friar Lawrence supplied Juliet
with the remedy which brings on a cataleptical affect (a death-like
appearance). Because of this Juliet was thought dead and Romeo killed
himself which in turn led to the death of Juliet upon waking.
However the deaths of the two lovers can also be blamed upon the feud
between the two families. This is because the ‘ancient feud’ is the
basis that Romeo and Juliet had to get married behind their parents’
backs, because their families would not allow the two to be together.
If the families did not dislike each other then Romeo and Juliet’s
marriage would not have happened in secrecy and Juliet. Romeo may have
been accepted by the Capulet family and given permission to take
Juliet’s hand in marriage. This would obviously have avoided the
deaths of both the characters.
At one time in the play, when both the characters families have come
to the scene of the tragedy, Friar Lawrence admits that the deaths are
his fault;
”Her nurse is privy; and if aught in this miscarried by my fault, let
my old life be sacrificed some hour before his time unto the rigour of
severest law”
Here Friar Lawrence is saying that the nurse is not at fault, and if
she played any part in the incident then she was misguided by the
Friars fault.
The reader realizes this when the prologue states, “Two households, both alike in dignity/ In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,/ Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean./ From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/ A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life” (I 1-6). This translates to say two families have been rivals for many years. Romeo and Juliet are two from separate rivaling families that fall in love. The reader can acknowledge that these two individuals meet one another due to fate. However, they know that because of their parents’ hatred of each other, they can never be together. “My only love sprung from my only hate!/ Too early seen unknown, and known too late!/ Prodigious birth of love it is to me,/ That I must love a loathed enemy” (I v138-140). A decision is made that the only way to be happy is to take their lives. As soon as the play begins, the audience can foresee a tragic ending because of the language used.
With Romeo from the Montague family, Juliet from the Capulet family and the deadliest of rivalries between the two. families, the relationship was extremely hazardous. The only way that The relationship could continue if Romeo and Juliet got married in secret, which is exactly what happened. Friar Laurence assisted the couple to get secretly wedded. His innocent interference is crucial to what happens in the play.
Friar Lawrence had the potential to prevent the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, and instead, because of his choices, he caused them. Yes, the other characters may have contributed to Romeo and Juliet’s death, but Friar Lawrence caused it. The blame rests solely on his soldiers. Works Cited Aubrey, Bryan. A “Critical Essay on ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
Friar Lawrence should be blamed for the Tradegy of Romeo and Juliet because he acted to quickly. The Friar arranges for Romeo and Juliet to be married in secret, without thinking of the consequences of his actions. For instance, Friar hurriedly says ““…come, come with me, and we will make short work.””(2:4:101) Not only does Friar Lawrence marry Romeo and Juliet but he rushes their marriage. Although earlier he wisely states “wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” (2:3:101) Friar tells Romeo that slower is wiser, yet he rushes their wedding. Furthermore, the Friar is hiding Romeo after he has ki...
It is Friar Laurence’s good intentions, his willingness to take risks and his shortsightedness that lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence does not have very much time on stage, but the time he does have is crucial to the plot line. Through his words, Friar Lawrence demonstrates that he is well intentioned, yet sometimes shortsighted, and is not afraid to take risks to help others. He may do something out of the ordinary, if he thinks the outcome will help someone for whom he cares. For example, when he says "In one respect I'll thy assistant be;/ for this alliance may so happy prove, / to turn your households rancor to pure love" (II.iii.97-99), he is saying that the only reason he will marry Romeo and Juliet is that he hopes that the marriage will end the hostilities between the two houses.
To conclude, Friar Lawrence is to blame for Romeo's and Juliet's deaths. He was the one who married them in the first place. This caused Juliet to go into hysteria and vow to kill she would kill herself before being married to Paris. He did not go to Mantua so that caused communication issues with Romeo which ended up killing Romeo. Friar Lawrence fled the scene when he saw Romeo dead. He was also the only one who took the blame for everything. Friar Lawrence was very irresponsible, illogical and he is the main reason why the play Romeo and Juliet ended so
First, it was Friar Lawrence's fault Romeo and Juliet committed suicide. Friar Lawrence not only made one, but three mistakes that led to the death of Romeo and Juliet. He had gave a poison to Juliet, he trusted someone else with a letter of great importance to deliver to Romeo, and he fled to Juliet’s tomb, instead of trying to help her. Friar Lawrence was planning for Romeo and Juliet to be together but it did not end well. Friar Lawrence made the mistake of trusting a unstable fourteen year with a potion.
Friar Lawrence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s stronger affections for each other because he married them and therefore binding their love. Friar Lawrence also came up with a risky solution to get Romeo and Juliet together for the rest of their lives without anyone knowing. However, it consisted of faking Juliet’s death and Romeo did not know she was not actually dead, but alive. Friar Lawrence’s messenger did not tell Romeo the plan in time because Romeo had already heard of Juliet’s death and had gone to her tomb to die with her. Friar Lawrence is responsible for the star-crossed lovers’ death because of his miscalculated
In Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, Friar Lawrence plays a dominate role in the eventual death of Romeo and Juliet even though he is not on stage for most of the play. There are basically three major parts that lead to the tragedy; the marriage, the plan, and the inevitable deaths in all which Friar Lawrence plays a vital role.Friar Lawrence plays an essential role in the marriage of young Romeo and Juliet. At Romeo’s request Friar Lawrence states, "In one respect I’ll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households to pure love" (Act 2 Scene 3.) Friar Lawrence believes that this holy marriage would bring the Capulet family and Montuague family closer together, for he anticipates that the families will stop hating each other and be peaceful. His attempts to make the marriage of Romeo and Juliet are admirable but poorly planned.
Death is a natural cause that we can't get out of. Death is a thing that poets see as a popular topic for inspiration for their writing for its mystery. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is full of death, but who's fault is it? These facts below say that Friar Lawrence is to blame.
In Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence has a major role. As a member of the Order of St. Francis, a group of wise and generous priests, Romeo and Juliet trusted Friar Laurence completely, turning to him for advice, and solutions. He was there throughout Romeo’s and Juliet's lives; he married them, came up with a plan to keep them together, and was a friend throughout their tragedies. However, Friar Laurence’s rash action in marrying Romeo and Juliet, his shortsighted plan for rescuing Juliet from an unwanted marriage to Paris, and his fear of committing sin all contributed to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Laurence’s interference in the families of Romeo and Juliet set much of the fighting, rage and death of these characters into motion. Romeo and Juliet is the title of a great tragedy. This tragedy has been caused by Friar Laurence’s involvement in the marriage of Romeo and Juliet, the Friar’s lying to Capulet and his family, and his involvement in the false death of Juliet.
The attempt that Friar Lawrence had made to fix up his wrong doings was a mistake and took a huge role in leading up to the two deaths. He had a second chance to come clean and tell the families the truth, but he chose to ignore that opportunity and came up with a plan that resulted in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. After Romeo had been banished, the plan that the Friar conjured up was for Juliet to take a potion which would make her appear dead.
In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is the antagonist as seen in his “mistakes” of marrying children from two feuding, noble households, giving the desperate Juliet the sleeping potion, and leaving Juliet at her tomb to kill herself. He schemes and has the characters believe it is out of his love for Romeo and Juliet; as in their eyes, he is a fatherly figure. He is an older man who should be out to help the citizenry of Verona, but being egotistical, he uses Romeo and Juliet for his personal desires to end the feud between the families. Being egocentric has the Friar make rash decisions in situations that he had not planned for. When the Capulets and the Montagues come together after the death of their children, Friar Lawrence says, “Her nurse is privy; and if aught in this/ Miscarried by my fault, let my old life/ Be sacrificed some hour before his time/
WHO IS THE BLAME? Good afternoon, my fellow audience. I am here today to persuade you on who I believe to be the character most responsible for the death of the two main characters in the play, Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is almost an ironic play because of its open and easily known ending, but yet its ending raises the controversial question, WHO IS TO BLAME FOR THE DEATH OF ROMEO AND JULIET? I believe every character in the book contributed to their deaths, even Romeo and Juliet themselves, but Friar Lawrence bears a monumental deal of the blame because he was the principle and most reliable adult that could have steered the ‘inexperienced’ couple, but his incompetency led Romeo and Juliet to a violent death.