Character Analysis Of Friar Lawrence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the two titular characters fall in love and try to keep their love strong when faced with many difficulties. Death, animosity, lack of free will, misunderstanding, and banishment all bar their love from thriving. In the play’s final scene, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, both at seeing their love – their only hope – dead. Many of these events are influenced greatly by Friar Laurence, a priest at a church in Verona, the setting of the play. Throughout the play, Friar Laurence displays numerous character traits which show that he is responsible for the play’s conclusion. Friar Laurence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s tragic ending because of his selfishness, his interference, and his insincerity.

Friar Laurence’s selfish intentions show in his reasons for marrying Romeo and Juliet. When Romeo attempts to convince Friar Laurence to perform his marriage to Juliet, the friar is at

first annoyed, but decides to be Romeo’s officiant for selfish reasons. When Romeo first asks, he is irritated by how soon Romeo has forgotten about Rosaline, but he caves, hoping that if Romeo marries Juliet, “th[e] alliance may so happy prove, / To turn [their] households’ rancor to pure love” (Shakespeare 2.4.95-96). The friar clearly does not care about Romeo’s feelings for Juliet, as he chides Romeo for immediately switching from one to another lover. His intent when he performs the marriage is to reconcile the Montagues and the Capulets, who have been fighting with each other for as long as anyone can remember. Such a reconciliation would result in the friar being lauded and praised for his work. This shows that Friar Laurence, though it seems that he has good intentions, is very likely involved in Romeo and Juliet’s relationship solely for his own gain.
The friar’s interference in Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is unnecessary and results in many events which lead to the play’s sorrowful conclusion.

When Juliet hears after marrying Romeo that she must be married to Paris, a count, in two days, she rushes to Friar Laurence’s cell to speak of her sorrow. When Friar Laurence hears of how Juliet wishes to die if he cannot fix the problem, Friar Laurence says that he can help her if she has “the strength of will to slay [her]self” (4.1.73). This shows that Friar Laurence is again not worried about Juliet herself and her safety, but about what he can do to reconcile her family and Romeo’s. He offers this proposition when he already knows Juliet is willing to die and vulnerable. Lastly, his resulting plan is what sets the play’s tragedy in motion. Though Friar Laurence had many opportunities to back away from his involvement, keeping Juliet and Romeo safe, he does not. This shows that his interference – and the way he goes about it – are responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s

deaths.
Friar Laurence shows his insincerity in his advice to Romeo. Before Juliet comes to Friar Laurence’s cell for her marriage to Romeo, Friar Laurence speaks to Romeo about the hazards of love. He says that Romeo should “love moderately”, for “too swift [of love] arrives as tardy as too slow” (2.6.14-15). Though he means well by it, his intentions are blurred. This is because Friar Laurence is about to marry him to Juliet, even though the two have just met 30 hours before. This shows that the friar’s advice is merely a façade for his true intentions of himself being acclaimed for resolving the family conflicts. His wish for praise is what drives many of his actions, including those that result in Romeo and Juliet perishing.
Because Friar Laurence influences Romeo and Juliet’s decisions and deaths greatly, he also influences the sorrow and tragedy that results after they perish. His selfish intentions allow the marriage to begin, his unreliable advice leads their relationship badly, and his taking advantage of Juliet’s helpless state puts the events of the tragic ending into motion. After the two lovers are dead, Friar Laurence is the deliverer of the news of their love and death, thereby causing further sorrow to both the Capulets and Montagues. Throughout the play, the faults in Friar Laurence’s character lead his actions and are the ultimate cause of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.