Essay On Friar's Suicide In Romeo And Juliet

686 Words2 Pages

The suicide of anyone is a great calamity. Especially when it is the death of two young love struck people. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare has set up a situation that results in the death of both lovers. Like after most suicides, we can expect Verona to become a place oozing with self blame. Typically, there is a group of people who would be justified in feeling guilty. In this case, however, Friar Lawrence is solely responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Some would argue that the Capulets are responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. They arranged Juliet’s marriage to Paris, which forced her hand regarding her secret marriage to Romeo. However, their intentions were not malevolent and they were …show more content…

Even Juliet acknowledges Friar’s mistake by marrying her and Romeo that night. Directly before she drank the concoction that the friar gave her, she contemplated if it could be poison “lest in this marriage he should be dishonored” (851). She was fearful that he may want to kill her so that the world would never know about her secret marriage. If Friar didn’t marry Juliet to Romeo, or if he at least told Juliet's father about it, the double marriage situation would have been avoided. Also, in theory, if Friar Lawrence had told everyone about the marriage, Tybalt wouldn’t have waged war on Juliet’s husband, or his family. This would have prevented Mercutio and Tybalt’s death and Romeo’s …show more content…

As he was explaining his plan to Juliet, he said she would “appear like death” (848) and that he would “watch thy waking” (848). However, if the idea of obtaining a death like shroud is thought about from an emotionally detached perspective, it can be easily assumed that it isn’t a safe idea. Friar Lawrence should have been watching over Juliet earlier than when he was. Juliet was left unconscious, in a dark area filled with dead bodies. If he were there not only would he guarantee support for Juliet, should she wake up early, but he would also provide an explanation for Romeo when he showed up. If the friar had done this, he would have caught Romeo and prevented the premature death of two

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