Friar Lawrence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, two starcrossed lovers are doomed because of their affectionate feelings for one another. Romeo and Juliet’s parents are not fond of their relationship, and because of Friar Lawrence’s plan, and an unlucky sequence of events, Romeo and Juliet take their lives rather than living happily ever after. After this tragedy, many readers are very interested in figuring out who is to blame for these unfortunate series of events that lead to Romeo and Juliet’s death. On my view, Friar Lawrence is most to blame.This sequence of events would not have continued if Friar Lawrence’s plan had not been executed. Friar Lawrence was very poor at planning, as his plan did not make much sense in the first place.

Another culprit that may have led to the fall of Romeo and Juliet's Father Capulet. He did not want Juliet to marry anybody else but Paris. Father Capulet’s aggressiveness is what ultimately lead to them wanting to be together more, which helped no one. Father Capulet created the tension in their relationship, but Friar Lawrence is the reason they took their lives.
Friar Lawrence was most responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet.

One of the main reasons which led to Juliet’s death was the horrible plan which was devised by Friar Lawrence. If Friar’s plan hadn't happened, Juliet's death would have never occurred, and Romeo and Juliet would still be alive. Despite Romeo and Juliet’s deaths, Friar never had any intention of leading them down this path. “But come, young waverer, come, go with me. “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.96-99). In other words, the alliance is trying to calm the households’ rancor into peace between the Montagues and the Capulets. Friar’s use of the word “alliance” suggests that him and the two are working as a team, and to stop the household “rancor” between the Montagues and the Capulets. When the Friar offers that “I’ll thy assistant”, he is suggesting that he respects Romeo and Juliet, and he will assist them. However, his plan made no sense. Even if the wedding had been cancelled because of Juliet’s death, they would have eventually realized that she was alive and married Romeo. The plan would not have worked either way and had no benefit to it at all. If this had gone the other way, Juliet’s parents would have been furious. They probably could have devised a better plan in the end. Maybe trying to persuade the parents to allow it, or just telling Paris that he wasn't the right one. These all would have been

plans that would not have led to the death of two star crossed lovers.
In addition to Friar Lawrence's plan overall, he made one huge mistake within that plan that ultimately led to the flaw which costed the lives of Romeo and Juliet.

First off, Friar should not have trusted a moody, sensitive fourteen year old girl with a potion that made her seem dead. Romeo and Juliet's love was too strong and she was willing to do anything, this was not the best approach that the Friar could have used. The Friar actually shows is irresponsibility by saying “If thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself… take this vial… no warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest”(IV, i, 48) When the Friar says, “If thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself.” He is saying take this vial of poison and if you have the courage, you can pretend to be dead. He said if this potion works, no one shall testify thou livest. What Friar Lawrence means by this is he thinks that once Juliet takes the potion, she will be in a deep slumber and everyone will be fooled into thinking that she is dead. However, that does not resolve anything because if Juliet had woken up, they most likely would have not changed their minds. And Juliet would still be forced to marry Paris instead of

Romeo.
While the Friar is most guilty, another culprit in the downfall of Romeo and Juliet is the aggressiveness and bad support of Father Capulet. He was the one that yelled and screamed at Juliet. The father’s aggressive behavior did not benefit anything as his own rage made him more angry, and it saddened Juliet. Within the fight, when Father Capulet shouted, “Hang thee, young baggage! Disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, Or never after look me in the face. Speak not. Reply not. Do not answer me. My fingers itch.—Wife, we scarce thought us blest”(III. iv. 160-164). He is extremely angry and frustrated with the choice of marriage that Juliet is making. Father Capulet feels that the marriage of his daughter should be in his control. By calling her a “disobedient wretch”, he is only adding more tension and depression towards Juliet's feelings. He is making Juliet feel as if she should always obey her father no matter how cruel he treats her. Also, when Father Capulet demands, “ I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, Or never after look me in the face. Speak not. Reply not. Do not answer me”, he is saying that if Juliet marries Romeo despite everything he said, he will never enjoy the company of his daughter ever again. He flat out says that if Juliet marries Romeo, she should “Or never after look [him] in the face” or answer him ever again because of how disgusted he would be. These horrible words and bad support make Juliet even more depressed and worried. In addition to feeling stressed, she also feels a certain sense of urgency. She feels that she has to do this now based on the pressure of what her father had told her. If Father Capulet had not yelled at her like that, then Juliet may not have been as nervous or depressed as opposed to feeling the need of suicide, rather than to not be with Romeo.
In the story, both Father Capulet and the Friar are responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet. While the Father did depress and abuse Juliet’s feelings, the Friar is responsible for coming up with the fatal plan. Without the Friar and just Father Capulet, Juliet would still be depressed, but would have remained alive. By contrast, if the Friar hadn’t devised this plan and given Juliet the poison, she would have lived. Therefore, despite Friar and Father Capulet led Juliet down this path, she would have been alive if it wasn't for the Friar. In conclusion, Friar Lawrence is the most to blame. After all, even though it was indeed the Friars fault, nothing will change. They still passed away and nothing can change that.