Friar Lawrence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Throughout time, there have been numerous tragedies stemming from one of the most basic human instinct: love. For example, the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is infamous for it’s romantic tragedy between two young lovers. Who is really at fault for all the tragic deaths? Friar Laurence is most to blame, due to his extremely unwise decisions.

First of all, he was the one who agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet. He knows that this will later on cause problems, yet he still agreed to go through with this plan. He even said “... this alliance may so happy prove / To turn your households’ rancor to pure love”(2.5.91-92). This statement proves that the Friar only has a small belief that this plan will work; a whim. He even openly shows regret when he states “too swift arrives as too slow”(2.6.15) and also when he states “These violent delights have violent ends”(2.5.9). These quotes essentially mean that the Friar is rethinking his choices and is having second thoughts. If he had had the foresight beforehand, he could’ve prevented all the deaths. Without the Friar, the marriage would’ve never happened and the deaths would have

After Romeo got banished, Romeo and Juliet realized that they couldn’t be together, so Juliet went to the Friar for help. Instead of offering a more logical plan, he proposes a preposterous plan to have Juliet pretend she’s dead. (quote) Therefore, for the second time, the Friar acts unwisely and agrees to give Juliet the potion. But for this plan to work, Romeo needs to know about this plan. However, the Friar puts too much faith in Friar john, who fails to deliver the letter to Romeo. It’s Friar Laurence’s’ fault that Romeo did not receive information regarding this plan. The Friar played an important role in this plan, but he failed to accomplish what he needed to do. Due to his careless actions, Romeo and Juliet are