Friar Lawrence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Friar Lawrence’s Role in

“Romeo and Juliet”

In the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare there are several key points throughout the play that are affected by characters, such as Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence makes many irrational and irresponsible decisions throughout the play that lead to tragedy. Also, Friar Lawrence acts extremely cowardly through the duration of the play which results in many of the characters in the play getting hurt. Finally, Friar Lawrence does not take responsibility for any of his actions throughout the play which leads to the destruction of many families. Shakespeare used Friar Lawrence as the sole character who drove the play forward towards tragedy.

To begin with, the first way Shakespeare used Friar Lawrence as a driving force in the tragedy is by all of the highly irresponsible decisions he makes throughout the play that result in negative consequences. For example, one of the irresponsible decisions that Friar Lawrence makes during the play was giving Juliet the potion which resulted in the death of Romeo who was unaware that Juliet had been given a potion. Generally, when irrational plans are created, it can lead to terrible things. Also, another example

from the story is that Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet in secret without anybody knowing which led to the eventual tragedy, because Juliet's parents wanted her to marry Paris. She did not want to marry Paris, because she was already married to Romeo. Generally, any act performed in secret, will likely end in peril. Finally, the last example is that Friar Lawrence decided to abandon Juliet in the tomb which indirectly resulted in her death. Generally, when someone is faced with a situation to save someone’s life, they will do everything in their power to do so.
Also, Friar Lawrence's cowardly actions throughout the play lead to many of the characters in the play getting hurt. One example of Friar Lawrence’s cowardly actions in the play is when he gave the letter to Friar John that was supposed to be delivered to Romeo instead of delivering it himself. Usually, when a person has something very important that needs to be done he will do it himself and not cowardly pass it on to someone else. Also, when the Friar gave Juliet the potion he was not thinking of how bad it would hurt Juliet’s family’s to think she was dead. Generally, when people make decisions, they think about the effects it will have on others, and not just their own personal gain. Finally, the last example is that when Friar Lawrence found out that the letter was not delivered to Romeo he went to the tomb to rescue her himself. However, when he arrived to the tomb he abandoned Juliet to try and save himself. Usually, leaving someone to grave peril to save oneself is seen as a great act of cowardness.
Finally, Friar Lawrence did not take responsibility for many of his actions during the play which led to the destruction of many people’s lives.

First off, Friar Lawrence took no responsibility for aiding in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet', instead he blamed it on the fued. Usually, when someone is responsible for the death of someone they will come forward and confess and not blame it on something else.. Also, another example is the Friar’s act of not taking responsibility in being secretive about Romeo and Juliet's marriage, which led to the death of Tybalt. Generally, when one’s decisions could have been changed by an untold secret, the beholder of the untold secret is deemed to be

responsible.
All in All, Shakespeare used Friar Lawrence as the main driving source in the tragedy. Friar Lawrence tended to make many terrible decisions throughout the play which led to negative events. Also, Friar Lawrence’s act of Cowardness which is apparent throughout the play, resulted in many of the characters getting hurt. Finally, Friar Lawrence did not hold himself accountable for many of his decisions he made throughout the play which resulted in the destruction of many families. Friar Lawrence is a prevailing character through the whole play, and played a huge part in the making of ”Romeo and Juliet”.