“The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare is surely to leave readers and watchers with a feeling of despair, but, it also leaves those with an inquisitive feeling. Who’s to blame for the death of these “star-crossed” lovers? Who’s to blame for the dismaying feeling given to audiences everywhere? The quote “These violent delights have violent ends” (2.6.9) answer those questions entirely. The character Friar Laurence is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet for 3 overlooked, yet important, reasons. Most would believe it was the families, or the unknown circumstances of being in love. Yet, in all honesty, Friar Laurence did marry the two, supplied Juliet with the potion to send her into sleep, and entrusted a messenger …show more content…
The Friar hopes that the heavens will look upon the marriage he just completed as a holy act, and doesn’t want any unfortunate events to occur to cause an ordeal. He states this in act 2, scene 6, and line 1. “So smile the heavens upon this holy act that after-hours with sorrow chide us not” (2.6.1). Shakespeare uses this line as an act of foreshadowing, or a figure of speech used to give readers an expectation of what is to happen later on in whatever they’re reading. This causes readers to feel a sudden emotion of misperception and a craving to continue in the story. This also shows that the Friar was somewhat thinking about the consequences of his actions, and was afraid to see how they would end up playing out. Little did Laurence know his overwhelming sensation of impending doom hanging over his shoulders would be a sign for disaster later on. Laurence also warns Romeo to “Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so. Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow (2.6.15-16)” This means he wants Romeo to be aware not to love Juliet more than she loves him, and to love each other on an equal scale. Friar Laurence tells this to Romeo before Juliet arrives so he was advised that taking things slow, can also result in a bad conclusion similarly to taking things too fast. Loving your partner on an equal and “moderate” scale will lead …show more content…
If the Friar hadn’t provided Juliet with the potion, Juliet wouldn’t have fallen to her doom because the series of unfortunate events that preceded her suicide wouldn’t have occurred. Friar Laurence was somewhat concerned with his decision of giving a vulnerable, 14 year old girl a sleeping potion by saying “If, rather than to marry County Paris / Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself, / Then is it likely thou wilt undertake / A thing like death to chide away this shame” (4.1.73-76). This means that Friar Laurence thought if Juliet was serious about rather killing herself than marrying Count Paris, she’d have the strength to take a potion that would put her into what was similar to a coma for 42 hours. Lawrence also says “And this shall free thee from this present shame, / If no inconstant toy, nor womanish fear, / Abate thy valor in the acting it” (4.1.121-123). Where he fairly convinces Juliet to take the potion, though she was rather fearful of the effects of it, by saying it will annihilate the feeling of dread and shame coming from having to marry Paris, if she doesn’t back out of the plan because of her “womanish
In the classic play Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence plays a major part. Romeo and Juliet trusted him entirely as he was the priest of their town. They turned to the Friar for help and advice at a few crucial points in the play. Little did these two lovers know that their decision to turn to Friar Laurence for help would eventually lead to their deaths. Friar Laurence was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because he married Romeo and Juliet, he was afraid of committing a sin, and because of his faulty plan for saving Juliet from a marriage to Paris.
I think that Friar Laurence was to a large extent responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. However, several other factors contributed. and we can not solely blame one person. The circumstances, time period and characters need to be taken into consideration. & nbsp
Friar Laurence’s involvement in the marriage of Romeo and Juliet has caused a tragedy. Romeo and Juliet thought that they fell in love, but the Friar should have known that they were just kids and they were really rushing into things. In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence says, “These violent delights have violent ends. Is loathsome in his own deliciousness, and in the taste confounds the appetite: Therefore love moderately: long love doth so, too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.” When he says this, he is giving Romeo a warnin. Also, Friar Lawrence should have known at the time, that Romeo was loving with his eyes and not with his heart. For example, Romeo was in a relationship with Rosaline, before marrying Julliet. Inonclusion , the Friar did not have the expierence to know that they were kids.
"Romeo and Juliet," a famous love story about two star-crossed lovers who take their lives in order to be together. Their deaths are at the fault of one Friar Lawrence who, being an adult, a man of God and a trusted person in the community, betrayed that trust and attempted to cover up his wrong doings with a plan that ended in tragedy.
When he says this, he is stating he will assist Romeo by marring the two, because through the marriage their families may learn to love each other; therefore ending the fight. Friar Laurence only married the two lovers because he thought it would have a positive impact on the families’ feud. However, he should of thought about the consequences and how since the head of the families were unaware, the marriage could only have negative affects. Also, they were never m...
Friar Laurence was once looked up to by both Romeo and Juliet, constantly telling them to act with more caution and restraint. Despite this, he doesn't wait long to marry these lovebirds. It has broken many hearts of the citizens of Verona and left many others in shock. At one point, Friar Laurence admitted to agreeing to marry the couple, knowing Romeo only loves Juliet due to her appearance. "
There are many reasons to the tragedy of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The tragedy, of Romeo and Juliet, involves a pair of ill- fated lovers who by their deaths will end the long and bitter feud that has been raging between their families for centuries. There are many incidents that occurred and many people could be blamed for the deaths of the two lovers. However, I believe that Friar Laurence is the one character most at fault for the tragedy that occurred.
Youth and Age Should Friar Lawrence and the Nurse have been more careful about the way they encouraged Romeo and Juliet’s love? To what extent does Shakespeare present them as being to blame?
First of all, the Friar unwisely agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though he knows it will cause later problems. In the beginning, the Friar thinks that ".this alliance may so happily prove/ To turn your households' rancor to pure love." (II iv 91-92) This shows that the Friar has a slight hope of their marriage possibly working. Therefore, he decides to marry the two lovers.
In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, it is clear that Friar Laurence causes Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. First, the Friar was not as responsible as Romeo needed him to be especially when he agreed to marry him and Juliet without thinking it through. Secondly, he put Romeo and Juliet, among others, in danger with his uncertain plans. Lastly, he had other priorities when he married Romeo and Juliet which caused poor judgment to cloud his decision. While he did not plan to kill them, his actions landed them dead. In conclusion, if he had not acted so rash and irresponsibly, Romeo and Juliet would still be alive along with others who died in the destructive pathway that was Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.
He tries to warn Romeo of the temporary state of infatuation and persuades him out of his rage upon hearing his verdict of banishment. The Friar was a leaning stone for Juliet to turn to while her parents forced her to marry Paris, while the nurse betrayed her by compelling her to marry Paris. His words and believe, that the couple’s marriage would solve the family feud was also astonishing and showed a sense of believe but also doltishness which he held. But his words have no weight, there were like water in a shattered bucket, because although he speaks in magnifying and brilliant wisdom, his action undermines them. The Friar displayed his lack of sense and morality when he decided to wed Romeo and Juliet together, he said “Oh, she knew well Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. 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.”(2.3.87-92) The Friar has single-handedly decided without thoughts, that he would marry two people in secret, who have continually demonstrated to him a blatant disregard of reason and just met each other and also from families who harbor deepened and engulfing hatred towards each other. {Does the Friar realize that if one of the families realizes the couple’s risks getting killed? Has he disregarded the morality of marriage and listened to an obstinate
He could’ve spoken to the prince and the family and explained that Juliet was already married. Juliet wouldn’t have had to lie to her parents and take the potion. If the Friar had done that, both Romeo and Juliet would have most likely been alive. It was that decision that caused the deaths to happen. If the Friar used his wits and thought things through and stood up to his mistakes, Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t have died.
Coincidentally, during the short ceremony for Romeo and Juliet’s wedding, Friar Laurence may have accidentally foreshadowed the tragedy that would await the recently married couple when he stated, “So smile the heavens upon this holy act / That after-hours with sorrow chide us not!” (Shakespeare, 225). Through this, Laurence is asking for the heavens to bless the marriage in hopes that it does not end up resulting in regret. Friar Laurence foreshadows again by loosely mentioning to Romeo how “violent delights have violent ends” (Shakespeare, 226), which means that sudden enjoyment can also have sudden endings. Readers can take the lifespan of the marriage into account and discover that this eventually seems to be the case for Romeo and Juliet in the
Friar Laurence, through his lack of good judgment, is largely responsible for the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. Rather than being supportive of them and helping them disclose their loving situation, Friar Laurence took the “easy” way out. He succumbed to their desire to elope. He secretly married Romeo and Juliet instead of standing behind them and encouraging them to confront their families with the facts about their commitment to and love for each other. As a result, an even stronger bond between them was created through marriage: "For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone / Till holy church incorporate two in one" (2.6.36-37). Friar Laurence married Romeo and Juliet, hoping that their union would bring an end to the constant feuding between their two families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Though the friar’s intentions were good and above reproach, they were certainly missteps along a pathway to tragedy. None of the tragedies would have occurred if Romeo and Juliet were not married. When Tybalt challenged Romeo...
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy- but it did not have to be. Romeo and Juliet is the tragic story of two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, who are the son and daughter of two feuding families, the Montagues and the Capulets. Written by the famed playwright Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet take place in the 14-15 century in the cities of Verona and Mantua, cities in northern Italy. After a series of events that involves Romeo getting banished from Verona and Juliet getting forced to marry a count, Paris, they kill themselves. It has been argued for centuries about who is to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. But, once reading the book thoroughly and consulting several sources, it is obvious who is solely to blame- Friar Lawrence. Because of the actions of Friar Lawrence, the play ended with two grieving families instead of two happy newlyweds. Although many characters contributed to their deaths, only Friar Lawrence was solely responsible for them. Friar Lawrence’s cowardice, secrecy, and miscommunication led directly to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.