Harvey Specter, a lawyer in the Netflix series, Suits, once said, “The success of your client is a success of yours.” The lack of success of Romeo and Juliet is derived from Friar Lawrence’s lack of success. Friar Lawrence proves to be a dismal person, making mistake after mistake misguiding Romeo and Juliet. The character of Friar Lawrence is shown to have a bleak effect within the story of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in many ways. William Shakespeare uses Friar Lawrence as a negative aspect via his character and impetuous mistakes throughout the story. Friar Lawrence is constructed with many attributes that demonstrate his negative character. One characteristic of Friar Lawrence is his hypocrisy. The Friar is supposed to uphold a holy …show more content…
The Friar’s rashness led to him making numerous mistakes that impacted the outcome of the story. A huge mistake the friar makes is marrying Romeo and Juliet without the consent of their families, which breaks church law (Bryant 65). This drastic mistake would ultimately lead to more mistakes to be made. Thus Juliet comes to Friar Lawrence for help to avoid the marriage with Paris, so the friar gives Juliet a potion to fake her death (Brenner 69). Friar Lawrence sent Friar John to alert Romeo of Juliet’s fake death, but Friar John was sent alone, which caused Friar John to be detained (Cardullo 62). Therefore, Friar Lawrence’s lack of planning resulted in Paris’s and Romeo’s deaths (Silka 295). Once Juliet awakens from the potion’s effect, Friar Lawrence could have saved Juliet, but he flees from the tomb (294). Juliet then kills herself in despair. It is an understatement to say the friar made a crucial mistake. His mistakes led to even more mistakes, which resulted in the death of many. Through his attributes and actions, Friar Lawrence is constantly seen as a deplorable person within William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and
The Friar was supposed to be a responsible adult and a man of God. This means that people would have come to him to confess their sins. Romeo and Juliet were young and naive and Friar Lawrence understood that very well. He also understood their personalities and circumstances, but still chose to marry them in hope that it would end the feud between the two families. As an adult he was also supposed to be a lot smarter ands wiser. Neither of those qualities were shown in any of his decision making.
Friar Laurence's immature actions make him part of the tragedy. For one, he married Romeo and Juliet. When told that Romeo loves Juliet, Friar replies, "Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! /Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, /so soon forsaken? Young men's love then lies/ not truly in the hearts, but in their eyes," (II, III, lines 66-69). In these lines, Friar admits that Romeo is only lusting for Juliet. Being the adult, Friar shouldn't have married Romeo until he found true love. However, the Friar was immature and married them anyways. Then, Friar came up with the idea for Juliet to fake death. Juliet is distressed about Romeo being banished so Friar comes up with the plan saying, "Hold, then. Go home, be merry, give consent/ to marry Paris. Wednesday is tomorrow,” Juliet is then suppose to "Take thou this vial, being then in bed/ And this distilling liquor drink thou off." After being buried and awakened, "Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua." (IV, I, Lines 90-119). This bad advise, to give a girl a drink like death and tells her to run away, is only one of many immature actions Friar takes. Finally, Friar did not stay with Juliet after she frantically woke up, in a tomb, next other diseased husband who was supposed to run away with her to Mantua. Inste...
Sometimes a trusted friend cannot give you good advice. In the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, the character Friar Lawrence was a trusted friend who cost his friends their lives.Friar Lawrence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths because he helped them rush their relationship and came up a faulty plan that eventually cost them their lives.
Failing to uphold his end of the plan, causing the plan to fail and resulting with both Romeo and Juliet dying. Friar Laurence admits to being responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence made a huge mistake that he could have avoided himself, if only he had thought out his plan better. He trusted Juliet an unstable fourteen-year-old with a potion to make her appear dead just so she would not have to marry Paris. Resulting in the death of herself, Friar Lawrence had even said, "If…thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself…take thou this vial…no warmth, no breath shall testify the livest." He should have been more careful, Friar Laurence's idea for Juliet was very risky and because of his own ignorance has ended up in tragedy. He also admits that he left the tomb and left Juliet there. The Friar knew that Juliet had previously threatened to kill herself, yet he still abandoned her with Romeo's knife. If the Friar truly cared about her safety, he would have forced her to come with him or stayed to prevent her from making any irresponsible
Friar Lawrence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s stronger affections for each other because he married them and therefore binding their love. Friar Lawrence also came up with a risky solution to get Romeo and Juliet together for the rest of their lives without anyone knowing. However, it consisted of faking Juliet’s death and Romeo did not know she was not actually dead, but alive. Friar Lawrence’s messenger did not tell Romeo the plan in time because Romeo had already heard of Juliet’s death and had gone to her tomb to die with her. Friar Lawrence is responsible for the star-crossed lovers’ death because of his miscalculated
A friar of wisdom and great power is an abuser of the power he holds; a friar the citizenry turn to thinking he is there to be welcoming, but he is vain. Friar Lawrence has good intentions to help others yet his actions show that he is truly impulsive and naive. The Friar shows his, “lies, schemes, misleads, falsely sanctions, and performs funeral obsequies for a being he knows is not permanently dead--and, as we can tell, he has no the slightest twinge of conscience about all of this” (Mackenzie 1). He is also blamed for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. He manipulates the characters to believe his actions are to help the star-crossed lovers be happy, however he has ulterior motives and uses his powers against the lovers. In William Shakespeare’s
It is Friar Laurence’s good intentions, his willingness to take risks and his shortsightedness that lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence does not have very much time on stage, but the time he does have is crucial to the plot line. Through his words, Friar Lawrence demonstrates that he is well intentioned, yet sometimes shortsighted, and is not afraid to take risks to help others. He may do something out of the ordinary, if he thinks the outcome will help someone for whom he cares. For example, when he says "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.97-99), he is saying that the only reason he will marry Romeo and Juliet is that he hopes that the marriage will end the hostilities between the two houses.
Friar Lawrence should be blamed for the Tradegy of Romeo and Juliet because he acted to quickly. The Friar arranges for Romeo and Juliet to be married in secret, without thinking of the consequences of his actions. For instance, Friar hurriedly says ““…come, come with me, and we will make short work.””(2:4:101) Not only does Friar Lawrence marry Romeo and Juliet but he rushes their marriage. Although earlier he wisely states “wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” (2:3:101) Friar tells Romeo that slower is wiser, yet he rushes their wedding. Furthermore, the Friar is hiding Romeo after he has ki...
Finally, the friar gives the letter about "the fake death plan" to Friar John when he should have delivered it himself. Despite any other "at fault" characters in Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is the most responsible for the tragic events that occur in the play because of his miscommunication, dishonesty and poor decision making. Beginning with Friar Lawrence's first mistake, he marries Romeo and Juliet not knowing that it would create a controversy. When Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet, no one knows and there is no parental consent. By not telling anyone, Romeo and Juliet are put in danger because of this secret.
His respected place in society creates within him a god complex. Friar Lawrence chooses to ignore the negative social consequences of his actions, and marries Romeo and Juliet in secrecy, saying, “So smile the heavens upon this holy act” (2.6.1). Contrary to his statement, the Friar's secrecy only hinders the lives of those around him, notably the lives of both Romeo and Juliet, increasing their hardships. Friar Lawrence creates an illusion of himself as a fair man, although his actions show him to think of himself before everyone else. The Friar’s god complex is additionally seen through his willingness to have Juliet disappear, as he tells her, “Hold, get you gone, be strong and prosperous” (4.1.122). The Friar is primarily concerned with himself. The most effective solution to keep his reputation is to have Juliet leave quietly. His selfishness prevents him from seeing the the haste and thoughtlessness of his plan. Therefore, when faced with the aftermath of the situation he helped create, he exclaims, “Or in my cell there she would kill herself./ Then I gave her [...]/ A sleeping potion, which took effect” (5.3.242-44). Even after playing a key role in multiple deaths, Friar Lawrence tries to downplay the severity of his actions, attempting to maintain the illusion that his actions were simply an attempt to preserve Juliet’s life. He attempts to remove his responsibility in the deaths and pretend he was forced
His advice to Juliet to fake her own death is a result of her love for Romeo, and the fact that the Friar can’t stop her from marrying Paris, will lead her to the violent act of killing herself. Friar Lawrence’s character is a representation of the idea that love can lead to irrational decisions and violent actions. In conclusion, Friar Lawrence is obligatory to the action, character development, and themes of Romeo and Juliet. Without Friar Lawrence, the steps leading up to the tragedy at the end of the story would not have been possible, along with the strong characterization of Romeo.
First of all, in Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence and his plan contribute to Romeo and Juliet's death. Friar Lawrence is the Franciscan who allows the marriage between Romeo and Juliet. When Romeo leaves to Mantua and Juliet has to have unwanted marriage, he comes up with the plan. His plan is to let Juliet drink a potion, which causes her to sleep for two days, pretending like she is dead so that he can sends a letter to Romeo. At last, Friar plans to help Romeo and Juliet to leave the city
In contrast to common characteristics of a cleric, conformist and conservative, Friar Lawrence advocates freedom over following rules in society and always try to solve issues using the most risky methods. This is illustrated when he plans out Juliet’s death, “then as the manner of manner of our country is, in thy best robes, uncover’d on the bier, thou shalt be borne to that same ancient vault where all the Capulet lie.” (IV.ii.109-113). He indirectly plays an influence to the tragic ending even though his primal motive intends to unite the lovers and offer citizens a peaceful town. As opposed to playing their ordinary roles in society, Friar Lawrence devises plans and encourages Romeo and Juliet to pursue forbidden love under a risky circumstance in order to turn his notions into reality. Friar Lawrence’s dialogue informs Juliet of the plan illustrates his part in causing the tragedy, “Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself, then it is likely thou wilt under a thing like death to chide away this shame,” (IV.i.72-74). From secretly marrying the them to sending Romeo to take Juliet’s virginity, he is informed about Romeo’s approaching banishment and the notorious reputation which will follow Juliet permanently. However,he continues to cover the mistake by creating the facade of Juliet’s death. This is illustrated in “All this is I know, and to the marriage he nurse is privy,” (V.iii.265-266). Friar Lawrence challenges conformism to pursue liberty, serves to liberate the forbidden love of two youngsters from opposing families but only earns a tragic fruition for his
He sends this important letter to Romeo through Friar John and fails to tell him the content of the letter. The letter never reaches Romeo as Friar John is quarantined with other people that are suspected to have traces of the plague. Friar Lawrence was outraged and he is quoted, “Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood, the letter was not nice but full of charge, of dear import, and the neglecting it may do much danger” (V. ii. 17-20). From his statement, Friar Lawrence had clearly failed to tell Friar John of the importance of the letter. Since he had failed to think of other ways to get the important message to Romeo, Friar Lawrence is to be blamed for not warning Romeo in time. His plan of relying the delivery of the letter to just one person had caused Romeo to believe that Juliet’s death was real. In the play, when Romeo’s friend sees the news about Juliet’s apparent death at the tomb, Friar Lawrence sees him and should have known that Romeo was going to be misinformed. Instead, he does not wait for Romeo to arrive and then to reinform him about his plan of reuniting them. Therefore, Friar Lawrence still had a second chance to correct the situation but does not do so, letting the two lovers’ confused ending in their tragic
The corresponding syllabi.... ... middle of paper ... ... Also, the Friar failed to send word to Romeo that Juliet wasn’t really dead and by the time he got to the tomb, it was too late and Romeo and Juliet were dead. Friar Lawrence was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because he was a coward, secretive, and had a lack of communication with the other characters.