In the tragedy Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare there are a numerous amount of events that either happened by chance or by choice that could have led to the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet. One character that perhaps played a role in the death of the two lovers was Friar Lawrence. In his speech to Romeo about growing up and becoming a man, Friar advised Romeo that if he wanted to be with Juliet he was going to need to man up. Friar Lawrence’s confrontation with Romeo in act three scene three, could be considered the climax of the story. Friar Lawrence is telling Romeo that if he really loves Juliet he is going to need to grow up and act like a man. Friar’s speech is all about manning up and chasing your dreams. He is telling Romeo that if he wants to cry and act effeminate that will not help him go anywhere forget Juliet, the family rival. Friar Lawrence is really trying to make a point and that is why there is a …show more content…
tremendous amount repetition both in words and sentence structure. For example, some words the Friar can’t seem to desert include thou, thy, and thee. Just the three words appear over fifty times. This shows that the Friar is talking almost only about Romeo and not about himself at all. Some other notable repeats include the use of names. Some examples are the name Tybalt and Juliet, but also some words that describe Juliet. The word love comes up a lot as well. The Friar knows Romeo loves Juliet but if he really does he needs to become a man. This speech is all about the Friar trying to end the family feud. He is giving Romeo advice on how to get Juliet to love him back because the Friar knows that because they are the two heirs, if they get married the family feud will end. Friar Lawrence is an omniscient character because he knows what is going to happen. That is why his speech to Romeo is full of events that foreshadow the future. Not only is Friar Lawrence a very wise man, he knows everything, including what is going to happen later on. The whole beginning of what he has to say to Romeo is about Romeo not committing suicide. Obviously, this is foreshadowing the end because Romeo goes and finds Juliet “dead” so Romeo commits suicide later on. It is ironic because Friar is telling Romeo not to commit suicide because Rosaline doesn’t love him, and Romeo does commit suicide but because of Juliet. Another example of how this soliloquy foreshadows the future is line 145 when the Friar says “What rouse thee, man! Thy Juliet is alive!” (3.3 145) This line foreshadows the very end of the play because Friar is telling Romeo that he would be dumb to commit suicide because his love Juliet is still alive. At the end of the play Juliet is still alive when Romeo goes to commit suicide so the Friar is really telling him now the Juliet is alive, and will be later on. Lastly, a third way Friar Lawrence is hinting at what is going to happen, is by hatching a plan with Romeo. The Friar has helped Romeo come up with a plan to see Juliet and tell her what is happening. As we know, the Friar will later help Juliet come up with a plan, but this time it won’t work out as well. All these examples show how wise the Friar really is, and how his speech not only helped Romeo in the moment, but how if Romeo listened it could’ve helped him in the future as well. Friar Lawrence is almost saving Romeo in a way during this confrontation. Friar wants Romeo to grow up because he knows Romeo can go nowhere with his immature and effeminate behavior. Friar Lawrence uses lots of imagery in his talk with Romeo. For example, “A pack of blessings light upon the back;” (3.3 151). This is just one of the many exemplifications in this speech alone. The words picked and used make it very easy to just imagine and picture the words as if you are there watching words go along with pictures. Although Friar Lawrence’s speech to Romeo was full of figurative language and imagery, there was a lot with more of an underlying meaning than it sounds.
The subtext for the speech is very extensive and really shows how knowledgeable the Friar is. One of the many important lines is “Thy form cries out thou art… Thou hast amazed me. By my holy order,...” (3.3 119 + 124)The reason this is one of the most important lines in this speech is because of its subtext. What the Friar is really trying to say is that that they way Romeo looks and is acting is quite unbelievable for a grown man seeking love. Another example of the vast sub text is when the Friar inquires about his love for Juliet. He adds “since birth and heaven and earth all three do meet… which thou at once wouldst lose?” (3.3 130 - 131) The aphorism of this line is that Romeo is now saying that he is willing to lose everything he has because he was banished. The Friar is telling him that banishment is not as bad as death because he will still see Juliet but Romeo refuses to buy
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“A thing like death to chide away this shame,/ That cop’st with death himself to scape from it;/ And if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy.”(4.i.89-120) In short, Friar is telling Juliet what he is going to give her for her planned ‘death’. This is important because this is the main problem that leads to both Romeo and Juliet’s death. This proves that in the story, Romeo ends up seeing Juliet ‘dead’ it makes him want to kill himself. Of course he made a hasty decision at that point in time. In the story Friar tells Juliet the entire plan. “Take thou this vial being then in bed/ And this distilling liquor drink thou off;.../ And then awake as from a pleasant sleep.”(VI.ii.89-120) In other words, Friar is telling Juliet to drink the distilling liquor and she’ll be fast asleep for the plan to go as planned. This is important because the the dialogue proves that Friar planned Juliet’s ‘death’. As an educated adult, he shouldn't have made the decisions he
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.
The attempt that Friar Lawrence had made to fix up his wrong doings was a mistake and took a huge role in leading up to the two deaths. He had a second chance to come clean and tell the families the truth, but he chose to ignore that opportunity and came up with a plan that resulted in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. After Romeo had been banished, the plan that the Friar conjured up was for Juliet to take a potion which would make her appear dead.
Unfortunately, their love comes to an end, along with their lives, because of a misunderstanding and a persistent feud between their families. Although there are many characters in this play that have contributed to Romeo and Juliet’s death, Friar Laurence is the person most to blame. Friar Laurence’s actions throughout the play resulted in the two star crossed lovers’ death. He assisted the two when they wanted to get married, which began the disastrous events in the play. Friar Laurence says to Romeo:
"For this alliance may so prove, to turn your households' rancor to pure love," he states. Failing to uphold his end of the plan, causing the plan to fail and resulting in 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.
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
Days following, Juliet will awaken and Romeo will be there to help her run away. The Friar hopes for the best in the situation, but does not consider the drawbacks that could and will suddenly occur in his plan. He continuously tells Juliet what she wants to hear in this situation because she sees him as a fatherly figure and he sees her as his daughter. Before Juliet leaves the Friar, he tells her, “ ‘Thou hast the strength of will to sly thyself,/ Then is it likely thou wilt undertake/ A thing like death to chide away this shame,’ ” (Mackenzie 1).
Friar Lawrence felt an internal conflict within him – the conflict of self against self. He knew in his mind that it was wrong to help a teen run away with her lover, who happened to be a murderer. But he also felt himself reach out to them, as he had known them as his own children for a very long time. He knew what a desperate situation Juliet and Romeo were in, and knew that he could prevent their lives from being ruined. But the problem was that the only way to solve everything, was to take a ‘wrong path’, that everyone opposed. In the end, he ends up helping his fellow children. But by this decision, he affected the whole plot of the play, and caused it to turn greatly. This plan would have turned out marvelously, but he made a few mistakes.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is one of the most well known love tragedies of all time. Within four days they meet, fall in love, get married, and kill themselves. One bad thing after another, and Friar Lawrence is to blame. He married Juliet even when he knew about the feud, he even married them when he knew that Romeo was head over heels for a completely different girl just a few hours prior. Friar Lawrence is also the reason for their death...he gave Juliet the potion, as well as failed to get the letter to Romeo in time. Friar Lawrence was selfish, he’s to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
Throughout the next few lines spoken, is where I believe the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is initiated, for if Romeo had not trusted and spoken of his love with an enemy; saying “I have been feasting with mine enemy “Juliet, Romeo also explains that Juliet feels the same for him . Then Friar Lawrence would not have felt the responsibility to try and reunite and mend the strife between the Montague’s and Capulet’s.
The Friar has almost contributed to every major subplot that then leads to the death of Romeo and Juliet. As if that was not enough, he ran away from the responsibility which he created, which was the death of Romeo and Juliet. He asserts, “Come, go, good Juliet. I dare no longer stay.”(5.3.164) Here in this scene Juliet had just found Romeo’s pale body lying with a dagger pierced in his heart. But what did the Friar say….? He asserted trying to run away from the tomb that they should leave. {What more is there I ask?.... T-o-…[fidgeting] watch one’s love one die and yet hear someone callously rip you apart from them on their death
In Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, Friar Lawrence plays a dominate role in the eventual death of Romeo and Juliet even though he is not on stage for most of the play. There are basically three major parts that lead to the tragedy; the marriage, the plan, and the inevitable deaths in all which Friar Lawrence plays a vital role.Friar Lawrence plays an essential role in the marriage of young Romeo and Juliet. At Romeo’s request Friar Lawrence states, "In one respect I’ll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households to pure love" (Act 2 Scene 3.) Friar Lawrence believes that this holy marriage would bring the Capulet family and Montuague family closer together, for he anticipates that the families will stop hating each other and be peaceful. His attempts to make the marriage of Romeo and Juliet are admirable but poorly planned.
This is a catalyst in triggering tragic events, consisting of the deaths of many other characters, including themselves. Friar Lawrence plays a crucial role in the action, character development, and themes of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence plays an integral part in the action and plot of Romeo and Juliet by secretly marrying them, and giving Juliet the idea to fake her own death. Romeo and Juliet meet in the Friar’s cell for their marriage and the Friar says, “Come, come with me. For, by your leaves you shall not stay alone, Till the Holy Church incorporates two in one.
Although people may believe that Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence aren’t the main people that led to their deaths in the end, they are wrong because Romeo and Juliet weren’t forced to kill themselves and Friar Lawrence’s plan is what led directly to their deaths.
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. The first factor that played a key part in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet is the fact that Friar Lawrence was a coward.