Friar Lawrence The God-Teacher In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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Friar Lawrence the God-Teacher
Throughout history, the archetype of the god-teacher, a kind, educated adult who risks their own safety to aid others, has been prominently displayed in all genres of plays, movies, and books. Shakespeare, a famous Elizabethan Period playwright, incorporated the role of the god-teacher into his classic love story, Romeo and Juliet. In the tragic play the god-teacher takes the shape of Friar Lawrence. Although some readers don’t see beyond the friar’s failed plan to keep the lovers together, he assists Romeo and Juliet tremendously; furthermore, the plot couldn’t develop without him. With this in mind, Friar Lawrence is a god-teacher because he is a kind man, transmits wisdom, and suffers as a result.
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When Romeo is faced with exile, he doesn’t hesitate to ask the friar for support. After killing Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, Romeo should be executed; however, the prince banishes him to Mantua instead. Friar Lawrence wisely responds, “The law that threatened death becomes thy friend/And turns it to exile: there art thou happy/A pack of blessings upon thy back/Happiness courts thee in her best array” (3.3.149-152) In this quote, Lawrence explains to Romeo how fortunate he is. The young man should be appreciative that he won’t be killed, but is complaining due to his forced separation from Juliet. Friar Lawrence is transmitting wisdom to the lover allowing Romeo to see the bigger picture. Although Romeo is shattered with the thought of leaving Juliet, the friar reminds him he can spend another night with her and that he has memories of her that will last forever. Additionally to enlightening Romeo, Friar Lawrence devises a plan with Juliet in order to reunify the teenagers after Romeo’s banishment. By creating an elaborate plan based off of potions and fake deaths, the friar demonstrates his ability to give advice, and therefore wisdom, to Romeo and Juliet. Without Lawrence’s scheming, Romeo and Juliet would never have seen each other again and the suicidal deaths would’ve arrived …show more content…

Once Prince Escalus and members of both the Capulet and Montague families arrive at the Capulet tomb, they are informed of the deaths of Paris, Romeo, and Juliet. The friar, as the dependable man he is, admits he is responsible and begins to tell the legacy of the lovers he kept a secret, “I will be brief, for my short date of breath/Is not so long as is a tedious tale” (5.3.238-239). The Friar affirms that he will explain the events prior to their deaths quickly because he knows he will be killed soon as a punishment. Arriving at the sight of the death of two teenagers Lawrence loved is punishment enough; nonetheless, he will then be killed suffering even more from his kind deed. He knew it was illegal to marry the lovebirds without their parents’ consent, but the friar cared deeply for the kids, and the well-being of Verona, so he did so anyway. Furthermore, he risked his own life to make others happy which is the ultimate test of a

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