Friar Laurence is to blame for the tragic death of Romeo and Juliet. “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare is a play about two loves destined for each other but unable to be together due to family feuds. Their priest decides to marry the two lovers without either family knowing, all while knowing himself that it would only cause more problems than it could fix. Friar Laurence is at fault for the death of Romeo, and Juliet because he knew about the possible consequences but ignored them, was a reckless advisor to Romeo, and didn’t complete his already shaky plan. Friar Laurence knew about the possible consequences of marrying Romeo and Juliet and even said it, but didn’t do anything about that information. Friar says to Romeo,” These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and …show more content…
The problem with this is if Romeo hears that Juliet is dead and not from the Friar that she is, then both Juliet and Romeo could die. Romeo first hears from his madman Balthasar who says, “... Her body sleeps in Capel’s monument, And her immortal part with angels lives.”(5.1.18-19) This means that Juliet is dead and all that remains is her body on Earth and her soul has risen to a higher power. This isn’t a part of the plan that Friar and Juliet made, where Friar promised to tell Romeo in time for their plan. Romeo, being young and impulsive, decides that his best plan of action is to kill himself next to Juliet and to do this he buys poison from a broken apothecary. Friar learns about his plan not working out when Friar John says,” Suspecting that we both were in a house Where the infectious pestilence did reign,”(5.2.9-10) Friar then tries to beat Romeo to Juliet's tomb and stops him till Juliet wakes later that day but when he gets there, Romeo is dead next to a bloody Paris and a newly dead
Friar Laurence marries Romeo and Juliet which tends to be a bad decision. He agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet and then keep their marriage a secret. He thinks that when Capulets and Montagues will discover their marriage, they will stop fighting and turn their rancor into friendship. So he told Romeo, "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' rancour to pure love." (2.3.92-95). If he would not have married them, Juliet would not have been Romeo's wife and she could have happily married Paris. But now, she was Romeo's wife and she did not want to marry any other man, so she decided to kill herself rather than marry Paris.
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.
Friar Laurence’s interference in the families of Romeo and Juliet set much of the fighting, rage and death of these characters into motion. Romeo and Juliet is the title of a great tragedy. This tragedy has been caused by Friar Laurence’s involvement in the marriage of Romeo and Juliet, the Friar’s lying to Capulet and his family, and his involvement in the false death of Juliet.
In William Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence plays a major role. He makes not just one, but three fatal mistakes; he marries Romeo and Juliet, gives the potion to Juliet, and gets caught up in their love. Romeo and Juliet knew they could trust Friar Laurence because he was a priest, and he always did what was right. Since Friar Laurence was so quick to make decisions he made these three fatal mistakes, which is why he is most to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
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:
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. "
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?
In conclusion, Friar Laurence is responsible for the deaths of the titular characters in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet because he makes fatal decisions involving cowardice, unreliability, and impulsivity. Friar Laurence’s decisions such as, choosing to abandon Juliet in the Capulet tomb, failing to emphasize the importance of his letter to Friar John, giving Juliet a sleeping potion, and marrying Romeo and Juliet proved to be fatal, as they lead to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The decisions Friar Laurence makes throughout the drama make him responsible for the acts of Romeo and Juliet’s suicides.
Friar knew about Romeo and Juliet’s secret romance from the beginning, but he did not do anything to stop it, in fact, it was Friar who married the two. Friar Lawrence knew what could happen, but his only advice was to take it slow. In addition, Friar Lawrence also gave Juliet the potion to put her into a fake death so she could avoid marrying Paris. After putting serious consideration into drinking the potion, Juliet decided to take the chance.
This is not say that Friar Laurence does not feel responsible for Romeo and Juliet's deaths, he recounts his tale to the Prince and offer his life as a sacrifice if their deaths are his fault (5.3.228-68). In every step of deceiving Romeo and Juliet's parents, the government, and everyone who thought Juliet to be dead, Friar Laurence was attempting to: end a great feud between two families, help Juliet keep her marriage vows (by helping her out of marrying Paris), keeping Juliet alive, keeping Romeo safe from imprisonment or death, and ultimately, protecting the lovers' love from outside influences. He sees his acts as acts that are working for the greater good, and therefore they are just.
The Friar is not to blame for the death of the lovers .Romeo and Juliet's love and decisions are upon them, Friar Laurence is not to blame for any of their actions. It is not Friar Laurence's fault due to him protecting them and giving them advice and guidance, simply Friar Laurence refers better ideas and choices rather than irrational decisions. I believe, the Friar is not to blame due to the lovers being able to make their own choices.
There is a lot of blame to go around in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare but in the end, Friar Laurence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s death. He agrees to marry them, which Romeo took as an act of approval for his and Juliet’s relationship. He also mapped out risky plans that he could have taken more caution when executing. Lastly, he was too wrapped up in the fact that their relationship could bring the Montagues and the Capulets together after too many years of conflict to see that the relationship would bring many dangers and that he should have at least attempted to slow it down.
Friar Laurence, the man well respected by most characters of this tragedy, has proven to be the man most responsible in guiding Romeo and Juliet to their graves. This is so because the Friar secretly weds Romeo and Juliet without consent of anyone else, the Friar gives a vial to Juliet for her to fake her death rather than state the truth, the Friar fails to have his letter delivered to Romeo, and the Friar abandons Juliet before she kills herself.
Romeo & Juliet Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy, but it did not have to be. Many things could have been done to prevent their deaths. Many characters contributed to their deaths. The sole character that was responsible for their deaths is Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence is responsible for the deaths of the lovers because he was secretive with their relationship, he was unable communicate effectively, and he had a cowardly persona.
In Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence has a major role. As a member of the Order of St. Francis, a group of wise and generous priests, Romeo and Juliet trusted Friar Laurence completely, turning to him for advice, and solutions. He was there throughout Romeo’s and Juliet's lives; he married them, came up with a plan to keep them together, and was a friend throughout their tragedies. However, Friar Laurence’s rash action in marrying Romeo and Juliet, his shortsighted plan for rescuing Juliet from an unwanted marriage to Paris, and his fear of committing sin all contributed to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.