William Shakespeare was an amazing English poet and playwright, and was widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. One of his most famous and well known plays was Romeo and Juliet. This play tells the story of two star crossed lovers who meet for the first time and won't let anything stop them from being together. This ultimately leads to both their deaths. Many wonder and argue who was to blame for these two lovers demise. Some might say it was their parents or the feud of their families that led to them taking their own lives. Some might even believe it was fate. Although these people make good points, the true cause of their death was Friar Laurence. Friar was the one Romeo and Juliet came to when they wished to …show more content…
Romeo and Juliet trusted friar completely and often came to him for advice, given that he was a priest, so it wasn't a surprise when they came to him with hopes of getting married. At first he thought that marrying them was the right thing to do and would eventually help their families "In one respect I'll thy assistant be, For his alliance may so happy prove To turn your households' rancor to pure love" (II.iii.90-92). He was hopeful that this marriage would help unite the two families and stop their feud. However, over time he started to have second thoughts, and instead of recognizing their importance he didn't dwell on them. This was obviously a mistake. If he would have thought more about the outcome of keeping their marriage a secret, and how it would effect everyone, he could have made it public knowledge and prevented the deaths of …show more content…
If he would have made their marriage known to the public and their families he could have prevented a whirlwind of events that led to, not only theirs, but others deaths as well. When Juliet found out about Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment she was hysterical, for obvious reasons, her cousin had died and her husband was being exiled. Although she was more upset about Romeo, her father Capulet had no knowledge of this and assumed she was upset and mourning over Tybalt's death. Not knowing she was already married, Capulet thought giving Juliet a husband would cheer her up, so he insisted she marry County Paris. Of course Juliet was not fond of this and went to Friar Laurence for help "Tell me not, Friar, that thou hear'st of this, Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it. If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, Do thou but call my resolution wise, And with this knife I'll help it presently" (IV.i.51-55). Feeling a little flustered and rushed at the fact that Juliet threatened to kill herself, he devised a complicated and long plan instead of taking the smart, and obvious, route which would have been to tell Juliet's parents of her and Romeo's marriage. Continuing to find ways to keep their marriage a secret only made things
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.
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 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.
Friar Laurence made many poor and irresponsible choices throughout the play, and these choices ended up being fatal for Romeo and Juliet. By making these decisions, he is the single person that was most responsible for the tragic outcome of the play. The reasons Friar Laurence is the one who should be blamed for Romeo and Juliet’s death is because he gave a potion to Juliet to make her act dead, he did not deliver a letter of great significance and importance to Romeo, and he fled when Juliet was in the most danger at the Capulet’s tomb. These are the three significant mistakes that caused the deaths of two of literature’s most famous lovers.
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.
A variety of things have the possibility of leading up to a tragedy, and it does not exclude the people whom one may know personally. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, a play by William Shakespeare, two characters whose names are Romeo and Juliet both succumb to the state of depression due to the actions of somebody they have known and trusted. The characters’ intense adoration for each other in the end has inevitably lead them to the worst possible fate; suicide. Friar Laurence, a man known to be trusted by both Romeo and Juliet, is the person to blame for their tragedy because of how he impetuously agreed to wed Romeo and Juliet, devised a plan that would end up taking the lives of the important characters, and ran away from Juliet instead
The Friar was right about what he did. The marriage of Romeo and Juliet was both good and bad, but mostly good. The marriage helped to bring peace and unity between the families. It also brought happiness to the two lovers. The bad part was that the families did not see the error of their ways fast enough to stop the feud that their children had to die for it. If they would have noticed it before everyone could have been
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.
The Friar married the two without the families consent; setting it all in motion. Friar also came up with all the plans for the marriage and Juliet's fake death. The friar predicted his fate when he said, "May the heavens be happy with this holy act of marriage so nothing unfortunate happens later to make us regret it." (2.6.1-2). The marriage would result in the death of the lovers. Friar purposely kept the wedding a secret, and told Romeo he would, "help you with your secret marriage" (2.3.89-90). If they had never been married they would both still be alive. Friar married Romeo and Juliet which made the wedding to Paris an even greater pressure for Juliet, and eventually leading to their deaths.
Throughout time, there have been many tragedies caused by romance. For example, the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is known for its romantic tragedy between two star-crossed lovers. With all the deaths, who is truly to blame for Romeo and Juliet's deaths? Friar Laurence is most to blame for many obvious, yet overlooked, reasons. The forbidden wedding of Romeo and Juliet could not have happened without the Friar.
The Friar thought that this marriage will end an ancient grudge of two prominent families, when it will only separate them even more. Friar Laurence was helping Capulet and Lady Capulet mourn over Tybalt’s death. Paris says, "With these times of woe afford no time to woo!" . If everything was thought about clearly and not rushed through then none of this would have happened and Romeo and Juliet would not have died such a tragic death. Another example of the Friar lying is by not telling Montague and Lady Montague of Romeo and Juliet’s elopement. This only made matters worse, and now both Romeo and Juliet are dead. The Friar made this marriage a huge mistake, and he could have stopped the whole thing right there and then by just saying no.
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.
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:
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.
Love can be very righteous and beneficial if done moderately and adequately. When ones love life takes over his or her life in reality it can prove to be highly dangerous and injurious both mentally and physically. In the play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare advises the importance of moderate love. Unfortunately though this tragic play ends in two devastating and dreadful deaths of both young lovers. However they are not totally to blame, the ones to blame for the death of these two lovers are Friar Lawrence, the nurse, and the Capulets themselves.