Dear Prince Escales, I hope you are doing well during this period of mourning. I, as Juliet’s lifelong Nurse, am writing to you regarding this terrible situation that the whole city of Verona is currently facing. Having known Juliet for her whole life, I know that she would want to get justice for the monstrous mistakes committed by Friar Lawrence, such as marrying Romeo and Juliet in secret, creating a plan in which he temporarily poisons and kills Juliet, and going against the Catholic religion. Juliet did not have the desire to die, and reckless ideas led to her unfortunate demise. He knew that going through with such a plan wasn’t moral or safe, yet he went through with it anyway, which is now affecting us all and he should not be able …show more content…
Knowing we are both lifelong and devoted Catholics, it is a terrible offense for someone as holy as a friar to marry a child in secret, going against the beliefs of our whole Church and family order. Holding the position of a friar, Friar Lawrence should have known his obligations of following his religion and help guide others to obey their faiths, not do the opposite. By marrying two children from feuding families without telling either of their parents, Friar Lawrence admitted to his first sin. As Friar Lawrence presented his confession, he admitted to the following by stating, “I married them, and their stol’n marriage day” (Shakespeare 5.3.233). By describing his part in the marriage and using the term “stol’n” shows that Friar Lawrence was well aware that this wedding would be done in secret without the consent and approval of the parents of either Romeo or Juliet. Being one of such authority, he clearly knows that his actions were wrong and violated the beliefs of his …show more content…
Friar Lawrence knowingly gave Juliet a potion that was filled with poison meant to temporarily kill her, which is an extremely immoral thing to do. He practically murdered Juliet just for an unethical plan to go through, and put poor Juliet in countless uncomfortable situations. At Friar Lawrence’s confession, he claimed he gave her a liquid which he described as, “A sleeping potion, which so took effect / As I intended, for it wrought on her / The form of death” (5.3.266-268). By describing the poison he gave Juliet as a “sleeping potion” he tried to make his actions seem much less dangerous than they were. Poison is not something you give a person when simply trying to put them to sleep as there are so many consequences such as actual death. Friar Lawrence tried to shine a light on a terrible thing, further showing that he continuously tries to make himself the victim and does not have full remorse for his
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.
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
When Romeo goes to Friar Lawrence, Romeo’s mentor, he is not sure he should marry these two adolescents. He finally agrees because he thinks it will end the feuding between the two families. But, when he is actually going through with it, he begins to have second thoughts. Friar cries out, “So smile the heavens upon this holy act/ That after hours with sorrow chide us not!” ( 2. 6. 1-2) If he is truly worried that he will be punished for this later, he should have stopped right there. Instead, he married them. This overreaction leads to lying and death in scenes to
Friar Lawrence wants to marry Romeo and Juliet in hopes their love for one another will end the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. He schemes and has the characters believe it is out of his love for Romeo and Juliet; as in their eyes, he is a fatherly figure. He is an older man who should be out to help the citizenry of Verona, but being egotistical, he uses Romeo and Juliet for his personal desires to end the feud between the families. Him being egocentric has the Friar make rash decisions in situations that he had not planned for. When the Capulets and the Montagues come together after the death of their children, Friar Lawrence says, “Her nurse is privy; and if aught in this/ Miscarried by my fault, let my old life/ Be sacrificed some hour before his time/ Unto the rigor of severest law.” (V.iii.266-269). The Friar explains Romeo and Juliet’s love story and the reasoning behind their secret marriage and why he went through with marrying the star-crossed lovers. He does not say that his rashness is to be blamed for their children’s death, but turns to the Nurse’s knowledge of the secret marriage. Friar Lawrence is showcasing his rashness by outing the Nurse’s role in the marriage and not taking blame for the deaths, but has the Prince decide his punishment. He wants to blame another character with the knowledge of the marriage to make it seem as though he is not to be blamed. His
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. When he says "Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, / and hither shall he come; and he and I/ shall watch thy waking, and that very night/ shall Romeo bear thee to Mantua" (IV.i.116-119), his intention is clearly to comfort and reassure Juliet.
Friar Lawrence is a fallacious mentor. This is seen when he agrees to secretly marry Romeo and Juliet. “Come, come with me, and we will make short work./For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone/Till holy church incorporate two in one.”(2.2.35-37) This was an ill-conceived decision because the families are unaware of this so it will not actually break the tension between the two rival families. This creates dishonesty and unfaithfulness to their families which evidently ends tragically. When Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet he inferred that the feud between the families would end; however, this was not the case because they kept it a secret. “This shall determine that.” (3.1.28) Romeo challenges Tybalt to a fight to the death even though Tybalt is Juliet’s cousin and they are married. This proves that Friar’s plan was faulty and unsuccessful because there is still great conflict between the two rival families. Friar’s unhelpful mentoring is shown when he agrees to secretly marry Romeo and Juliet and when he wrongly infers that the feud between the families would
Despite his initial disapproval, Friar Lawrence agrees to secretly marry Romeo and Juliet in hopes that “this alliance may so happy prove/ to turn [their] households’ rancor to pure love” (II.iii.98-99). Although Friar Lawrence has good intentions, as he does not gain anything from the marriage, by supporting Romeo and Juliet’s infatuation, his actions will eventually create more harm than benefits, as it allows their impulsive behavior to persist. By marrying Romeo and Juliet in secret, it is evident that Friar Lawrence knows that the wedding is a bad idea, but due to his indecisive personality and the inability to make a solid choice, Friar Lawrence blindly follows through with the marriage. In addition, he does not analyze the consequences of his actions prior to his agreement to marry them, only to later express regret and warn Romeo about the dangers of their infatuated love and their impulsive behavior. Friar Lawrence’s indecisive personality is evident in his soliloquy through the excessive use oxymorons in between rhyming
Most movies portray friars as wise mentors, or strict religion-followers, that lead lawful, moral, and virtuous lives. But this tragic play of Romeo and Juliet begs to differ, as the friar does nothing but help achieve the forbidden plans of two star-crossed lovers. As Friar Lawrence gets involved more deeply into the schemes of Romeo and Juliet, he too begins to warp sly plans out of his head, such as the potion plan.
Those actions were associated with the death of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence is known for being a man of wisdom, but during this period of five days he helped Romeo do everything he wasn’t supposed to do. Even more so to marry a Capulet! Friar Lawrence was an accomplice in the secret romance of Romeo Montague, and Juliet Capulet. After Romeo slaughtered Tybalt and was banished from Verona, he went to Mantua, where only The Nurse and Friar Lawrence knew where he was.
The suicides of Romeo and Juliet reflect their hasty and impulsive decisions as well as the dishonesty of Friar Lawrence and the Nurse. Romeo’s haste in drinking the venomous poison, Friar’s cowardice in handling the consequences as well as the Nurse’s choice of standing against the relationship of Romeo and Juliet contribute equally to their fatal end. Therefore, dishonesty and haste can result in undesirable circumstances to any individual.
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. Friar Lawrence noted, "But come, young waverer, come, go with me,/ in one respect I'll thy assistant be" (2.3.89-90). In saying this, the friar helps them with their secret wedding. If others knew about this, then they would be able to help Romeo and Juliet during their t...
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
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
Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet, but knew that it could be wrong to do so. The families were adversaries, so he thought to himself that if he was to marry the two. The feuding families would compromise. Therefore, the Friar knows all along that, "These violent delights have violent ends." The Friar knew that this is an impossible situation, which if made possible by himself will without a doubt end up in tragedy in one way or another. Friar Lawrence’s negligence really stands out in the play when he organises an escape for the star-crossed lovers. We can see this when he says, “Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilling liquor drink thou off.” Romeo has yet got no idea of the Friar’s plan, in fact, he never finds out. Although Friar Lawrence sent Friar John to Romeo, Balthasar, who is not informed of the plan, got the news delivered to Romeo first. Ergo, Friar Lawrence shared responsibility for the deaths of the young lovers in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet by marrying them despite their parents, not thinking his plans through, and giving Juliet potion before he ensured Romeo was informed of the
This created the confusion of Romeo believing that Juliet was in fact dead. When Juliet approached him for help about her unwanted prepared marriage to Paris, he was caught off guard by Juliet's threat to commit suicide and quickly responded "Hold daughter! I do spy a kind of hope, which craves as desperate an execution as that is desperate to prevent"(IV. i. 68-70), and gave her the potion. He should not have acted so quickly, especially after he told Romeo "Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast"(II. iii. 94-95). Friar Lawrence should not have allowed pressure from other people to distort his own