Regrettable Choices
(A Discussion of Hasty Decisions in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet)
Throughout The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, decisions are proven to be made too swiftly with little thought about consequences in the future. They do eventually lead to superfluous upsettedness among the characters, and the choices they made beforehand are the source of this dismay. Before Romeo and Juliet have even gotten to know each other, they claim that they are in true love. Not even a week of being “in love”, they already get married by Friar Lawrence. Another horrendous decision that was made in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, is Friar Lawrence’s decision to marry Romeo Montague
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and Juliet Capulet. Obviously, atrocious decisions are a common occurrence in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, yet these three, Romeo and Juliet falling in love too quickly, the couple marrying each other after only a few days of knowing each other, and the friar’s choice to marry the young couple are the most vital to the storyline of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. A decision that was made far too prematurely in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is the couple coming to a fast conclusion denouement that they were profoundly in love with each other, regardless of one only the other for no more than a few hours.
In fact, Romeo only came to the Capulet’s party in hopes of seeing Rosaline whom he “was so madly in love with”, obviously changing his mind at the sight of the young Juliet Capulet. Somehow, after Romeo seems to stalk Juliet throughout the party, she too finds herself to feel amorousness for another, Romeo Montague. They didn’t know each other well, but within a few hours they were already kissing and were so heart-broken when Juliet’s mother called for her. This terrible decision to choose each other as the love of their lives also led to the double suicides of Romeo and Juliet. This conclusion is what gave William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet its plot. It took them awhile to figure out that they were on opposite sides of an age old family feud. Therefor, Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague’s choice to fall in love with each other in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, was hastily made and ultimately led to the calamitous deaths of the young …show more content…
couple. Another regrettable decision from the seemingly dull-minded couple in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was to get married after only knowing each other for a few days. Not only did the young couple fall in love within a few hours, which could either be considered an act of utter senselessness or just an act of true love, they also decided it was an amazing idea to get married after only knowing each other for a few days. This undoubtedly wouldn’t give them enough time to get to know each other well. Most people, myself included would find that to be a less than well thought out decision. There is a chance that they could’ve gotten to know each other within a few days. But throughout those two or three days, but they weren’t even near each other for the majority of that time. Even when they were together, talking was not a common occurrence. If I were in the young couple’s shoes, I would’ve waited for a few years at least before getting married. The couple was so blinded by love, that they sped through their relationship, with little care for the possible repercussions of their actions. Subsequently, the choice by Romeo and Juliet to get married after only knowing each other for a few days was a terrible decision in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. The final decision that was poorly thought out in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was not in fact made by the young couple, but by Friar Lawrence deciding that it would be okay to marry Romeo and Juliet.
There are many things that could have gone through the the friar’s head before he decided to marry the youthful lovers that could have changed the outcome of the play. The fact that they were from two families that hated each other with a bleeding passion. If the families had found out, there would most likely be a huge outbreak of violence between the two feuding clans. He could have thought of telling the couple no in order to protect them. He of course chose to marry them in matrimony, which unbeknownst to the trio, would lead the couple to their untimely deaths by dual suicide. Many things could have worked out if Friar Lawrence actually thought of what he might be doing to the young couple before hastily marrying them. Truthfully, Friar Lawrence’s decision to bring Romeo and Juliet together in amalgamation in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was poorly
made. Nonetheless, terrible decisions were made all throughout this play, but these three decisions are preeminent above the other less illustrious realities in in this renowned theatrical performance. Before Romeo and Juliet have even gotten to know each other, they claim that they are in true love. Not even a week of being “in love”, they already get married by Friar Lawrence. Another horrendous decision that was made in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, is Friar Lawrence’s decision to marry Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Clearly, the storyline of the play would be much less of a tragedy if these bad decisions weren’t made.
Romeo is in love with Rosaline at the very beginning of the story and has just found out that she has taken the vow of chastity. Meanwhile Lord Capulet has given County Paris Juliet’s hand in marriage if he can wait until she is sixteen. The Capulets have a party so that Juliet and the Count can meet and he can then woo her. When Romeo and Juliet first meet they are at the Capulet party, which Romeo sneaks into. They fall in love at first sight without realizing that they are enemies. Fate brings them together and it is fate that they are enemies.
Friar Laurence’s involvement in the marriage of Romeo and Juliet has caused a tragedy. Romeo and Juliet thought that they fell in love, but the Friar should have known that they were just kids and they were really rushing into things. In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence says, “These violent delights have violent ends. Is loathsome in his own deliciousness, and in the taste confounds the appetite: Therefore love moderately: long love doth so, too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.” When he says this, he is giving Romeo a warnin. Also, Friar Lawrence should have known at the time, that Romeo was loving with his eyes and not with his heart. For example, Romeo was in a relationship with Rosaline, before marrying Julliet. Inonclusion , the Friar did not have the expierence to know that they were kids.
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 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
Friar Lawrence plays a very important role in the play between Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare has presented Friar Lawrence with much to blame for the horrific ending of their lives. Not only was Friar Lawrence the brains behind the plan of getting them together after his banishment, he was also the man who agreed to the marriage in the first place. ‘for doting, not loving, pupil mine’ Romeo holds a lot of respect for Friar Lawrence and he is a father figure towards him in the play. Friar Lawrence’s opinions therefore are considered by Romeo, so therefore he should have been more careful in his decisions of marriage.
Romeo and Juliet’s impulsive behavior is strongly influenced by their infatuation and the irresponsible encouragements of their adult figures, ultimately resulting in their tragic downfall. Despite only meeting twice, Romeo and Juliet are extremely attracted to each other, and the emotional factor motivates them to get married. They did not consider the consequences of their actions or ask their parents for their approval of the wedding, instead, they choose to get married in secret due to the grudge. The grudge creates a physical barrier between Romeo and Juliet’s communication and interactions, due to their family’s blind hatred towards each other. Despite the possibility of getting killed, Romeo is willing to cross the Capulet’s gates in hopes of catching a glimpse of
First of all, the Friar unwisely agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though he knows it will cause later problems. In the beginning, the Friar thinks that ".this alliance may so happily prove/ To turn your households' rancor to pure love." (II iv 91-92) This shows that the Friar has a slight hope of their marriage possibly working. Therefore, he decides to marry the two lovers.
First of all, the dishonesty of Friar Lawrence, who married Romeo and Juliet, foreshadows the probability of his continuity to take even more insincere measures in manipulating the consequences faced by the young lovers. The Friar carries out an erroneous act of secretly marrying them under the church’s license without manifesting it in the public and encourages them to deceive their parents by keeping their relationship to themselves. He then agrees to marry Juliet and Paris, a county, and plans on faking her death, in order to avoid the marriage instead of revealing the truth about Romeo and Juliet right away. “I hear thou must, and nothing may prorogue it,/On Thursday next be married to this County.” (4.1.49-50) In short, various incidents in the lives of Romeo and Juliet, controlled by Friar Lawrence’s cowardice result in undesirable circumstances.
The play shows that hasty and rash decisions can have fatal and tragic consequences for some characters in ‘Romeo and Juliet”
Romeo and Juliet are madly in love with each other and will go to any lengths to be together. To support my thesis that the conflict between the heads of the Montague and Capulet families is responsible for Romeo and Juliet's death, I quote from Romeo and Juliet (V, iii, 291-293) Prince: ". Capulet! Montague.
Although Friar Lawrence is a member of a religious order, he too is also to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. The Friar can be described as quick to think or secretive. For example, he agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet without even informing the parents about the marriage. Friar Lawrence says to Romeo before the marriage, “So smile the heavens upon this holy act, that after-hours with sorrow chide us not!” This shows that Friar Lawrence, the adult in the situation, knew of the consequences they would have to face if they were caught (2.4.1-2). He even has the secretive idea to hide the marriage from both families. He knows that the families were not fond of each other, but still thinks it is right for him to marry them without notifying the parents. If Friar Lawrence had decided to inform the parents that Romeo and Juliet were going to be married, he would not be in this mess. Near the end of the play, Friar Lawrence realizes the mistake he made by marrying Romeo and Juliet. He admits to his actions saying, “Miscarried by my fault, let my old life be sacrific’d some hour before this time, unto the rigor of severest law” (5.3.267-269). Friar Lawrence took the blame for his impulsive actions because he knows it was mainly his fault for marrying Romeo and Juliet, and he does not want to feel guilty anymore. Although Friar does not die, he is going to be jailed for his
In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence greatly influences the Romeo and Juliet and brings the plots to the dramatic results. Without the presence of Friar Lawrence, the story will not be so unpredictable and the tragedy may not have occurred. Initially when Romeo comes to Friar Lawrence and asks for wedding, Friar suspects Romeo’s quick changes, but is reluctant to help Romeo for this marriage. Since Romeo sincerely asks for his help, Friar finally agrees to Romeo’s plan and he says “In one respect I'll thy assistant be; / For this alliance may so happy prove, / To turn your households' rancour to pure love” (2.3.98-99). In Friar’s viewpoint, this marriage should be a benefit for the city of Vernoa. Friar hopes that with this marriage, it will calm the two feuding families down and allow them to get together again. This action seems to be incorrect for Friar, because he is trying to solve a larger ...
Friar Lawrence thought it was a good idea to keep Romeo and Juliet’s relationship a secret. He was unaware that this would be a cause of their deaths. Friar Lawrence said to Romeo when he gave consent to marry Romeo and Juliet, “come, young waverer, come, go with me, in one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to your households’ rancor to pure love” (II. iii. 83-93). Friar Lawrence believed that he was doing the right thing. He believed that if he married and Romeo and Juliet he would be ending the feud between the two families. Instead of saying no that he won’t marry them and they should wait Friar should’ve warn both of their parents about what the lovers were planning. He just decided to marry them even though they had known each other for only a couple hours and without their parents consent. Another time that Friar Lawrence was secretive about Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, which then led to their deaths, was after Romeo killed Tybalt and was banished and then later on Lord Capulet decided to accept Paris’ request to marry Juliet. Juliet went to Friar Lawrence and he told her this after she threatened to kill herself “ Hold, daughter. I do spy a kind of hope, which craves as desperate as an execution as that is desperate which we would prevent… if Thou hast the ...
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.
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 Holy Church incorporate two in one.”(II.vi.35-37). The Friar marries the two in hopes “to turn [their] households rancor to pure love”(II.iii.99). The Friar is the binding power between Romeo and Juliet, by helping them be together. Without the Friar, Romeo and Juliet would have a difficult time trying to meet in secret with each other, but because of him, they are able to get married. Ultimately, the Friar’s wishes of ending the feud between the Montagues and Capulets are fulfilled, but the reason of their reconciliation being the death of their children. The deaths of Romeo ...