Romeo And Juliet Analysis

Good intention will not always lead to a happy ending. When one thinks that they have made a good moral decision, the outcome may differ from the forethought. In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, many characters thought they were helping the lovers but in fact, they were only assisting them in taking their own lives. Friar Lawrence’s good intention of marrying Romeo and Juliet led to the deaths of Mercutio, Paris, and Romeo and Juliet.

If Friar Lawrence had not married Rome and Juliet, Mercutio would still be alive. Due to the marriage, Romeo was now secretly part of the Capulet family:

Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee

Doth much excuse the appertaining rage

To such a greeting. Villain am I none;

Therefore farewell, I see thou knowest me not. (III.i.59-63)

Romeo expresses his new forced love for Tybalt, his now cousin-in-law, and refuses to fight him. Mercutio, thinking that Romeo is being a coward by avoiding any chance of fighting, decides to fight Tybalt for Romeo instead. This fight results in two deaths: the death of Tybalt, and the death of Mercutio. Tybalt, dying at the hands of Romeo indicates that his death was inevitable but, Mercutio’s death could have been prevented. If Friar Lawrence had not married Romeo and Juliet, Romeo, would not have been a part of the Capulet family, meaning that he would fight Tybalt, sparing Mercutio’s life. Romeo expresses a second reason why he did not fight, “O sweet Juliet,/ Thy beauty hath made me effeminate/ And in my temper softened valor’s steel!”(III.i.109-111), Romeo was clearly softened by Juliet’s presence which was reinforced by their marriage. Their bond would have been weaker without the marriage, this would suggest that if Romeo was not married, he would f...

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...uliet’s suicides and admits to his wrong doing: “Miscarried by my fault, let my old life/ Be sacrific’d, some hour before his time,/ Unto the rigour of severest law.”(V.iii.267-270), therefore, he knows that he deserves not to live to die of old age but to be fiercely punished for his actions.

Friar Lawrence’s good intention of marrying Romeo and Juliet, in several ways, led to the deaths of multiple characters in the play. From key aspects of the play, Friar Lawrence is easily portrayed as an antagonist towards the well-being of the two lovers. His actions are what created the plot and irony of the play. Shakespeare’s ability to make one of the least suspected characters become the antagonist is one of the reasons why his works are some of the greatest in history. Friar Lawrence truly helps one see that one’s good intention will not always lead to a happy ending.