Dinh An Phan Mrs. Cagle English I Honors 12 April 2024 Fate’s Folly In both human and mother nature, the ever-common pattern of outside impulsiveness often smears the calm of naivety and innocence. In Shakespeare’s tragic play, Romeo and Juliet, the aforementioned impulsiveness plays a vital role. Shakespeare meticulously builds a heart-wrenching tale of misfortune and despair. Romeo, the too-passionate, unpredictable only son of the Montague family, falls head-over-heels and pursues the obedient daughter of his enemy, the Capulet family. Juliet Capulet reciprocates these feelings after meeting him at a party, and together they fall into the maddening chaos of love. When they are separated due to Romeo’s banishment, Juliet hatches a plan of …show more content…
Furthermore, when he scales the orchard walls and hears Juliet’s private declaration of love, he “take[s] thee[Juliet] at thy word/Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptiz’d;/ Henceforth I never will be Romeo” (2.2.53-55). Knowing that Juliet is the daughter of his adversary, he could have just gone straight home after the Capulet party, but instead, he makes the active decision to stay and seek Juliet. In confessing his love for her and further revealing his presence, Romeo is the instigator, the pioneer of their love story. If he had just followed the rules and returned home, Juliet would have remained obedient to her parents and they wouldn't have gone through the challenges that their love presents. His first step, one puppeteered by impulsivity and lust, is the first step to their demise. Although Romeo’s actions are the main perpetrators of his and Juliet’s death, Friar Lawrence’s involvement in the plot may cause readers to burden him with blame rather than Romeo. By marrying them and letting the “Holy Church incorporate two in one”(2.6.37), Friar Lawrence plays a big part in their
Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. 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' rancor to pure love.” (Romeo and Juliet 2.3.90-94) This is saying that he did eventually marry the two of them. Another reason that Friar Lawrence is to blame is that if he wouldn't have quartered Romeo when he was banished then Romeo and Juliet wouldn't have grown closer that night.
Friar Lawrence plays a very important role in the play between Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare has presented Friar Lawrence 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. Before agreeing to marry them both Lawrence had his suspicions that Romeo did not love Rosaline it was just lust, he therefore thought that this was the same case with Juliet. Shakespeare holds him to blame by allowing him to marry Juliet which causes all the problems and betrayal by easily believing that he loves Juliet.
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
First and foremost, Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet in secret despite the fact that he is well aware of the existing conflicts between two families, Capulets and Montagues. Since he is a clergyman thus an educated member of the community, he should understand the consequences of Romeo and Juliet 's relationship, especially when he had seen how emotionally- driven and reckless these young lovers are, instead of helping them. He is also the one who illogically planned Juliet 's fake death and unsuccessfully send the message to Romeo about Juliet 's faked death through Friar John. If Friar Lawrence himself take an effort to go Mantua to have face-to-face communication with Romeo about the plan instead of assuming that the letter would get to Romeo by Friar John, Romeo would not misunderstand that Juliet is dead. In turn, he would not kill himself out of grieve from the death of Juliet. Finally, Friar Lawrence cowardly leaves Juliet by herself in the monument with Romeo 's corpse. This obviously is not a good idea due to Juliet 's emotionally unstable state of mind. If Friar Lawrence stayed back with Juliet at the monument, he might be able to stop Juliet from killing herself. On the other hand, if he takes Juliet with him,
The introduction to this character shows us that he just wants both of the families to come together and be one. In the mists of this Romeo brings up the topic of his love interest to Friar, and automatically it Friar Lawrence has something to say about how wonderful the news was. He decides to marry them, even tho both families have not consented to the marriage, and he is willing to keep it a secret. Once Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished the Friar comes up with a plan to get the two lovers back together. Although he doesn’t carry out the plan himself by giving the letter to Romeo to explain what has happened to Juliet, which he should have done, it leaves the sense that he is to blame for the deaths of the two children in love. If the letter to Romeo would have been delivered from the Friar Lawrence Romeo and Juliet both wouldn’t have killed themselves, but would have ran off to be one.
Firstly, he joined the two in marriage. “You shall not stay alone Till Holy Church incorporate two in one” (Shakespeare 1042). This evidence shows that Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet. Juliet would rather take her life than be apart from her husband, Romeo. Juliet would rather take her life than be apart from her husband, Romeo. "Vile earth, to earth resign; end motion here; And thou and Romeo press one heavy bier!" (Shakespeare 105). Juliet, hearing of her husband's banishment, wants do die than live without him. Lastly, the Friar is responsible for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet because he
This change in mindset urges Juliet to ask Friar Lawrence for help and come up with the plan to fake her death. Furthermore, Friar Lawrence is more so to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s death because he thought any plan he made would work no matter what. In Act 2 the Friar says “To turn your households’ rancour to pure love”(Doc C) and he has this plan to get the two families to stop this never ending fight to finally end. Then when speaking to Romeo, the Friar says “These violent delights have violent ends” (Doc C) showing that he’s fully aware that marrying them may have dire consequences for these actions. Most importantly, Fate holds the most liability for the two lover’s deaths.
This quote from Document C, taken from Act II, Scene iii is Friar Lawrence saying he will marry Romeo and Juliet just to end the Feud. In document C block two Friar Lawrence says “these violent delight have violent ends”(DBQ:Project,2013) .Friar Lawrence already knows that this will end badly, but all he wants is peace so he goes against his judgement and marries the two anyway. As we know this leads to their demise as it causes a lot of confusion between all of the characters when they try to escape from their parents strife.Friar Lawrence then has to save Juliet from her own family problems in document C and makes her a remedy that is supposed to solve all of her problems. While informing everyone of what is going on it is revealed in document E that Friar Lawrence's letter was not able to get through to Romeo, causing his plan to blow up in his face and have two people die at the hands of his
The situation of Romeo and Juliet’s love story begins when Romeo rushes off to see Friar Lawrence in the chapel after his encounter with Juliet the night before. In Friar Lawrence’s response to Romeo’s demand to wed him and Juliet he states, “Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. / 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’ rancor to pure love.” (II. iii. 95-99) Knowing the Capulet’s and Montague’s are enemies, Friar Lawrence agrees to wed Romeo and Juliet. He believes that if the two lovers are bonded together, the rivalry between the families will come to an end. If Friar Lawrence stuck with his gut that Romeo and Juliet being
When Friar Lawrence asked Romeo about his whereabouts that morning and was he with his love Rosaline, Romeo replied, “ Then plainly know my heart's dear love is set on the fair daughter of rich Capulet” (Shakespeare). Romeo explained that he had found a new true love and he wanted Friar Lawrence to marry him and Juliet. At this point Friar Lawrence assisted in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet at the end of the play, by not trying to do more to convince Romeo that it was not a good idea and that his new found love for Juliet could be potentially dangerous for all parties involved. Knowing Romeo respected his opinion, Friar Lawrence did not use his guidance and influence wisely, to try to direct Romeo to make a better
Romeo comes to the Friar begging him to marry him and Juliet. Although he is hesitant at first he very quickly gives in and agrees to marry them. In her analysis Napierkowski points out, “He thinks that Romeo’s shift in affection from Rosaline to Juliet is sudden and hasty, but he agrees to marry them because he thinks it may help to end the hatred between the feuding households” (Friar Lawrence.1). Friar Lawrence is quick to agree to marry the two young lovers because he thinks it will help the families but, he neglects to consider that this marriage can’t help the families if they are unaware of it. Also, he doesn't think about the consequences it will have on the young lovers, like the possibility of them attempting to run away from home or kill themselves. After Romeo tells him he has moved on from Rosaline and onto Juliet, Friar Lawrence and Romeo exchange these words, “ Thou chid’st me oft for loving
Friar Lawrence is the primary instigator for the death of Romeo and Juliet’s death. He is regarded as the guiding light for salvation in the town of Verona as he supposed to act as the moral compass for the Veronese; however, he does not carry out his moral responsibility to help the disillusioned Romeo. When Romeo approached him with the intent to marry Juliet, Friar Lawrence replies, “I’ll thy assistant be” (2.3.90) in attempt to “turn [Romeo’s] households’ rancor to pure love” (2.3.93). Regardless of the fact that Friar Lawrence is fully aware of Romeo’s superficial love for Juliet as Romeo clings to any beautiful woman he sees, he still sees this as an opportunity to reconcile the burning hatred between the Capulets and Montague, disregarding the fact that their dangerous infatuation might bring misfortune and misery for the two misguided youth. He continually acts on idea of the greater good, neglecting the safety of the two star-crossed lovers. When Juliet is forced to marry the county, Juliet “long[s] to die” (4.1.68), and as a result, Friar Lawrence gives Juliet a sleeping potion where “[her] pulse… surcease” (4.1.99) to make her seemingly dead to reunite her with Romeo. To avoid bigamy, Friar Lawrence acts impulsively rather than rationally as he concocts a dangerous plan, giving a deadly potion in the hands of an innocent girl without consid...
Because of Friar Lawrence’s decision to marry Romeo and Juliet when the two families have had a long conflict with each other, he causes the deaths in “Romeo and Juliet”, as he believes that their lustful love shall bring the families to peace once they are married. “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’ rancor to pure love” (II, iii, 97-100). In this quotation, Friar Lawrence is speaking to Romeo about the marriage, and how although the friar knows about the families’ feud against each other, he still suggests that everything will work out in the end once he marries them. This part of the story begins much of the drama that happens later on.
Above All, Friar Lawrence is a mentor and confidant of Romeo’s throughout the play. Romeo confides in him about his current troubles and difficulties, expecting an answer or solution from the Friar who is a respected man of God. Therefore, in Act II, scene iii, lines 56-64, it is of no surprise when Romeo confesses to Friar Lawrence his love for Juliet and their plan to elope. In this moment, the very words that fall from Friar’s lips completely alter the course of this play. His approval was the only thing hindering Romeo and Juliet from making this huge mistake. Agreeing to marry the two, as a last resort to put an end to their families’ long-standing feud, only opens a can of worms. Consequently, Romeo and Juliet’s union becomes an enormous dilemma, considering that Juliet is betrothed to
After explaining his proposed plan to Juliet, Friar states, “Thou cop’st with death himself to ‘scape from it; and if thou darest, I’ll give thee remedy” (183). While he has not forced anything upon Juliet, and will only proceed if she dares to, Friar Lawrence’s scheme has found a way for Juliet to be with Romeo. Unlike other advice that Juliet received, Friar Lawrence encourages her to follow passions and live on her terms, not the ones of social norms or her parents’ thinking. Friar Lawrence’s well devised plan to reunite Romeo and Juliet is an example of his complete support of Juliet, rather than trying to suppress her