The Consequences Of Friar Lawrence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is an important play because of serious and severe mistakes that lead to the tragic deaths of the two star-crossed lovers. Once a mistake is made, the consequences of it pour forward almost immediately. Lord Capulet lacks the ability to empathize, which leads him to unknowingly make a mistake. The Nurse does not believe in intense and spiritual love and it is this belief that leads her to make the blunder of betraying Juliet. Friar Lawrence thinks he can help everyone but he lacks discernment and this ends up contributing to his numerous blunders throughout the play. Romeo and Juliet’s deaths are caused because of their own flaws, actions and hasty decisions, but equally due to the copious obstacles

in their path created by other characters. By examining Capulet, The Nurse, Friar Lawrence and the mistakes they make, it is clear that they play an integral role in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Lord Capulet plays an important part in the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet. Initially, he is a gentle and caring father to Juliet. In addition, Capulet is passionate and proud that Juliet is his daughter. When Paris proposes the idea of marrying Juliet, Capulet tells him to wait and make her fall in love with him so that she will not feel like she is being forced into it. Essentially, Lord Capulet has already agreed with Paris’ decision without thinking about it from Juliet’s point of view. Although he cares about his daughter and wants only the best for her, he still controls her life. Later on, when Juliet refuses to marry Paris, Capulet becomes enraged and says, “But fettle your fine joints ‘gainst Thursday next / To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, / Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. / Out, you green-sickness carrion! Out, you baggage! / You tallow face!” (3.5.158-162). Undoubtedly, Capulet is not happy with Juliet when she disobeys him and refuses to believe that marrying Paris will benefit her. Capulet gets frustrated, insults Juliet, and threatens to disown her if she disobeys him on this matter. However, Capulet does not realize his mistake in coercing his daughter. By pushing Juliet to wed Paris, whom she does not love, he separates her from Romeo, whom she does love, and it is this separation that leads to her downfall. Capulet’s insistence that Juliet must marry Paris is what prompts her to take the potion. Juliet taking the potion ultimately leads to the suicides of Romeo and Juliet. Thus, Lord Capulet’s actions, decisions and mistakes directly contribute to their deaths.
The Nurse has a large influence on the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because she encourages Juliet to keep seeing Romeo. Juliet and her Nurse are very close to each other. Moreover, the Nurse is more like a mother to Juliet than Lady Capulet is. In addition, Juliet tells the Nurse about her secret relationship with Romeo. Since the Nurse works for the Capulets, it is her duty to inform them of this, but she does not, which results in increasing Juliet’s love and trust for her. Not only did the Nurse support this forbidden love, she even has a part to play in their wedding. Granted, they both have a loving and teasing relationship, but when Juliet needs her the most—after her parents order her to marry Paris, the Nurse betrays her. The Nurse knows Juliet loves Romeo, yet she starts agreeing with Juliet’s parents and reasons with her, saying, “Romeo is banished, and all the world to nothing. / That he dares ne’er come back to challenge you, / Or, if he do, it must be by stealth. / Then, since the case so stands as now doth, / I think it best you married with the County” (3.5.226-230). Instead of standing by Juliet like she always does, the Nurse concurs with the Capulets. This, above all is the blunder that contributes to the tragedy. The Nurse’s betrayal to Juliet only intensifies her need to be with Romeo which leads her to seek more desperate measures in order to do so and, is also the reason why the Nurse was directly responsible for their deaths.
Lastly, and most notably, Friar Lawrence is perhaps most responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because he agrees to marry them.

The reason behind this is that he hopes doing so will end the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. Furthermore the Friar disregards logic, since he does not think about how Romeo and Juliet will convey the news to their respected families. Moreover, he does not take into account how the Montagues and Capulet will react when they find out that he goes against the feud and marries the two of them. Even though he warns Romeo and Juliet about how dangerous getting married can be, he does not try to change their minds. Although Friar Lawrence is a wise man, he is not selfless. When he discovers Romeo lying dead in the tomb, he also sees Juliet next to him and says “Come, come away… / Come I’ll dispose of thee / Among a sisterhood of nuns” (5.3.159-162), but flees as soon he hears footsteps. Friar Lawrence is hasty and wants to leave. However, he does not realize that the consequences of being caught trespassing will be nothing compared to those of abandoning Juliet. The Friar should have known that Juliet will not hesitate to kill herself, since she threatens to do it before. Friar Lawrence meant well, but he should have taken more responsibility for his actions and realized that it was a mistake to marry Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately, he was so focused on trying to end the feud, he fails to do so and this directly results in the tragedy of Romeo and

Juliet.
In brief, the blunders of many different characters throughout William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet are major factors that prompt the tragedy of the two star-crossed lovers. Almost every decision that Romeo and Juliet make contribute to their deaths. Certain characters who did not realize their mistakes earlier are also responsible for their demises. Capulet is blinded by rage and does not realize that compelling Juliet to obey him was wrong. The Nurse has a different idea on love and it leads her to become disloyal to Juliet. Friar Lawrence is hasty and selfish and does not think clearly when he agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet. To conclude, Capulet, the Nurse and Friar Lawrence were not able to learn from their mistakes, since they were unaware that they made them in the first place.