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Analysis on friar lawrence
Romeo and juliet romeo character critical analysis
Character development friar lawrence
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The Role of Friar Lawrence in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
When we first meet Friar Lawrence (ІІз), he appears to be picking
flowers and herbs. He shows us he has a deeper understanding of the
characteristics of herbs and how everything has a good and bad side:
“Within the infant rind of this weak flower
Poison hath residence and medecine power.”
This also relates to the families of Romeo and Juliet. It dramatically
hints about the bad things to come such as the death of one of the
family members. The audience develops the idea of Friar Lawrence
acting as a father to Romeo: “Good morrow, father.” The noun ‘father’
indicates how close the relationship between them is and how he goes
beyond his role of being a Friar. I think that this isnÂ’t right act of
Friar and it might lead to trouble.
He also seems to be able to judge people:
“Our Romeo hath not been in bed to-night.” This makes the Friar seem
to have special abilities, which may help in later events. I think
that Friar Lawrence is not to blame, this far into the play because he
is acting out of his own good will. When Romeo tells Friar Lawrence
about his love towards Juliet, he is shocked:
“Holy Saint Francis what a change is here!”
In the same speech that he delivers this line, he changes his mind
into thinking it is a good idea:
“To turn your households’ rancour to pure love.”
The noun ‘rancour’ shows how much the two families loathe each other.
We get the impression that Friar Lawrence is naïve and that his plans
are spontaneous. He is not aware of the consequences of marrying Romeo
and Juliet. We also see...
... middle of paper ...
... the tragic death
of Romeo and Juliet:
“I am the greatest able to do least,
Yet most suspected, as the time and place
Doth make against me, of this direful murder;
And here I stand, both to impeach and purge,
Myself condemned and myself excused.”
He pleads guilty but at the same time innocent. We think that he tries
to make the Prince feel sorry for him and it works in the end:
“We have still known thee for a holy man.”
Overall we see that the play rotates around Friar Lawrence and that he
is an agent of the drama. From my point of view, I think that Friar
Lawrence is to blame because despite his honorable intentions, he
could have done something to stop the tragedy from happening. Friar
LawrenceÂ’s character changes dramatically as well as his use of
language and dramatic significance.
This could be selfish behavior on his part, as the Friar knows he would be. committing a sin if he married Juliet to Paris, when she was already married to Romeo. & nbsp; Another example of the Friars selfish intentions, is the tomb scene.
While at the point of the play when Romeo is exiled the Friar seems to be quite aggravated and harsh: “Hold thy desperate hand! Art thou a man? Thy form cries out thou art… Which heavy sorrow makes them apt unto.
Since some might argue Friar Laurence shoulders most of the blame, an explanation is in order. Friar Laurence’s motives were revealed in scene two.
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.
The Friar is responsible for many problems as well, as assisting Juliet with her "death" plan. When Romeo and Juliet realize they can’t be together, and Juliet is expected to marry Paris, she needs an escape plan. Juliet pays a visit to the Friar, who creates a plan for Juliet to fake her death with a sleeping potion. When Juliet asks the Friar to help her break free from her wedding with Paris, he replies that:
He tries to warn Romeo of the temporary state of infatuation and persuades him out of his rage upon hearing his verdict of banishment. The Friar was a leaning stone for Juliet to turn to while her parents forced her to marry Paris, while the nurse betrayed her by compelling her to marry Paris. His words and believe, that the couple’s marriage would solve the family feud was also astonishing and showed a sense of believe but also doltishness which he held. But his words have no weight, there were like water in a shattered bucket, because although he speaks in magnifying and brilliant wisdom, his action undermines them. The Friar displayed his lack of sense and morality when he decided to wed Romeo and Juliet together, he said “Oh, she knew well 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.”(2.3.87-92) The Friar has single-handedly decided without thoughts, that he would marry two people in secret, who have continually demonstrated to him a blatant disregard of reason and just met each other and also from families who harbor deepened and engulfing hatred towards each other. {Does the Friar realize that if one of the families realizes the couple’s risks getting killed? Has he disregarded the morality of marriage and listened to an obstinate
The Friar is portrayed as an innocent person, who has committed no wrong doings, but this is not the case. The Friars biggest mistake was to marry Romeo and Juliet without their parents consent. Although this is not a crime, it is morally wrong. The friar also committed a crime by trying to make Romeo and Juliet run away, but this plan ultimately leads to doom. He also abandoned Juliet when he heard that the watch were coming, and let her kill herself. Although the reason why he committed these wrong doings was to unite a family and save a couples life, what he did was wrong.
In the plays Much Ado About Nothing and Measure for Measure, the friars are important instruments in their respective storyline because of their assumed pure intentions of using deception as a means to right the wrong-doing within the play. They have the authority to administer questionable plans of action because they are respected and trusted. The friars hear all of the confessions; therefore, they could know even the deepest of secrets. The friars, or "Fathers" take on a protective role, a paternal one. They seem to relate more with the youth, or the wronged, who become like children needing guidance in their vulnerable states. When the parents, or as in Measure for Measure, Angelo, must be contradicted, the next highest up in the chain of command is the friar. The friars assume these authoritative roles with great conviction. They seem to believe that they must protect their sheep and fight evil. Friar Francis of Much Ado About Nothing believes himself to serve as a means for justice, "Craft against vice I must repay" (3.1.57). In a different realm of justice, within different scales of measurement, the Friars offer their non-doctrinal mode of deception to set the world (of the play) in harmony.
The Friar's willingness to ignore such strong predictions of death for the mere possibility of a good outcome, for which he will be recognized, shows his appalling judgement as well as his distorted morals. Another example of how Friar Laurence's actions lead to tragedy is his attempt to aid Juliet in a way that cannot be defended as rational.
In Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence has a major role. As a member of the Order of St. Francis, a group of wise and generous priests, Romeo and Juliet trusted Friar Laurence completely, turning to him for advice, and solutions. He was there throughout Romeo’s and Juliet's lives; he married them, came up with a plan to keep them together, and was a friend throughout their tragedies. However, Friar Laurence’s rash action in marrying Romeo and Juliet, his shortsighted plan for rescuing Juliet from an unwanted marriage to Paris, and his fear of committing sin all contributed to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Lawrence, although very opinionated, was greatly responsible for the passings of Romeo and Juliet. He committed numerous errors yet there are three that will be addressed. Friar Lawrence was an exceedingly looked to priest in the play, Romeo and Juliet written by Shakespeare, yet three errors, if not more, prompted the vital passing of the young couple.
In the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare there are several key points throughout the play that are affected by characters, such as Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence makes many irrational and irresponsible decisions throughout the play that lead to tragedy. Also, Friar Lawrence acts extremely cowardly through the duration of the play which results in many of the characters in the play getting hurt. Finally, Friar Lawrence does not take responsibility for any of his actions throughout the play which leads to the destruction of many families. Shakespeare used Friar Lawrence as the sole character who drove the play forward towards tragedy.
Mark Twain famously said, “Action speaks louder than words.” In the case of Friar Lawrence, this statement is true. In Romeo and Juliet, a long feud between the Montague and Capulet families disrupted the city of Verona and caused tragic results for Romeo and Juliet, who fell in love but were forbidden to be together. Friar Lawrence secretly married them, but then Juliet’s parents arranged for her to marry noble Paris. Juliet took a sleeping potion, provided by Friar Lawrence, that made her appear to be dead for forty-two hours so she could evade marrying Paris. Romeo was to be told that she was still alive; however he was not informed, so he illegally purchased a poison so that he could be with Juliet in death. He went to her tomb, fought
“Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish’d” (V iii 312). The Prince states this at the end of the play after the death of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, tells the story about a long feud between the Montague and Capulet families. This feud causes tragic results for the main characters in the play, Romeo and Juliet. The events contrast hatred and revenge with love and a secret marriage, forcing the young star-crossed lovers to grow up quickly and die tragically in despair. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the person who holds the most responsibility for the deaths of the lovers is Friar Lawrence because of marrying Romeo and Juliet, abandoning a suicidal Juliet at the tomb, and helping Juliet fake her death.
In act 3 the Friar is in a dilemma. He feels responsible for what has