The Role of Friar Lawrence in the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

The pressure to please others can often surpass the idea of doing what is most logical in the situation. In William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, although well intentioned, Friar Lawrence is responsible for the deaths of the star-crossed loverst His attempts to please the lovers were ruined by his confusion on the situation and pressure to choose the correct choices. Firstly the Friars secretive ways caused much damage; finally his carelessness in the importance of the situation was the biggest contribution to the reasoning of the death of Romeo and Juliet.

Although Friar Lawrence knows the risks of marrying Romeo and Juliet in secrecy he continues to do so to try and solve others problems. When Romeo requested to be married by Friar Lawrence he was slightly hesitant such as saying; “Lo, here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit/Of an old tear that is not washed off yet”. By saying this he is expressing his belief that Romeo is not over his last love and is moving on [DD quickly.

Friar Lawrence is quickly persuaded and continues to agree to marry the forbidden couple but only for reasons not regarding them directly; ”For this alliance may so happy provet/ To turn your households rancour to pure love”. So despite the fact that Friars original intentions were to decline Romeo’s request he later on agreed to marry them in attempt to the end the two families feuding. In spite of his confidence in the choice he made he continues to make comments on the marriage of the couple that end negatively; ”These violent delights have violent ends”(2,6,9)i This shows the Friars knowledge on the situation, as if he knew the outcome of the condition yet he proceeded to marry the two lovers.

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His unrealistic idea of solving the issue between the Montague and Capulet homes by marrying Romeo and Juliet caused him to make careless and nearly reckless decisions Romeo and Juliet often put the responsibility of the outcome on Friar.

Lawrence after he agreed to marry them, somewhat forcing him to try and please themt Juliet threatens to take her own life if Friar can not stop the arranged marriage to Paris as she believes her heart belongs to Romeo. He then creates a plan of faking Juliet’s death: “Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift and hither shall he come”(4,1,114—115). He then arranges on telling Romeo the news by letter; “I’ll send a Friar with speed”(4,1,123). Despite the importance of the letter reaching Romeo he entrusted the task to another Friar who did not know the significance of the message i After receiving notice from the Friar that Romeo did not collect the information of the plan he rushes to the tomb only to find he is too late to save the lives of the lovers, His high expectations of the outcome went beyond the reality of the problem, causing his extreme and irresponsible actions.

His hopes of ending the feud caused a downfall in the trust and the logical thinking of himself, leading to the death of Romeo and Juliet Previously stated, although his actions were well intentioned Friar Lawrence is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet The Friars use of the marriage to make an effort to end the fued between the Montagues and Capulets was an irresponsible and spur of the moment decision, His already flawed plan to reunite the two lovers did not carry out as expected due to his negligence of the importance for the letter to reach Romeot The actions of Friar Lawrence were intended to positively affect the lives of all citizens in Verona, yet resulted in the tragic ending of the lives of Romeo and Juliet