Friar Lawrence in Romeo And Juliet Essay

Although Friar Lawrences intentions were good, his decisions and actions were the sole cause of Romeo and Juliets death. Do you agree?

Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is the story of two young lovers who fall for one another only to realise that due to the feud their families share their love is destined for destruction. With all good intentions the minor character, Friar Lawrence was one of, but not the complete cause of their tragic end. There are three dominant aspects of their deaths, the feud between the two families, Friar Lawrence and most importantly, fate.

The most commonly seen reason for Romeo and Juliet's downfall would be the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. The two families had lots of problems and arguments throughout the story. Even the servants disliked each other, My master is the great rich Capulet, and if you be not of the house of Montagues I pray come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry. Nevertheless, if the feud did not exist Romeo and Juliet would not have needed to be married in secret. If their parents discovered what they had done they would be outraged and separate the star crossed lovers. As the Prince of Verona states, See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heavens finds means to kill your joys with love; The two families never agreed on anything but it is evidently the death of the two lovers that ends the feud "Doth with their death bury their parent's strife" Since the lovers were young they relied on their trusted elders in order to give them advice but those advisors didnt always make the most justly decisions. Without the feud of the Capulet and Montague house, Romeo and Juliet would not have such horrible fates.

Friar Lawrence is a minor character who is frequently overlooked for contributing to the death of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence is a man of god who married Romeo and Juliet in secret, counselled Romeo and provided the potion for Juliet all in hope to end the feud of the two houses and bring peace to Verona. By marrying Romeo and Juliet in secret it only made their love more formal and as the Friar got more involved his actions became more unreasonable and acted in hast whenever a challenge arose. He is a selfish character who was willing to overlook the terrible circumstances Romeo and Juliet faced all in hope to end the feud. In one respect Ill thy assistant be. For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households rancour to pure love As the situation becomes worse, Romeo is told that he must be banished from Verona for killing Juliets cousin, Tybalt. By indulging in forbidden love and in attempt to make everything right, the Friar supplies Juliet with a potion that will make it appear that she is dead. This was one of the actions that ultimately lead to their deaths. "The fearful passage of

their death marked love". It was beneficial for Romeo and Juliet have an adult for guidance but by the Friar being overly optimistic; it blinded him from seeing that it was inevitable to have a disastrous ending.

The most significant fact that was the sole cause of Romeo and Juliets death was fate. Fate is commonly overlooked as being the sole cause of their deaths, but in my opinion it is what brought the two lovers to their end. Throughout the play it reveals that their lives will end by their influences and actions, "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life". This unavoidable aspect may have made Romeo and Juliet fall in love just to end the feud between the two houses. An important act of fate to consider would be the masquerade ball, if Romeo wasnt wearing a mask Juliet would have realised who he was and may have not fallen in love with him. Romeo was too young to realise that he should have waited until he got over Rosaline before he became involved with Juliet. People and feuds influenced their paths and actions but fate is what brought the lovers to their end. "For never was there a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo." Another act of fate was the lack of communication, the letter failing to arrive to Romeo and Juliet being by herself in the tomb. And once Romeo discovered her without knowing she was really alive, he didnt see much point living without her and ended his life. Shakespeare orchestrated the story and made it that fate would unavoidably kill the two lovers.

Friar Lawrences decisions and actions were not the sole cause of Romeo and Juliets deaths , though he did contribute to the tragedy as well to blame were the other residents of Verona. Undeniably, fate was the key aspect that brought Romeo and Juliet to their deaths. There were circumstances throughout the course of their lives that led to their end. If the two houses had not been feuding and if Friar Lawrence did not indulge in forbidden love and not marry them, the outcome of the story would have been different. Although, fate can never be changed.