Puppet Master? : The Friar’s False Sense of Control in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Ryan Yu ENG2DB-01 Sir T. Bright June 6, 2023 Fate and human error are often thought of as two completely unrelated subjects. After all, how can fate be predetermined when humans seemingly have control over their own actions? Both of these themes, however, are connected through one character - Friar Laurence. His influence causes all the events leading up to the tragedy. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, fate and human error, which Friar Laurence’s actions represent, are in complete control of the tragic relationship between Romeo and Juliet. Friar Laurence is the holiest, most logical and trusted character in the play and lays the entire …show more content…
Friar gives one of his most important pieces of advice to Romeo when he tells him that “Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast” (2.3.94). As is often said, experience is only achieved through the passage of time and only once a certain age is reached can the speed at which life comes and goes be understood. This advice that Friar gives is a culmination of his life’s experiences. Friar’s age has allowed him to gain many insights not seen yet by the more youthful Romeo and Juliet. As such, his advice would be very beneficial for the couple and even Friar himself to keep in mind when proceeding with the marriage. Friar goes against this advice, however, and decides that the risky opportunity to unite the two families is worth the potentially catastrophic consequences if any part of his plans goes wrong. In terms of his desire, Friar seeks to control every aspect of the couple’s secret wedding plan. As Romeo is about to do himself harm by drawing his dagger, Friar interjects with “Hold thy desp’rate hand. Art thou a man? / Thy form cries out thou art, / Thy tears are womanish, thy wild acts denote / The unreasonable fury of a beast.” (3.3.108-11). By doing so, Friar is further committing to keeping both Juliet and Romeo alive and able to marry to achieve his goal of unifying the families. Through his ensuing speech, he is able to calm Romeo and convince him to run off to Mantua and bide his time. Uncoincidentally, the Nurse was also in the room listening and was also heavily influenced by this speech. She believes that Friar is giving very good advice, stating, “O Lord, I could have stayed here all the night / To hear good counsel. O what learning is.” (3.3.159-160). At this point, Friar is already beginning to control people in order to achieve his goals. By the nurse listening in and Friar giving away some key pieces of
What says, Romeo? Or, if his mind is writ, give me his letter.” When Friar says this he thinks the message has reached Romeo that tells him the plan. Instead of getting a good message back from Friar John, all Friar Lawrence got back was a disappointment.
Friar Laurence is the first thing responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s demise. The first reason that Friar Laurence is guilty for this travesty are in 4.1.72,93,98 during the falling action of the play, this is when Friar Laurence gives
Throughout the second act of the play, we get to see that Friar cares deeply about Romeo and is quite literally his “spiritual advisor”. We see that he has Romeo’s best interest in mind multiple times including the following quote, “Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift. Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.” This is one place Friar showcases how much he cares for Romeo. At this point in the play, Romeo is struggling to face the fact that he has fallen in love with Juliet.
Though the Friar sees no harm in his actions at first, we must also take into acountability that he was the adult in the situation. Maybe he truly thought he was doing something right, but he had to also have known that his fatal decision could have had a bad outcome. There was no way that the Friar did not know that there would be consequences to marrying Romeo and Juliet. “For this alliance may so happy prove / To turn your households' rancor to pure love” (2.3.91–92). The Friar doesn’t ask or receive consent to marry Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Laurence is responsible for the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet because he is cowardly, selfish, and irresponsible . In the play, Friar Laurence is believed to be the wise and responsible Priest, when in reality his irresponsibility is a major factor in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. In Act 2 Scene 3 Romeo goes to Friar Laurence in hopes that the Friar will marry him to Juliet, at this time
The friar harbored Romeo after he had killed tybalt, which is illegal. Also, the friar told a banished Romeo to "Go get thee to thy love, as was decreed,ascend her chamber, hence and comfort her..." He helped a banished criminal spend an extra night in the very town which he was banished from. Later, he told Romeo to,"But look thou stay not till the wa be set, for then thou canst not pass to Mantua." The friar is sending an emotionally scarred teen, who legitimately tried to kill himself in front of him.
In the story, the Friar states, "For this alliance may so happy prove/To turn your households' rancour to pure love"(2.3.112-113). The Friar wanted the marriage of Romeo and Juliet to fix the family feud, but in the end it destroyed the families completely. The Friar could have easily veered away from this situation by saying no to Romeo, but he had to get involved. The Friar also states, "For this alliance may so happy prove,/To turn your households' rancour to pure love"(2.3.112-113). The Friar had a second plan that consisted of Juliet pretending to be dead for 42 hours.
Romeo and Juliet's ageless story has fascinated audiences for decades by delving into themes of love, tragedy, and the fallout from rash decisions. In this tragic tragedy, the individuals who determine the fates of the star-crossed lovers are also responsible for their untimely deaths. Friar Laurence stands out among these characters as a pivotal figure whose misguided acts and poorly thought out ideas directly contribute to the eventual disaster. It is clear that Friar Laurence played a crucial role in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet by looking at his character and evaluating his key scenes in the play. Friar Laurence killed Romeo and Juliet because of his poorly thought-out schemes and misdirected acts.
Friar Laurence then says to Juliet “Let not the nurse lie with thee in thy chamber. Take thou this vial, being then in bed, And this distilling liquor drink thou off.” This quote shows that Friar is driving her in the direction of further disobeying her parents. After this he tells Juliet of a plan to get her out of this marriage, he says to agree to it and on the night before the wedding to take that sleep potion that he has presented to her, then he will have her moved to the tomb and then he will go to the tomb and be there when she wakes up so that she can run away with Romeo. The Friar could have gone to her parents or even the Prince after juliet comes to him and he could have confessed to Romeo and Juliet’s secret marriage, which could prevent Romeo’s man, Balthasar, from seeing the body of a “dead” Juliet and then reporting back to Romeo about it, thus preventing Romeo from overreacting and finding the poison he later killed himself with and running to Juliet.
When the Friar married Romeo and Juliet it wasn't for the sake of love. The Friar's alterier motive was in hopes to stop the feud between the Montagues and Capulets. As stated by the Prince in Act 1, "By thee, old Capulet, and Montague, Have thrice disturb’d the quiet of our streets,
As they arrange a marriage behind everyone’s back, everything seems to be testing them; including a fight that broke out and ended in Tybalt’s murder and Romeo being banished from his hometown, Verona. Juliet could not go without being with her love, Romeo, and quickly had to find a way to be with him before her other marriage that her father arranged for her took place. As the friar arranges a plan for the two star-crossed lovers to reunite, things don’t work out the way they’re supposed to and end in the deaths of both characters. In Shakespeare’s, “Romeo and Juliet” Friar Laurence is to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths because he is devious and has a poor planning ability.
Romeo and Juliet: Friar Laurence is to Blame In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence plays a major role in the deaths of the pair. The Friar is a member of the Order of St. Francis, a group of wise and generous priests, Romeo and Juliet trusted Friar Laurence and his insight, turning to him for advice, and solutions. However, Friar Laurence’s rash decision in marrying Romeo and Juliet, his reckless plan for rescuing Juliet from an arranged marriage with Paris, and his fear of committing sin all added to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. 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. Friar Laurence, through his lack of good
This is once again showing how Romeo's impulsiveness caused him to make many mistakes leading to his death. Thus showing us that the Friar cannot be at fault for the death of Romeo and Juliet, because he was just doing his job and listening to Romeo's begging
Until the nurse turned on them and said some stuff. But the Friar was a good guy the entire way through the story. Throughout the story, like when Romeo and Juliet were planning to get married, the Friar was there helping them. The passage states, ¨O, she knew well. Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell, but come, young waverer, come, go with me.
Friar Laurence also has a much more significant part to play in the outcome of the tragedy. As the plot of the play becomes more and more complicated, Friar Laurence develops plans that are wilder and more complex. While it is clear that the friar has the best interest of the children at heart, he has the inability to realize when his interference becomes dangerous for the young couple involved. If Friar Laurence had taken more time to think through his plans and managed to put a stop to said plans once the situation became too complex, he could have saved the lives of Romeo and Juliet. However, it is clear that Friar Laurence truly did what he thought was going to make the children