Preview

Secondary Characters In Romeo And Juliet

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
369 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Secondary Characters In Romeo And Juliet
In literature, secondary characters are supporting characters that may not be as important as the main characters, but play a key role in the story’s progression and outcome. In “Romeo and Juliet,” there are a number of secondary characters all who influence the outcome of the play from its beginning until the very end. One such character is Friar Lawrence, who married Romeo and Juliet and through trying to bring two warring households together, was a key role in causing the tragic ending by telling Juliet to fake her own death.
In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence played a key role in the play by secretly marrying the two lovers. His goal was to try to bring the two enemy households together through the love of their children. "For this alliance

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Most of the events that happen in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, lead up to the final conclusion of the couple dying. Many, if not all of the major characters play an ultimate role in the tragic deaths of the “star crossed lovers”. The character that causes the most dramatic effect upon Romeo and Juliet’s deaths if Friar Lawrence. He is the one character who played a role in every aspect of the tragedy, from the marriage, to his plan to rescue Romeo from banishment to the plan to save Juliet from marriage to Paris.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence makes a huge impact on Romeo and Juliet,…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a holy man who is trusted by the main characters, fails to properly apply his priestly duties. Friar Lawrence is a loyal priest of Verona, and is largely responsible for the death of the young couple, Romeo and Juliet. The young couple in love (1, 5 ) listens to the advice of the older, wiser, respected Friar. If Friar Lawrence was so loyal, and never did anything wrong as a priest, then why did he marry two young teenagers, Romeo and Juliet, knowing that the Montagues and the Capulets didn’t get along at all (1, 1 85)? The deaths of Romeo and Juliet are largely to blame on Friar Lawrence.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Friar Lawrence, Romeo's priest/father was a man of many virtues. He was just as naive as Romeo and Juliet when it came to making rational decisions. Though his instincts in the beginning were that Romeo was rushing into a love he knew nothing about that eventually would be the death of both Romeo and Juliet. His loyalty to the laws of Verona were pushed aside to help Romeo and Juliet to their deaths.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households' rancour to pure love.” (III. ii. 91). Friar Lawrence tells Romeo, after many lines of arguments, that he will marry the two in hopes it will bring the houses together. It's a brilliant plan, but any teenager knows that secrets always end in hurt. If he would have told…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Friar Lawrence's Mistakes

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Friar Laurence wanted to marry them to help them but also so he could end the civil feud between the Montague's and Capulet's. Friar Laurence was a very holy and kind character and was a loyal friend to Romeo and Juliet. He was very aware about what was going on around him and this made it easy for him to come up with a plan to marry Romeo and Juliet but unfortunately his plan didn't work and resulted in the tragic outcome.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Friar Lawrence Selfish

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The friar does not marry the star-crossed lovers for their love. He marries them in hopes of fixing the relationship between the Capulet and Montague houses. When Friar Lawrence first hears about the thought of marriage between the houses, he thinks Romeo is reacting too fast. “Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts but in their eyes.” (Act II, scene iv, lines 67-68) But then he realizes that this could work for the better of all, “for this alliance may be so happy prove, to turn your households’ rancor to pure love.” (Act II, scene iv, lines 91-92)…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Amongst the selfish characters was Friar Lawrence. He didn’t contemplate the consequences that might have been suffered if he married Romeo and Juliet without the consent of their parents. By making this serious mistake, it led to…

    • 1754 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Blinded by his good intentions, Friar Lawrence is unable to recognize the dangers of his actions, resulting in the tragic outcome of the protagonists. As Friar Lawrence agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet, he has only the best intents, hoping to, “turn [their] households’ rancor to pure love” (2.3 98-99). The extreme contrast between the “rancor” and “pure love” that the Friar discusses emphasizes that he only wants to help the Capulet and Montague families to resolve their issues for the sake of their children. When Friar Lawrence agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet, he is is mainly focused on bringing their families together. He understands that this newly found unity between them could potentially end the feud. While he means well, he is unable to see the dangers that will…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this play the character Friar Lawrence is the many reason why Romeo and Juliet killed themselves. First, he was that one that married them. “O, she knew well thy love did read by rote, that could not spell” “In one respect I’ll thy assistant be;” (Shakespeare 411).He knew it wasn't suppose to happen but he went…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Silent Murder

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Friar was the one the two families turned to in times of need. Now that he is helping Romeo and Juliet “kill” themselves and run away, he is turning his back on them. Friar Lawrence only cares about himself when he hears the news of their love. He wasn't the families to be together and finally get along. Friar claimed that “In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, For this alliance may so happy prove To Turn your households’ rancor to pure love” (II. iii. 90-92). This shows that Friar did not care what the circumstances were, he just wanted things his way. Another way Friar Lawrence not true to the families was because he liked to them even though he knew to answer. On the day of Juliet's wedding he made sure that the Capulet family saw Juliet “dead” in her bed. Friar told the Capulets, “Come, is the bride ready to go to church?” (IV. V. 34). This shows that Friar was lying to the Capulets, asking about Juliet after he knew the answer.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first glance, some may look over the character of Friar Laurence and only see him as only a minor character in the story of Romeo and Juliet. However, upon closer examination, it becomes obvious that the Friar plays an essential role in the development of the play and is notable for moving the action along. Friar Lawrence is an expert of plants and natural remedies. At the beginning of the play, we learn that he is very close with Romeo and does many favors for him. Romeo considers Friar Laurence someone he can confide in, and opens up to him and tells him about his new lover, Juliet, as soon as possible. The Friar is not convinced and feels that Romeo is not making very good decisions. Being a very wise man, he warns Romeo to slow down a bit, but Romeo sticks to how he feels about Juliet throughout the play. At this point, the only good Friar Laurence sees in the relationship is that it could eventually bring together the houses of Capulet and Montague. This character of Friar Laurence stands firm throughout the play, as he attempts to guide Romeo and Juliet during their struggles.…

    • 676 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, Friar Lawrence plays a dominate role in the eventual death of Romeo and Juliet even though he is not on stage for most of the play. There are basically three major parts that lead to the tragedy; the marriage, the plan, and the inevitable deaths in all which Friar Lawrence plays a vital role.<br><br>Friar Lawrence plays an essential role in the marriage of young Romeo and Juliet. At Romeo's request Friar Lawrence states, "In one respect I'll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households to pure love" (Act 2 Scene 3.) Friar Lawrence believes that this holy marriage would bring the Capulet family and Montuague family closer together, for he anticipates that the families will stop hating each other and be peaceful. His attempts to make the marriage of Romeo and Juliet are admirable but poorly planned. Friar Lawrence performs the marriage rites to unite them in holy marriage. Romeo and Juliet are now husband and wife. They have known each other a sum of two days. Friar Lawrence plays a vital role in the marriage of Romeo and Juliet.<br><br>Friar Lawrence plays a significant role in the plan for Juliet to "sleep." Friar Lawrence calms a frantic Juliet by giving her and telling her to "Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilled liquor drink though off" (Act 4, Scene 1). Later, Juliet is uneasy and unsure of the effects of the potion. She hopes that this is only a temporary sleep and not a permanent one. He also tells Juliet that "Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, and hither shall hem come; and he and I shall watch thy waking, and that very night shall Romeo bear thee to Mantua" (Act 4, Scene 1.) Unforeseen to neither the Friar nor Juliet that an error such as the one of Friar John's would prove to be deadly. Poor Romeo was not able to receive the letter. Friar Lawrence plays a significant role in the plan for Juliet to "sleep."<br><br>Friar Lawrence plays an…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a tragic story of ¨star-crossed lovers”. The play might be a tragic, but the character are remarkable. The three most memorable character in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare are Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence. The first memorable character in the play is Romeo.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet are lovers that only fight to be with one another in this prolonged fight, but in the end they both die unfortunately because of the actions of the people that support them, or side characters such as their aggressive parents. Shakespeare wants to show us that Romeo and Juliet are only making the feud worse and that the side characters are affected the most. The supporting characters around Romeo and Juliet are clearly the characters that are the most important. This is due to the fact that they may guide others and help give information to each other. The side characters also determined what happened to Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. The idea that the characters are the most important of the play is true because the extremity of many of the situations is due to how the characters act such as benvolio who tries to be peaceful yet makes a situation worse.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics