Friar Laurence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

In the play, “Romeo and Juliet,” Friar Laurence is usually not considered a main character, although he has a large role in the story. He is also much different than most of characters in the play. Friar Laurence’s good character traits were greatly contrasted by the Capulets, the Montagues, and Juliet’s nurse. He is one of a kind. Friar Laurence’s good character traits are expressed in two conversations with Romeo. First, he shows that he is educated by showing his knowledge of classic mythology with an allusion to the sun god Titan. His education is also shown when he was gathering herbs for special purposes, and that he knew what they are used for shows his knowledge in medicine. Also, when he uses the soliloquy on plants and …show more content…
Furthermore, when he acted like a father to Romeo through all of the drama between Romeo, Rosaline, and Juliet he was shows that he is kind. In addition, he shows wisdom when he says to Romeo that only old men get out of their beds at early times if they are troubled, therefore showing that he knows somewhat about human habits. He also shows his wisdom by telling Romeo that he must be slow with his love for Juliet, because if he rushes his love, he may not love her like he thinks he does. When Romeo accused Friar Laurence of telling him to bury his love, Friar Laurence is forgiving by explaining to Romeo that he was telling him to get over Rosaline, and not bury his love altogether. Again he shows that he is forgiving by marrying Romeo and Juliet in secret even though he is reluctant to. He shows that he is concerned for Romeo and Juliet by making sure that Romeo truly loves her, and that he is not just overly infatuated. Likewise, he also shows concern by making sure that Juliet loves Romeo, and is not just infatuated with him. Finally, he shows concern by not letting them be alone with each other until they are married to …show more content…
First, the Capulets acted uneducated when the servants thought that they should fight against the Montague servants in the streets. They also act uneducated and unkind when Sampson (one of the servants) bites his thumb at the Montagues in order to provoke them. They are also being unkind and unconcerned about the public good when they start fighting in the streets (which include Tybalt, Benvolio, citizens, servants, Lord Capulet, and Lord Montague). Furthermore, when Lady Capulet was trying to push Juliet into marrying Paris, she was being unconcerned for Romeo and Juliet. If she was to marry Paris, Romeo and Juliet would not be together in the end. In addition, Tybalt was being unconcerned about Romeo and Juliet when he tried to kill Romeo at the Capulet’s party. On the other hand, the Montagues were acting uneducated when the servants started the fight in the street. Also, Benvolio was acting uneducated when he tried to break up the servants who were fighting, because he could have been hurt or killed. Benvolio was also acting uneducated when he tried to get Tybalt to help him stop the fight, because Tybalt wants to kill every Montague. Moreover, Lord Montague was acting unkind and unconcerned about the public good when he provoked Lord Capulet into joining the fight. Similarly, Lord Montague was also unkind to his wife by rebuking her for trying to keep the peace