Preview

Who Is the Blame for Romeo and Juliet's Death? Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1021 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Who Is the Blame for Romeo and Juliet's Death? Essay Example
Who is to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s death?
In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, most of the events that happened, led up to the death of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Many, if not all, of the characters played an ultimate role in the tragic death of the ‘star crossed lovers’, but Friar Lawrence was certainly the biggest contributor. At first glance, one may look over Friar Lawrence and dismiss him as only a minor character in this story. However, upon closer examination, it becomes obvious that Friar Lawrence played an essential role in the development of the play and is seen to be the one for moving the action along. He played the role in nearly every aspect in the tragedy, from the marriage to the plan to rescue Romeo from banishment and to prevent Juliet from marriage to Paris. Friar Lawrence made multiple mistakes in which contributed majorly to the death of the ‘star-crossed lovers’. He not only made one, but three mistakes that lead to death of Romeo and Juliet. He married the lovers without the consent of either parents, he had the plan to use the sleeping potion so that Juliet could run off with Romeo and he failed to inform Romeo directly about that Juliet’s death was a scam. Thus Friar Lawrence bad actions, he is responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet.
Friar Lawrence involvement in the marriage of Romeo and Juliet caused a tragedy. He agreed to perform a secret wedding for Romeo and Juliet though he believed that the lovers were merely infatuated with each other and weren’t truly in love. A bond between them was created by Friar Lawrence through their marriage as stated, ‘For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone Till holy church incorporate two in one’ (2.6.2).
By marrying the lovers, he took a step in the wrong direction, he only was thinking of how the consequences would be good. By marrying Romeo and Juliet, he thought that it could bring the Capulet and the Montague families back together so they could make up

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Although Friar Laurence might have been trying to do some good, his intentions were not solely to unite these two people. He was mainly trying to bring peace to the two houses, the Montagues and the Capulets. He knew that marrying Romeo and Juliet might end badly for them. Friar says, “These violent delights have violent ends”(II.VI 9). Although Friar Laurence knew that something would most likely go wrong, he married them anyway, hoping to bring peace.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • 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

    The first to blame for the young couples death is the Nurse, a trusted family servant to the Capulets. The Nurse had made minor problems but she was surely involved with this catastrophe. Romeo and his friends have decided to go to the Capulet's party in masks because Rosaline was invited. It took a turn when Romeo met Juliet. They had instantly fallen in love, and then found out they are from rival families. They had loved each other so much, that at a point, they knew they were determined for each other and chose to get united. Romeo met with Friar Laurence to arrange the wedding, and Juliet got her nurse to be a messenger. The Nurse met Romeo, and they secretly arranged to get Juliet via Friar Laurence. Juliet waited for the Nurse to come…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tragedies happen all the time in the world, books, and even plays. But these bad things always happen to everyone; there is no such thing as a perfect life. In the magnificent play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the tragic death of these two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, takes place at the end of the play. Although there are many people to blame for their deaths, one person can for sure be blamed for this. Friar Lawrence is the character most responsible for the two star-crossed lovers deaths at the end of the play. For one thing, he never made sure that the letter got sent to Romeo, and that he kept their marriage a secret to the two families.…

    • 122 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romeo and Juliet is a remarkable play. Besides it being magnificently written, it is also exceptional because of its enduring relevance and fascinating characters. As the tragic story of two young lovers unfolds, the importance of each character’s role in the play becomes noticeable; especially that of Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence provides the pathways which direct the destinies of Romeo, and his bride-to-be, Juliet. This holy man opens many windows for Romeo and Juliet even though many of the ideas he supports and suggests contradict the desires of the Montague’s and Capulet’s…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 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 was a big part of the Romeo and Juliet story. He was the man who made things happen from the wedding to Juliet’s faked death, but did all these things lead to what was continues to be the saddest story ever written. Friar knew that Romeo wasn’t in love with Juliet he told him “So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.” (Act 2 Scene 3) Even knowing that information Friar Lawrence agreed to marry the two children in hopes it would end the feud. He didn’t consider the long term effects of this marriage, Romeo told him he would be willing to die if he had…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 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

    The world works in mysterious ways. Every day, people pass away and a lot is never explained. Deaths happen all the time where the story is not fully shown. People consider who’s at fault for a death like murder, however an accidental death or sudden death can never be completely accidental. Many factors are tied to a death and people or things could have influenced it. In the play Romeo and Juliet that takes place in Verona, Italy, two star-crossed lovers are found dead, both by suicide. This is at the fault of many characters. However, Friar Lawrence is most at fault. He did not try to resolve the feud that was between the Capulet and Montague families, even though they both trusted him. He sent a letter that was important for the lives of…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In every person’s life there are many factors that occur throughout, both negative and positive influences that alter the path one chooses. In the world renowned play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the tragic outcome is brought about by the lovers’ trusted friend, Friar Lawrence. To begin with, Friar Lawrence is to blame for setting the events into motion by marrying Romeo and Juliet. Then, Friar Lawrence is responsible for Juliet receiving the potion that causes everyone to believe that she is truly dead. Finally, Friar Lawrence could have prevented the two deaths by simply making sure that Romeo gets the message as he assured Juliet he would. So ultimately, Friar Lawrence is responsible for the star crossed lovers’ demise, because they wrongly trust the Friar and his influence causes Romeo and Juliet to make all the wrong decisions thus bringing about their downfall.…

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play Friar Laurence had married Romeo and Juliet to each other. The Friars reasoning for this was he believed that this would end the Capulet's and Montague's lifelong feud. The Friar even states that this whole wedding was happening too fast and that they only knew each other for such a short time yet he still married them. The Friar knew that the wedding would end up in a tragedy one way or another.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One of the main reasons that Friar Lawrence is to blame for the bad events in Romeo and Juliet is because he married Romeo to Juliet. If Friar Lawrence did not marry the two and told them not to be together then most of the bad things would not have happened because Romeo and Juliet would not have had to sneak around and risk their lives. From the beginning Friar Lawrence even knew that Romeo did not love Juliet,…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The well known pair of star-crossed lovers in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet are dead, and there is no one to blame. Some still argue fault on the hopeful but not timely Friar, Juliet’s love-blind parents, and the poor lovers themselves, but why wonder a question already answered? Shakespeare reveals in the prologue that fate, their deaths, was inevitable as he orchestrates contrasting personalities, the family rivalry, and utter coincidences to create the perfect storm.…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why is blame so easy to hand out yet so hard to be handed? By definition, blame is the responsibility for a fault or wrongdoing. People tend to blame others or events for the sorrows in their lives, yet most can never stop and accept the repercussions of their own actions. For example, a bad test grade can only put blame onto the taker for not studying or seeking help. Likewise, a mere victim of a random shooting cannot be held accountable for the actions of the shooter, who is blamed fully. However, in the tragic ending of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the plot is full of accusations and offenders, not a single guilty party. When pin pointing blame for the outcome of the play, it can be dispersed across the board. However, there are multiple…

    • 980 Words
    • 4 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