Mistakes Of Friar Lawrence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Many people have debated over the years, who is behind the death of the lovestruck pair Romeo and Juliet. While it is hard to choose just one person, as there are plenty of people who played a role in this whole ordeal, it is my personal belief that the person most at fault is Friar Lawrence. Many may believe that he was innocent because he tried to bring the pair together, but it was his choices that had the greatest impact on their lives. He could have easily stopped the whole ordeal by paying closer attention to the situation going on around Romeo and Juliet. He could have chosen to not wed the pair, as well as informing the prince about the situation before it became dire. He should have known better than to have given Juliet the sleeping potion. There were clearly so many things he could have done to avoid all the deaths.

In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence’s horrible decision making led to Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. One example of the Friar’s mislead decision making is when he decided to go against his own better judgment and officiate Romeo and Juliet's wedding, Friar Laurence knew the shallowness of Romeo’s love hinting that “thy love did read by rote and could not spell.” (2.3.17). The Friar agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet even though he knew that Romeo was not truly in love. Although the Friar knew what the right decision was he decided to officiate the wedding, this mistake was the beginning of Romeo and Juliet’s downfall.

The last of the many mistakes that Friar Laurence made, that led to the series of tragic events, was agreeing to perform the marriage ceremony for the two lovers. “Thy love did not

Throughout the whole story there is always a confusion for what the plan was or what the next step was. Friar Laurence was just trying to help Romeo and Juliet and when doing so it resulted in a lot of confusion. For one instance Balthasar was given the letter from friar Laurence. In that letter it contains the news that Juliet was alive. All Balthasar had to do was to give the letter to Romeo but of course something went something went wrong and Romeo never got the letter. That was one of the biggest confusion that caused a very big point in the play. Romeo went to go visit Juliet at the tomb because he thought she was dead. He was so devastated that he drank some poison to kill himself so he could be with Juliet. Just minutes later Juliet woke up from her coma and was alive, and by her was Romeo who was dead. If Romeo would have received the letter he would have known the truth, and Romeo and Juliet could have lived happily ever after. Except we all know in stories that there always is a problem in a story. In this particular story it resulted in much tragedy. All of this was caused because of the confusion brought in from friar Laurence. He didn't make sure that Romeo knew that, so in the end everything went wrong. This problem could have been avoided it friar Laurence would have made the plan more organized and made sure everyone knew what was happening before Juliet took the remedy.

Friar Lawrence made a plan, but still managed to fail the most important aspect, sending a message to Romeo informing him of the plan. When Juliet had taken the potion Friar Lawrence was supposed to send a message to Romeo explaining what his plan was to bring the two together. Friar Lawrence sent Friar John to send the letter. On Friar John’s journey a plague broke out and in fear of catching disease he was not able to deliver the message to Romeo.

1. Friar Lawrence makes many mistakes in Romeo and Juliet, perhaps the biggest two being marrying Romeo and Juliet without telling anyone and leaving Juliet all alone in the tomb. Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet for a good reason, hoping to “turn your households’ rancour to pure love. (2.3.99)” Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet to try and from peace between both the Capulets and Montagues, but it only works after both of them die. On top of this, Friar Lawrence makes another mistake when he leaves Juliet in the tomb even though she has just seen her beloved husband die. Friar Lawrence leaves because “I hear some noise…I dare no longer stay. (5.3.156-164)” Without even trying to help Juliet, he exits while Juliet is in a tomb surrounded by a just dead Romeo and many of her ancestors. This foolish move on Friar Lawrence gets Juliet killed, bringing the death total up to five, which later totals six.

Friar Laurence is careless, his actions of carelessness really showed when the letter was never given to Romeo. This letter was to inform him that Juliet was not actually dead, she just appeared it. Romeo never getting the letters was a huge concern for Juliet. He was lazy and had Friar John go deliver the letters to Romeo back in Mantua,

Trusting Friar John to send the letter to Romeo was Friar Lawrence’s next big mistake. Romeo should have received the letter which would explain everything before Juliet drinks the potion. Friar definitely made the wrong decision to give the letter to Friar John to give to Romeo. A matter as important as faking a death is something that should have been dealt with personally. If Friar Lawrence had personally delivered the letter, the plan would have gone more smoothly. Friar John shows his inability to deliver the letter when he says, “I could not send it- here it is again - nor get a messenger to bring it thee, so fearful were they of infection” (5, 2, 14-16). Meaning that during Friar John’s trip to Mantua he was quarantined due to an outbreak

The play Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, is plagued with death and misfortune. A very controversial topic is who is to blame for the unfortunate deaths of Romeo and Juliet, however any educated mind can easily see past the ‘smoke and mirrors’ and see that Friar Laurence is obviously the killer in disguise. Everything he has done has paved the way for Romeo and Juliet’s life to come to an untimely death. Even that he didn’t know that his actions could lead to fatal consequences, he was being too careless, such as when he married Romeo and Juliet only thinking that it would end the feud between the two families and also when he devised a plan without thinking what would happened if he failed. Friar Laurence could be seen as being heroic when attempting to end the fighting between the families by allowing Romeo and Juliet to marry each other.

Friar Laurence rather takes the “easy” way out because he never tries to help Romeo and Juliet reveal to their families their love for each other. For instance, Friar Laurence states, “Come, come with me, and we will make short work, / For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone / Till holy church incorporate two in one” (2.6.35-37).

The Friar believed he was doing the right thing by marrying Romeo and Juliet since there was a chance it may end the quarrel between the two families. “Thy love did read by rote, and could not spell. But come, young waverer, come go with me. In one respect I’ll thy assistant be; For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancour to pure love. (Shakespeare II.iii. 91-95).” Even though the Friar saw some personal benefits in this marriage, such as he would be considered a hero for the reconciliation of the families, he did not consider the consequences on Romeo and Juliet’s behalf; the two will barely get to see each other or show their affection publicly. The distance between Romeo and Juliet instigated their sadness. If the Friar had never married them, they could have potentially lost feelings for each other like Romeo did with Rosaline. They also may have came to the realization that they cannot be together due to their feuding

Romeo is in Friar Laurence's cell and is asking him to marry Juliet and himself. He agrees to marry them. Friar Lawrence said “ But come, young waverer, come, go with me, / In one respect, I’ll thy assistant be,”(2.3.89-90). As a result of Friar Laurence agreeing to marry Romeo and Juliet, he encouraged their love, and created a stepping stone for more poorly made decisions in the future. He knew that their families would not agree, and were rivals. This promise leads to Friar doing what he can to protect

Friar Laurence,though he thought he was doing the right thing for the young teens, he really had a bad judgment.He carried the burden of their deaths forever. If he had delivered the message of Juliet’s death being fake, Romeo wouldn’t have gone to the apothecary and gotten a poison to kill himself. Instead of helping and supporting them to disclose their love situation, he looked for and chose “easy” way out of the sticky situation. He submitted to their dreams and hopes. He married Romeo and Juliet instead of encouraging them to come forth their families with the information about their affair As a result of their hidden affair, their stronger bond grew even stronger withen them was created when marriage: "For, by your leaves, you

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a play filled with love and tragedy. Two lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, meet at a feast and get married the next day. Although unforeseen events guided by fate- such as the rivalry between the Montagues and Capulets, the meeting between the two children, and the plague in the messenger’s town- are a huge factor in the play’s unhappy ending, it is ultimately Romeo and Juliet’s foolishness that leads to their demise.

The deaths of Romeo and Juliet in William Shakespeare's play are both tragic and dramatic. Although much could have been done to prevent their suicides, these "star-crossed lovers" ultimately are not able to avoid their destiny. A series of unfortunate circumstances result in disaster, and even though many people could be to blame for their deaths, Friar Lawrence, themselves and their parents play a particularly integral role.