Friar Lawrence To Blame For The Demise Of Romeo And Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Were Juliet and Romeo destined to end in an early demise, or were they influenced by the people they surround themselves with? The book opens with two families: the Capulets and the Monatgues, who are in an incessant feud. Romeo and Juliet got married to each other, and barely three days went past before the couple ended their lives. Who was to blame for this unsuspecting death one may ask. While Tyablt and the families feud contributed to the downfall of Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence played the biggest role in affecting the fate of Romeo and Juliet.

The families and their feud set the tone when we see the street fight break out. The families created a toxic environment, which prevented Romeo and Juliet from being open

After he saw Romeo lurking at the party for the Capulets, he challenged Romeo to a duel. Of course, Romeo could never back down from a duel so he accepted. Tybalt ends up killing Mercutio and Romeo says “either thou or I, or both, must go with him.” (III,1,134) Out of anger and revenge, Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo had killed him in vengeance, so he was banishèd to Mantua. The married couple had misfortune in their future because they hastily got married and even Friar Lawrence advised Romeo “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” (II,3,101) This quote even foreshadows the ending and tragedy of Romeo and Juliet having people question if they were meant to be together or not. When Romeo got banishèd immediately following their marriage, it was fate pushing them apart. Romeo was suffering as “There is no world without Verona walls, but purgatory, torture, and hell itself.” (III,3,18-19) Being exiled from Verona wouldn’t stop Juliet and Romeo from seeing each other as it had already been too long to stay away from each other. A plan was impulsively put together as Juliet was a wreck knowing Romeo was out there separated from the world, wanting to see her. The plan was poorly thought through, leading to chaos and a confused, misunderstood

While he had good intentions, his plans were not executed fully. Friar Laurence was the one of the first people Romeo would go to when expressing his problems. Romeo informed him about Juliet, and the friar told him he was moving too quickly and “violent delights have violent ends” (II,6,9). Friar Laurence advised him to “love moderately” (II,6,14-15) Even after that crucial advice, the friar agreed to marry them with the desire to bring the two families together and end the feud. The marriage was yet another secret Romeo and Juliet kept leading to their demise. Friar Laurence also encouraged Juliet to fake her own death just to get out of her wedding with Paris that her parents arranged for her. Juliet, being young and ignorant, of course agreed that it would work, without contemplating the flaws in the plan. She believed that there was no other way, and that she would rather “[leap] from off the battlements of any tower” (IV,1,78-79), than marry County Paris. A crucial part of this plan included a letter delivered to Romeo informing him, as it was a way for Romeo to see Juliet. The letter was unable to be delivered causing confusion, and Romeo suspected that Juliet actually killed herself. By the time he realized she was still alive, it was too late, and Romeo had taken a different potion to end his life. With Romeo’s last words being “thus with a kiss I die” (V,3,120), as he was fated