Friar Lawrence Responsible For The Downfall Of Romeo And Juliet

Tarek Kasim
English
Romeo and Juliet Essay
Mr. Logalbo

Friar Laurence was responsible for the downfall of Romeo and Juliet. He is accountable for the downfall of these two as a result of the various blunders he made throughout the play. Kelly Glorioso of Townsen University states, “…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”. The first of the major mistakes he made was giving Juliet the potion that would give off the impression of her being dead. This was, from the start, a very risky proposal. Another mistake was that he had sent the letter to the now banished Romeo without thinking about the consequences that would ensue if

“Who bare my letter, then, to Romeo?” “I could not send it—here it is again— Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, So fearful were they of infection.” The play was set during the time of the Plague, which spread rapidly across Europe killing millions in its path. This fear made mail obsolete as people in neighboring kingdoms/regions refused mail due to the risk of contamination. The Friar had not taken this into account when attempting to inform Romeo of his plan. So the letter sent to Romeo never reached him, leaving Romeo to believe that Juliet was dead and that he had nothing more to live for. Friar Laurence did not realize this at the time, and sent the letter not knowing that Romeo would take his own life as a result of Juliet’s supposed “death”. The fast-paced assembly of the Friar’s plan had once again added to bringing around the young couple’s downfall. In conclusion, Friar Laurence was responsible for the demise of Romeo and Juliet. He was responsible for their downfall because of his lack of patience, inability to assess the situation carefully and a lack of carefully making judgments and decisions in a rational way. He rushed his proposed solutions and did not think ahead. Though the Friar had good intentions, his inexperience with younger people such as Romeo and Juliet, who were merely kids, caused him to make blunders and not clearly assess the impact his decisions would have. By wedding the two and not telling the families, he increased the magnitude of the implications that would follow if the families found out. He also gave Juliet a potion that would aid her in faking her own death, but he did not consider what could happen if the plan backfired. Finally, he sent the letter informing Romeo of Juliet Faking her death but he did