The Controversial Decisions Of Friar Lawrence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

In the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, there are many controversial decisions made primarily by Friar Lawrence that led to the death of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence assisted Romeo and Juliet in getting married without the consent of their parents. He also was responsible for giving Juliet a potion that made her appear dead while she waited for Romeo to return. Lastly, Friar Lawrence made the mistake of trusting somebody else to give Romeo a letter informing him of the potion Juliet took. With Romeo failing to receive the letter from Friar Lawrence he mistakenly thought Juliet was dead, which resulted in him committing suicide. Arguably, Friar Lawrence is held most responsible because of the decisions he made that ultimately

He wrote out a note explaining to Romeo that he gave Juliet a potion to take and what the potion does, which Romeo never ended up receiving. Upon returning from Mantua, Friar John explains, “I could not send it,— here it is again,— Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, So fearful were they of infection” (act 5, scene 2). Friar John was sent to give Romeo the letter but upon his arrival at Mantua he was denied entry. With the exposure of an infection back home, the people of Mantua were fearful of becoming infected and did not allow Friar John in to give Romeo the letter. Expecting to hear a response from Romeo through Friar John, Friar Lawrence is completely responsible for the tragedy. Since Romeo never found out this information and assuming that Juliet was dead, it led him to kill himself.

All in all it is clear to see that Friar Lawrence is to blame for the tragic deaths of Romeo

and Juliet. When Romeo sought out help of Friar Lawrence, Friar Lawrence should not have

interfered with the families ongoing feud. When Friar Lawrence told Juliet to take the potion