Is Friar Lawrence Guilty for the Untimely Death of Romeo and Juliet Essay Example

is ironic because in the end Romeo is the one who kills Tybalt, his cousin-in-law, and Romeo never had anything to do with the feud. Capulet is another character to blame for the death of the two lovers as it was he who insists on Juliet marrying Paris.

If Capulet hadn't of done this then Friar Lawrence would never have had to come up with his dangerous plot therefore Romeo and Juliet ultimately they would not have killed themselves. Even after Mercutio's death and Romeo's banishment, Friar Lawrence did not see the hostility of Romeo and Juliet's marriage. Instead he continued to attempt to keep Romeo and Juliet as a couple. The plan he devised for this, however, was short sighted, poorly thought out, and ultimately very risky.

In Act 2, Scene 6, Lawrence risks his reputation as a friar when he marries Romeo and Juliet although by this stage in the play many other important things have already happened which Friar Lawrence was not included in which makes him a less crucial character in the play. This seems irresponsible of him because they are so young but he goes ahead with it because he thinks it will help end the feud and unite the two families instead of secretly marrying Romeo and Juliet, he should have encouraged them to confront their families about their love for one another.

As a result of their marriage, a stronger bond was created between them than before. Friar Lawrence only married them through good intentions but it all lead to disaster. None of the tragedies would have occurred if he hadn't of married Romeo and Juliet. Interestingly, the audiences don’t actually

see Friar Lawrence marrying the couple which makes him seem a bit less responsible in a way. After the wedding, Romeo is almost suicidal; wallowing in self pity and Friar Lawrence has the difficult job of trying to cheer him up by convincing him how lucky he is to finally be married to Juliet.

Friar Lawrence’s advice to Romeo is important because it shows Friar Lawrence being caring towards Romeo. At the end of this scene Romeo leaves, happily, to join Juliet on their wedding night; Friar Lawrence’s counseling has worked. The most crucial point in the play is when Romeo is banished and Friar Lawrence promises to send word to him about Juliet and everything that is going on in Verona but in the end it is poor communication that leads to disaster. Before Friar Lawrence can tell Romeo about his plot with Juliet, Romeo receives word from Balthazar about what he believes to be the death of Juliet.

The audience blame Friar Lawrence for this as he was the one to come up with the dangerous plot in the first place but he had to devise a plan in haste and desperation so that Juliet would not kill herself. Juliet says 'I long to die, if what thou speakst speak not of remedy' so there is a lot of pressure on the Friar to come up with a scheme and the only reason he thinks she'll agree to his scheme is because she has the strength to kill herself, so he believes that she will have the strength of will to follow his scheme.

The audience blame Friar Lawrence for Romeo not receiving word about Juliet

because he promised he would send word but he did send Friar John to Mantua with a message for Romeo, Balthazar just got their quicker. The undelivered message to Romeo is essentially not Friar Lawrence’s fault as he was not the one that was delivering it, it was in fact a quirk of fate that Friar John was locked up in a suspected plague house and could not deliver the message to Romeo in Mantua.

Throughout the whole novel, Friar Lawrence was kind and caring towards Juliet, but when she finds Romeo dead he lacks concern for her and is very impetuous. He quickly proclaims that Romeo and Paris are both dead and that she is headed for a convent. He seems unconcerned about Juliet's welfare and seems worried only for his own sake. In the Franco Zeffirelli film version, the audience see the Friar running out of the Capulet crypt, abandoning Juliet as he shouts “I dare no longer stay! ” four times.

This is very careless of him as the immediate consequence of his abandoning of Juliet is that she kills herself which she mightn't have done if the Friar hadn't left. We do not see the Friar again in the film and also in the Zeffirelli version, we do not see the Prince excusing Friar Lawrence for what he has done which may make the audience think he is a bit more liable for what happened. In the Baz Luhrmann film version, the audience see Friar Lawrence being arrested and being brought back to the crypt to explain himself.

It is there where the Prince excuses Friar Lawrence and says he is not guilty for

what has happened, in this scene we see Friar Lawrence almost regretful of what he has done and when he tells their parents his speech is completely honest. In the end, the Friar isn't actually blamed and ironically his approval to marry Romeo and Juliet seems worthwhile as he finally attains peace between the Capulets and the Montagues. The audience watching this version of the film will feel different than those who watch the Zeffirelli version.

Friar Lawrence had nothing to do with the feud between the two families. Essentially he had to fix the problem that was already there. In the end, Romeo and Juliet were buried together; there is peace between the two families. Friar Lawrence has done what he intended to do except there has been many tragedies. Personally I think that the death of both Romeo and Juliet had not much to do with Friar Lawrence’s scheme but more to do with fate.