Yet Another Romeo And Juliet Essay, Research Paper
Romeo and Juliet is
one of Shakespeare’s plays about tragedy. It is about two
lovers who commit suicide when their feuding famillies
prevent them from being together. The play has many
characters, each with its own role in keeping the plot line.
Some characters have very little to do with the plot but some
have the plot revolving around them. Friar Lawrence does
not have very much time on stage but the time he does have
is crucial to the plot line. Through his words Friar Lawrence
demonstrates the he is a good intentioned, yet sometimes
short-sighted, man who is not afraid to take risks to help
others One of Friar Lawrences most favourable traits is how
good intentioned he is. He may do something out of the
ordinary if he thinks the outcome will help someone he cares
for. For example, when he says "In one respect I’ll thy
assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn
your households rancour to pure love."(Act 2, Scene 3), he
is saying that the only reason he will marry Romeo and Juliet
is because he hopes that the marriage will end the hostilities
between the two houses. When he says "Shall Romeo by my
letters know our drift, and hither shall he come; and he and I
shall watch thy waking, and that very night shall Romeo bear
thee to Mantua." (Act 4, Scene 1), he tells Juliet how
everything will be all right. Unfortunately, for all his good
intentions the play still ends in tragedy. Friar Lawrence is a
man who is not afraid to take risks when he feels it is
neccesary to help someone. For example in Act 2, Scene 6,
when he marries Romeo and Juliet, he is risking his
reputation as a Friar so he can help the two lovers. Also,
when he says &q
distilled liquor drink though off;" (Act 4, Scene 1), he is
suggesting that Juliet drink a potion so that she might feighn
her own death and avoid marrying Paris. This is an
extremely risky thing to do because anything might happen
to Juliet while she unconscious. Even after all Friar did to
help Romeo and Juliet the play still ended in tragedy because
of Friar Lawrences’ short sightedness. When the Friar
married Romeo Juliet in secrecy, he did not think of all the
complications that would arise but instead went on with the
marriage because at that time he thought it was the right thing
to do. In Act 4, Scene 1, he gave Juliet a sleeping potion
without thinking of the possible outcomes of such an
outrages plan. He admits that much of the fault of the
tragedy lies in his hands when he says "And her I stand both
to impeach and purge myself condemned and myself
excused", and when he say "Her nurse is privy; and, if aught
in this miscarried by myself…" (Act 5, Scene 3). Although
Friar Lawrence does not have an especially large role, his
role is none the less important. It is because of his good
intentions that he was willing to help his friends that Romeo
and Juliet were married – a key event in the play. It is
because of his willingness to take risks for his friends that
Juliet aqquired the sleeping potion – another key event in the
play. Finally, it was the shortsightedness of his actions that in
part led to the deaths of the two lead characters. This
demonstartes that Friar Lawrence was a man who was a
man with good intentions who was willing to take risks to
help his frieneds. If he had been any other way, the play
might not have turned out the way it did.