“This alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancour to pure love”
This is ridiculously optimistic in the results the Friar expects this marriage to achieve and he fails to even consider the consequences if this decision backfires. While this could be called optimism and being positive, it is very naïve for someone as wise and intelligent as the Friar to critically overlook such important factors in his decisions. Friar Lawrence’s sympathy and understanding of Romeo presents a good side to his character, in that he immediately can tell that Romeo has been up all night.
“Care keeps his watch in every old man’s eye, and where care lodges, sleep will never lie”
The Friar is clearly a perceptive man, and these qualities show that Friar Lawrence is a wise and sympathetic man. He is able to pick up things very quickly and has a knowledge of human nature. With this nature, it is hard to see why he allowed events in the play to progress in the way that they did, for although much of it can be attributed to misfortune, also some of the blame must lie at the Friar’s door for failing to realise that disaster was awaiting. Although the play is set in a different historical and social context, in that the marriages were allowed to take place within days, rather than months, it is still clear that the marriage was ill conceived and even the Friar makes tacit admissions that it could well be doomed to end in disaster.
“These violent delights often have violent ends”
Therefore at this stage the Friar can see that trouble is brewing and something needs to be done to prevent a violent death, yet he still does nothing to stop the tragic chain of events that are about to unfold. Coupled to this, the Friar also has a mistrust of human nature and knows that it contains both good sides and bad sides.
“In man as well as herbs- grace and rude will; And where the worser is predominant, Full soon the canker death eats up that plant”
Friar Lawrence has admitted that humans have bad sides and that the marriage is probable to end in tears. Thus it must be asked of Friar Lawrence how he managed to overlook such glaring deficiencies in the foundations in which the marriage is grounded. The Friar is again taking an idealistic, if not foolhardy view of the way in which things are likely to end. Maybe it is possible that he is prepared to take the risk for personal gain, in ending the feud. Friar Lawrence even warns Romeo that the marriage shouldn’t be rushed but is still prepared to contradict himself by rushing the marriage through. Friar Lawrence is again demonstrating a lack of the clinical judgement that he needs to demonstrate if events are not to proceed in the way that they do in the play.
Friar Lawrence’s opening soliloquy is used to demonstrate his expansive knowledge of the natural world around him, using horticulture as a metaphor for the rest of the world.
“For nought so vile on the earth doth live,
But to the earth some special good doth give”
This is again showing his wide expertise in all that is in the world and shows us that Friar Lawrence’s knowledge in human nature and herbs is second to none. This soliloquy is used to give us an introduction to Friar Lawrence’s character and his knowledge, but is also perhaps a masked warning of the principles that Friar Lawrence is about to abandon. He acknowledges that some things are good and some things are bad, but however good or bad they are still useful in some way or other, but this is completely in contrast to the way in which he completely goes against this as soon as Romeo asks him to marry Romeo and Juliet. This is a piece of dramatic irony in which Friar Lawrence gives a feeling of foreboding but then surrenders to the optimism of marriage.
Friar Lawrence is both brave and cowardly at the same time at the close of the play. In Act 5 Scene 3 he is prepared to run away and allow Juliet to die, rather than stay and face the consequences of his presence. This is cowardice at its worst, the Friar is completely ducking out of the responsibilities that he has taken on in giving Juliet the sleeping potion, and in his marrying of the couple. Friar Lawrence has submitted to the human nature that he has questioned earlier on in the play. Here there is further use of dramatic irony to condemn Friar Lawrence, though this time he has set out his stall earlier on yet this time sticks to it and proves himself right in his judgement of human nature. Had Friar Lawrence stayed for longer, he may have been able to prevent Juliet from committing suicide.
“ I dare no longer stay”
Friar Lawrence’s cowardice here allows a Juliet to die needlessly, though it could be argued that it was Friar Lawrence’s actions that set in motion the chain of events.
There is a further contradiction as soon as Friar Lawrence leaves the tomb and is confronted by the Capulets and Montagues. He is so ashamed of his cowardice earlier that he confesses all and is even prepared to pay the ultimate penalty for all of his wrongs.
“Let this old life be sacrificed on some hour before this time”
He is therefore perhaps showing the best side of his character that we see. Though he realises that he has committed wrong throughout the play, he is finally able to face up to his actions, and is prepared to sacrifice his life in order to pay the penalty of his actions. This shows that he is both brave and noble in that he is prepared to accept what he has done wrong and stand up and be counted.
All in all, I think that Friar Lawrence is a wise and sympathetic priest who has his heart in the right place, though his character has some serious flaws. He is a good man who was naïve in his judgement that the good side in human nature would allow the marriage to be carried through sagely, even though he made comments about the bad points of human nature that came back to haunt him later on. His lack of careful judgement when he gave Juliet the sleeping potion showed that he hadn’t really fully considered the consequences of his actions before he decided to give Juliet the potion. Friar Lawrence also made the error of not telling Friar John of the extreme importance of his mission, if Friar John had known the full consequences of his task then he may have been able to pass on the correct information to Romeo in time to prevent his tragic suicide. Perhaps the best commendation of the Friar’s character is the Prince of Verona’s judgement at the end of the play,
“We still have known thee for a holy man”
and although this is perhaps symbolic of the high social esteem in which clergy were held in the middle ages, it is more likely a judgement of a wise and sympathetic priest.
