GCSE Assignment
Romeo and Juliet
How does the friar try to persuade Romeo not to kill himself?
Friar Lawrence’s offer’s his help by taking Romeo into his cell. The Friar says to Romeo that the Prince’s sentence for him is to be banished from Verona. The dagger was taken away by the nurse from Romeo, when he was about to stab himself. The Friar’s speech begins when he say’s, “Hold thy desperate hand.” The Friar tries to explain to him that the Prince has changed the law especially for Romeo and that he should be happy to be alive, but Romeo ignores this and continues to think that there is no reason for him to be alive any more. When the nurse tells Romeo that Juliet is in the same state as him, Romeo blames himself.
In the first part, he tells Romeo that he is acting like an 'ill-beseeming beast,' his appearance is of a man but his tears are like a woman and his actions are of an uncontrollable beast. The Friar compares Romeo to a usurer who has lots of money but does not use it properly, in the same way the Friar tells Romeo that he is not using his three qualities he has as a man. ''Fie, fie, thou sham'st thy shape, thy love, thy wit, Which, like a usurer, abound'st in all, And usest none in that true use indeed.'' The Friar uses the rule of three when he says, ''thy shape, thy love, thy wit.'' The Friar uses repeated 'S' words to describe this to Romeo, which gives a special effect in these two lines. "Unseemly woman in a seeming man, And ill-beseeming beast in seeming both!" The Friar's use of theoretical questions makes Romeo realize that he is being extremely selfish, and by killing himself not only will he be committing a big sin, but also he will be the cause of Juliet's death who is only living for Romeo. "Wilt thou slay thyself? And slay thy lady that in thy life lives, by doing damned hate upon thyself?" The Friar implies a big responsibility on Romeo when he says "And slay thy lady that in thy life lives,' because he is asking Romeo if he would kill his lady who lives in his life. The Friar explains to Romeo that all good things have met together in him, but by complaining bitterly on his birth, the heaven and the earth he is being ungrateful for what he has, and he would lose all these things if he was to kill himself. ''…Which thou at once wouldst lose.'' The Friar takes each of Romeo's qualities and tells him how unwisely he is using each one. First he tells him that his 'noble shape' is nothing but 'a form of wax,' and his looks are 'digressing' from the 'valour' of a man. This makes Romeo feel that he has the looks of a man but he is not using his manliness properly, instead his looks are moving away from the honour he has with them.
