In this essay I will examine the roles of the nurse and Friar Lawrence in 'Romeo and Juliet' in order to determine to what extent they are responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet at the end of the play

Romeo and Juliet.

In this essay I will examine the roles of the nurse and Friar Lawrence in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in order to determine to what extent they are responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet at the end of the play.

Friar Lawrence is Franciscan friar who is good and decent friend to both Romeo and Juliet. He is a kind, civic minded and always ready with a plan; for example the potion he gives to Juliet. Friar Lawrence secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona and to both the Capulet family and the Montague family as they have been sworn enemies to each other as friar Lawrence already knows. His relationship with Romeo is like a father to son relationship as Friar Lawrence does so may fatherly gestures to Romeo for example he likes to tease the young lad and also give advice for him for example before their wedding Friar Lawrence says to Romeo “So smile the heavens upon this holy act, /that after hours with sorrow chide us not”. He tries to advice Romeo to “love moderately”. But in my opinion the relationship is so close between the two because Friar Lawrence always confides Romeo as he did after the killing of Tybalt, Romeo hides in the Friar’s cell, so the friar has to call him out, “Romeo, come forth; come forth, thou fearful man: /affliction is enamour’d of thy parts, /and thou art wedded to calamity”. A person’s “parts” are is qualities, such an honour, courage, etc; the friar is expressing sympathy for poor Romeo because he seems to be married to bad luck.

The nurse; Juliet’s nurse, the woman who breast-fed Juliet when she was a baby and has cared for Juliet her entire life. A vulgar, long-winded, and sentimental character, the Nurse provides comic relief with her frequently inappropriate remarks and speeches. But, until a disagreement near the play’s end, the Nurse is Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo. She provides a contrast with Juliet, given that her view of love is earthy and sexual, whereas Juliet is idealistic and intense. believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking husband, but the idea that Juliet ...

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As Friar Lawrence is like a father to Romeo the nurse is like a mother to Juliet but in amore persuasive way as the nurse is always on the go delivering messages sent or to be delivered to Juliet to other people for instance “Madam, your mother crave a word with you”, the nurse here informs Juliet that her mother is the lady of the house and wants a word with her daughter. As with the Friar and Romeo, Juliet also asks the nurse for advice for instance “What say’st thou? Hast thou not a word of joy? /some comfort, nurse”. The meaning of this is Juliet turns to the nurse for advice after Juliet’s mother and father had left after informing Juliet of her marriage to Paris.

Friar Lawrence played a vital role in the main actions of the play for instance the marriage and the planning and the death of Romeo and Juliet. His attempts to do the right thing were noble, but because of poor planning they would soon lead to the inevitable tragedy.

The rushed marriage, the ill-planning and carelessness of Friar Lawrence lead to the death of Romeo and Juliet. Several references are made to the fate of Romeo; however, this tragedy could have been avoided if the Friar had given a little more thought to the course of his actions. There will be much controversy over what or who was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, but many clues are left by Shakespeare which point in the direction of Friar Lawrence. The responsibility of their deaths will continue to be debated for many years to come. “For never was a story of more woe/ than this of Juliet and her Romeo”

In my opinion the nurse doesn’t play such a vital role to compare with Friar Lawrence that his, her contributions didn’t cause to the deaths of the lovers. The nurse’s main contributions to the play were helping Juliet obtain information about Romeo by being a messenger for the lovers and she also defends her when her father insults her, she also advise her to marry Paris.

So in conclusion I think that it’s the Friar who instigated the death of Romeo and Juliet and not the Nurse.