Is Friar Lawrence to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet

Although Friar Lawrence has his doubts the marriage takes place in Act 2 Scene 6. Before vows are exchanged the Friar warns Romeo to slow things down and compares their love to the sweetest honey, "The sweetest honey is loathsome in his own deliciousness, And in the taste confounds the appetite. Therefore love moderately, long love doth so; Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow." meaning that their love is good, but if they rush it they will lose their feelings for each other.

Friar Lawrence is wrong to hold the secret wedding because it is going against the couples parents who haven't yet given their approval for the marriage the Friar is wrong to assume that the wedding will unite the families.

When Romeo is to be banished from Verona after killing Tybalt in Act 3 Scene 1 he hides out at Friar Lawrence's Cell this is another mistake of Friar Lawrence's because a man of the church should not be breaking the law.

Romeo is sent away Juliet's father agrees to let Paris marry his daughter. Juliet begs the Nurse for help but all she can advise her to do is forget about Romeo, so Juliet comes to Friar Lawrence saying asking for help and unless she can prevent this marriage she will take her own life, "If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, Do thou call my resolution wise, And with this knife I'll help it presently." Friar Lawrence devises a plan to fake Juliet's death by putting her into a death-like sleep to save her from marrying Paris then later reuniting Romeo and Juliet in Mantua where Romeo is.

Friar Lawrence has now forgotten his original plans of removing the feud between the two families and is trying to save Romeo and Juliets relationship, this is only causing Friar Lawrence to get more involved in the couple and resting the blame on him because Romeo and Juliet are relying on him to help them.

Juliet returns to her father agreeing to marry Paris, and later that night takes the potion to fake her death. In Act 4 Scene 5 her funeral takes place. Meanwhile Friar Lawrence orders Friar John to deliver a message to Romeo explaining the plan, but Friar John is unable to deliver the message because there is a plague outbreak. After receiving the news from Balthasar of Juliet's death, Romeo decides to commit suicide next to Juliet's supposedly dead body "Well, Juliet, I will rest with thee tonight," Romeo buys a poison from a man in Mantua and leaves for Verona.

In Act 5 Scene 2 Friar John arrives at Lawrence's cell to inform him that the letter could not be delivered because of the plague. Friar Lawrence goes to the tomb where she is asleep and finds Romeo and Paris both dead as he enters Juliet awakes. Friar Lawrence tries to get Juliet to leave the tomb with him "Stay not to question, for the watch is coming. Come, go good Juliet, I dare no longer stay" and offers to keep her safe in a sisterhood of nuns. Friar Lawrence leaves quickly as the guards come to see Juliet stab herself. Friar Lawrence leaving meant Juliet could stab herself unchallenged, this was another mistake of Lawrence's if he had stayed then she wouldn't have been able to kill herself.

In Act 5 Scene 3 Friar Lawrence confesses his sins and explains how takes blame for the deaths of Rome and Juliet. "And here I stand both to impeach and purge Myself condemned, and myself excused." Friar Lawrence obviously played the biggest part in the star crossed lovers fate. His plans to unite the two hateful families failed tragically and ended up getting him into serious trouble. Although the other characters deserve some blame, none of them became so involved in Romeo and Juliet's relationship like Friar Lawrence who should stand guilty of the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

Niall Bradnick 11G1