At the beginning of the play, Romeo is deeply in love with Juliet’s cousin, Rosaline. But having met Juliet at the Capulet ball he declares that he has fallen deeply in love with her. Tybalt then sees Romeo at the ball, which he is outraged at because Romeo is part of the Montague family, and tries to fight him but is stopped by Capulet. That night after the ball Romeo meets with Juliet and they decide to marry but with only the nurse and Frair Lawrence knowing. Romeo then goes to see Frair Lawrence to ask if he would perform the marriage between himself and Juliet but not tell anyone, but Frair Lawrence has his doubts that this love is not true, this is confirmed by the passage “ young men’s love lies not truly in their hearts but in their eyes”. Friar then agrees with Romeo to marry them because he realises that it could bring the two families together, this shown when he says “in one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happily prone, to turn your households rancour to pure love”. I believe that Frair Lawrence was right to agree to marry Romeo and Juliet because it could stop the fighting and feuding between the two families and bring them closer together.
Whilst Romeo confides in Frair Lawrence, Juliet describes her thoughts and feelings to her nurse, after she does this the nurse then tells Juliet how she feels that Juliet is like a daughter to her because she used to have a daughter but she died so she became Juliet’s wet nurse when Juliet was young. The nurse agrees to help them marry by seeing Romeo to ask him when and where the marriage will take place, this shows that the nurse is very loyal to Juliet but she is also very loud and bawdy. I believe that the nurse was right to help out Juliet because Juliet had no other way of contacting Romeo and could stop the fighting and feuding between the two families and bring them closer together.
Once Romeo has killed Tybalt, when avenging the death of his friend Mercutio, he again comes to Frair Lawrence for help, Frair Lawrence then helps Romeo by hiding him in Mantua. Friar Lawrence plans to send Romeo to Mantua whilst Juliet takes a poison to make her play dead for 42 hours, then he sends a letter to Romeo telling him about the plan and then they will reunite. I think Friar Lawrence should not have helped Romeo after he killed Tybalt, not only because he killed tybalt but also could see that it was not meant to be, and he did not act responsible.
When news reaches the Capulet family about Tybalt’s death, Juliet’s parents, worried that she is grieving too much, command her to marry Paris, a relative of the prince of Verona. Juliet then confides in the nurse and asks what to do, the nurse replies “beshrew my very heart, I think you are happy in this second match, for it excels your first, or if it did not, your fist is dead, or’t were a good he were, as living here, and you no use to him”. From then on the nurse is no longer sympathetic to her, so Juliet, like Romeo, goes to Friar Lawrence for help.
Juliet then pleads with friar Lawrence to help her, he then takes her to his cell and gives her a poison for her to take, it will make her appear dead for 42 hours whilst friar Lawrence will write to Romeo telling him about what is happening and for him to come and met her as she awakes. I believe that once again the friar has done wrong again, he is putting the two lovers lives in danger. Romeo dose not receive the letter as his friend tells him of Juliet’s death before the letter comes so Romeo goes to meet Juliet but believing that she is dead. Romeo then sees her and kills himself but whilst he is dieing Juliet awakes and sees Romeo dieing so she then kills herself. I believe that friar Lawrence is responsible for the death of the lovers because he came up with the plan and when it did not work out he still persisted to reunite them.
I also believe that Juliet’s parents should not have pushed her into marrying Paris but can be romeo and Juliet’s fault because they had only just met each other when they decided to marry, so they ran into things a little too fast.
