To what extent is Friar Lawrence responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

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George Drury 11a

To what extent is Friar Lawrence responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

Friar Lawrence is partially responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, however I believe he is not totally responsible. There are also other characters that have reason to be held responsible for the deaths of the ‘star-crossed’ lovers.

Friar Lawrence was the man who married the two. This marriage caused a lot of the problems which led up to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. For example if they had not been married Juliet would not have been so obliged to marry Paris and would not have had to take the potion that made Romeo think she was dead. Also Friar Lawrence supplied Juliet with the remedy which brings on a cataleptical affect (a death-like appearance). Because of this Juliet was thought dead and Romeo killed himself which in turn led to the death of Juliet upon waking.

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However the deaths of the two lovers can also be blamed upon the feud between the two families. This is because the ‘ancient feud’ is the basis that Romeo and Juliet had to get married behind their parents’ backs, because their families would not allow the two to be together. If the families did not dislike each other then Romeo and Juliet’s marriage would not have happened in secrecy and Juliet. Romeo may have been accepted by the Capulet family and given permission to take Juliet’s hand in marriage. This would obviously have avoided the deaths of both the characters.

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