Although Friar Lawrence is not mentioned a lot in the plot, he still plays a central role. He is the person who marries the couple, in spite of his doubts. He knows how fickle Romeo is, and he knows that only a day ago, he was pining away for Rosaline. He also thinks that it is too early to marry a couple whom only met yesterday. The Friar says,
“Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!
Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear,
So soon forsaken?
Young men’s love then lies
Not truly in their hearts but in their eyes.”
Friar Lawrence advises Romeo after the death of Tybalt. He tells him to pull himself together. He is a bit harsh to Romeo and tells him that he should be happy for the many things that he has got.
“And thou disembered with thine own defence.
What, rouse thee man, thy Juliet is alive,
For whose dear sake thou wast but lately dead.
There art thou happy. Tybalt would kill thee,
But thou slewest Tybalt; there art thou happy.
The law that threatened death becomes thy friend,
And turns it to excile; there, art thou happy.”
Friar Lawrence tells Romeo he is lucky. When Juliet is being forced to marry Paris, Friar Lawrence is there for her. She is distraught and threatens to kill herself rather than marry Paris.
“Tell me not Friar, that thou hearest of this,
Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it.
If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help,
Do thou but call my resolution wise,
And with this knife I’ll help it presently.
God joined my heart and Romeo’s, thou our hands;
And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo’s sealed.”
This tells us that if Friar Lawrence does not help her, she will kill herself, because she doesn’t want to marry Paris, and she’s already married to Romeo.
Friar Lawrence gives Juliet poison and tells her that it will make her unconscious for forty-eight hours. She will look dead, and be taken to the tomb where the dead people are. He promises Juliet that Romeo will be there when she awakes. The Friar also promises to keep Romeo informed of what happens in Verona. But, when he sends a message to Romeo, telling him that Juliet is going to fake her death, the message doesn’t get there. At the time, there was a plague and there would have been soldiers guarding the borders of Verona, not letting any messengers through incase they carried the plague. Therefore, the message saying that Juliet had faked her death didn’t get through to Romeo. However, the message saying that Juliet had died got through. I think this was just bad luck because Friar Lawrence was a holyman and would not have wanted any harm to come to anyone.
When Juliet awakes, Friar Lawrence is there. Juliet then finds Romeo dead beside her. Friar Lawrence doesn’t know what to do. Juliet is obviously terribly upset because her lover is dead. Friar Lawrence wants to protect her, and says that he will put her in a nunnery so that she doesn’t have to marry Paris. He is very afraid. He knows how strict Juliet’s father is and by marrying her to a Capulet, he has committed a terrible crime. He is scared of getting caught. He says,
“I dare no longer stay!”
Juliet then kills herself with Romeo’s sword when the Friar leaves.
Eventually, when the families are grieving outside the tomb, the Friar goes back with great courage, and explains to the two families what exactly happened. Romeo’s mother is already dead, and now, Romeo is dead. The prince is devastated that something as crude as this has happened in his town. He wants answers.
“Till we can clear these ambiguities!”
Friar Lawrence finally starts his speech. He tells them that Romeo was Juliet’s husband, and she didn’t want to marry Paris. He told them that she told him she would kill herself if he did not help her. He then explained how the sleeping potion worked and how she looked dead. He tells them that maybe if he’d have been braver and stayed in the tomb, none of this would have happened and Juliet wouldn’t have forced violence upon herself. He also tells his audience that the nurse knew about the marriage. The letter that the prince has confirms what the Friar has just explained and they all believe him. I think when the Friar is explaining what happened, he is feeling quite guilty. I think he is especially guilty when he says that maybe if he’d have been braver, Juliet wouldn’t have killed herself. I think this is where he admits guilt.
At the end of the play, the prince tells everyone that due to the deaths of the two families’ children, they should realise how stupid they have been, and should be united. They agree. I think that now, the Friar is feeling better, because he knows that he has caused trouble but it was for the best. He has united two feuding families, so he feels comforted. I think the Friar Lawrence is responsible for the deaths of the lovers in a way, because he was very irresponsible for marrying Juliet without her father knowing. However, he thought that if he married the couple, their families would unite through love because they would realise that they should be happy because their children were, and they were now related. Instead, they became united through death. I think Friar Lawrence acted in good faith because if he hadn’t have helped Juliet there and then, she would have killed herself. He was not to know that she would die in the end. I think in a way, Shakespeare wanted us to feel sorry for the Friar. Although he gave Juliet the potion, he was not responsible for everything that happened. I think he is a good man, because in the end, he made the two feuding families see how stupid they were being and united them.
I think the Friar Lawrence had a very important part to play in the tragedy, and its only at the end that you find out what an honest, courageous man he is.
By Leanne Le Poidevin