Analyse the Dramatic Impact of the Friar

Nabeel Ali 10A

In this essay, the role of Friar Lawrence and his dramatic impact on the story will be discussed. I will discuss on how Friar Lawrence, behaves different and the same as a stereotypical holy man.

Friar Lawrence shows many different roles during the play, both positive and negative. He has a spiritual and parental influence on Romeo and Juliet, even more so that Lawrence is shown closer with a better bond with Romeo than his actual father Montague. When Lawrence and Romeo encounter, they usually speak in rhyming couplets, thus creating a further effect on how close he is with Romeo. “Thou chid’st me oft for loving Rosaline.” “For doting, not for loving, pupil mine.” “That last is true: the sweeter rest was mine. God pardon sin! Wast thou with Rosaline.” These rhyming couplets help the audience understand on how close the Friar and Romeo have, this is superb writing as these are a sign of things to come on how the Friar intertwines with Romeo’s life. The positive role of the friar was that he always carried good intensions but failed to implement them. This is shown where he at first he hesitates on fulfilling Romeo’s request on marrying him to Juliet, but after a while of thought reconsiders that the marriage of their daughter and son will bring an end to the on pursuing feud between the two families. “For this alliance may be so happy prove. To turn your households rancour to pure love.” This however pulls the Friar away from our typical noble holy man, whose job is to only lead people in the right directions in life. Moreover, the friar marries of Romeo and Juliet without their parent’s consent. This shows a very dark and ambiguous character of the friar. On stage he is used as device, particularly a catalyst as speeds up the marriage and death of both Romeo and Juliet. It’s very ironic as the friar had good intensions as when they are married, peace might come between the two families. Unfortunately, he makes the peace between the families by killing both their children, where as his intension was that the marriage would bring peace not the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet.

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Lawrence provides the play with two main themes and contrasts good and evil. Lawrence through out the play he describes and differentiates the good and bad aspects of different objects “For nought so vile that on earth doth live. But to the earth some special good doth give.” He explains that there are vile and fine things on this earth, but if something is abused it can have harmful effects. He even makes comparisons among plants to human nature as a plant can produce a remedy, which can cure or kill. “Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied. And vice sometime by action dignified.” This theme gives the friar a very important hint to the audience, as the play will end in some kind of tragedy. He also bonds fate in with what has occurred as he has tried to reconcile both opposites. His opposites focuses on the aspects of how fate and reality both bond together, in short are being almost a philosopher or a fortune-teller. He uses the words, phrases and sentences throughout the play to signify this, but almost gives the audience some indication or future hints in puzzling actions for the final outcome of the play. The puzzling actions referring to his rhyming couplets, speeches etc, that something will go incorrect or dreadful will eventually happen to both Romeo and Juliet. The friar’s theme and dramatic impact ultimately, is giving the audience hints of something awful revolving fate reality will happen to Romeo and Juliet.

The friar has a dramatic impact mainly on Romeo and Juliet. Unlike other holy men, Lawrence takes his own authority to marry two children of feuding families. He has a great influence on the audience as he tries to make the right decision and judgements, and the audience is enticed of what he would do to make amends. He also has an influence on both Romeo and Juliet as he is able to stop them committing suicide for short amount of time. He acts as an eponymous protagonist. His most two crucial dramatic impacts on the play revolve around the secret marriage, and the final poison that both Romeo and Juliet take to end their lives. The marriage displaying itself to the audience makes a major dramatic impact, as it is the friar who finalises the marriage. However, much like the theme the marriage represents both positive and negative impacts on all the characters. The positive impacts on the characters are only on Romeo and Juliet, as the marriage gives them happiness the impacts being serenity and clarity as a marriage is a joyous festival. However, it also has a negative impact as it shows a devious friar, who marries off to children without any of their parents consent. The poison creates another huge dramatic impact on all of the characters, created by the friar. It follows the same theme, as the negative impact results the death of both lovers from drinking the fatal poison. On the other hand, the positive impact is that it finally ends the horrendous feud among the families.

In conclusion the friar should have taken his own advice, which he gave to both Romeo and Juliet as not to be so hasty. However, the friar’s dramatic impact was fabulous, as the author really thought of the best character to fit the role.

Analyse the Dramatic Impact of the Friar

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