To what extent is Friar Lawrence responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet ?
Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare in 1597. At this time the Elizabethan view of love was that a man should fall in love with the woman and not the other way round. Once the man shows his feelings, the woman should spurn him to keep her good name. He becomes very sad and upset, he becomes lovesick, writes poetry and doesn’t eat or sleep until things change. This is portrayed by Romeo’s actions towards Roseline. This was the view of the aristocratic classes. There are other types of love in which they believed. These are sexual love, which can be described as pure lust, dutiful love, which is the love for your family, an arranged marriage or out of duty such as Juliet and Paris. There is also true love. The Friar is linked to both families through the church and religion. He is a very keen gardener and he loves his flowers and herbs. The Friar acts as a confidant to Romeo and he knows everything about Romeo and all his secrets because Romeo tells him everything. Friar Lawrence is aware of the family feud between the Montague’s and the Capulets and comforts both Juliet and Romeo. He thinks them getting together will end the feud. “For this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancour to pure love”.
The Friar cannot be held totally responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet because fate and destiny and the stars had predicted their deaths. The nurse played a big part in the wedding and the plan and so is also responsible. The family feud and the parents were also responsible because the plan wouldn’t have needed to be used if they were allowed to be married and were not in a feud. Friar Lawrence is partly responsible for the lover’s deaths because although he knew about the family feud and how it would anger both sets of parents if the wedding took place, he still allowed, and in fact performed, the wedding without consulting their parents. This action played a huge part in their deaths. The Friar knew that the wedding could end in something bad or even death. “These violent delights have violent ends” is what he said during the wedding ceremony, which shows he knew that something could go wrong but thought he was doing the right thing. After the wedding the Friar comforts both Romeo and Juliet when things are going wrong and encourages them not to commit suicide. In the end he makes a plan which leads to their deaths anyway. The Friar wanted Romeo and Juliet to be together so much that he risked lives and trouble. He devised a plan that could work perfectly or could cost lives. The first step of the plan, after the banishment, was to get Romeo to Mantua- “sojourn in Mantua” This was so the Friar could get a letter to Romeo about Juliet’s death then come back to Verona and take Juliet and they can live in Mantua happily ever after. We don’t know exactly why the Friar chose Mantua but must have known it well or know how to get there. Due to Romeo going to Mantua and not receiving the letter, the whole plan went wrong leading to the lover’s deaths. Friar Lawrence has a plan that Juliet might pretend to die. She could be buried then go and live with Romeo. A potion that the Friar possesses sends a person into a deep sleep for 42 hours and they appear dead. In giving Juliet this potion, “take this vial, being then in bed and this distilling liquor drink though off” he contributes considerably to the eventual deaths of Romeo and Juliet. When Friar Lawrence realises that his plan has gone wrong, and Romeo didn’t get the letter he decides “Now must I to the monument alone…..but I will write again to Mantua”. When Juliet wakes up and realises that Romeo is dead she wants to kill herself but the Friar encourages her to join the “Sisterhood”, which was a coward’s way out as to not put her in the publics’ eye. This way he doesn’t get blamed.
