Friar Lawrence Is Responsible For The Death Of Romeo And Juliet

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Who do you think people trusted during the Elizabethan period? In Shakespeare 's play Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence’s role as a member of the Order of St. Francis, he is presented as a holy man who is trusted and respected by the other characters. Romeo and Juliet trusted Friar Lawrence entirely, turning to him for advice. Even though Friar Lawrence’s role as a friend and advisor to Romeo and Juliet, his rashness, short-sightedness, poorly thought out plans and desperate measures led to Romeo and Juliet 's death. Today I am going to prove to you that Friar Lawrence is the one ultimately responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet. Nevertheless, to prove that Friar Lawrence is ultimately responsible for their deaths, all you have to do …show more content…
When we know what to do or are stuck in a situation, we turn to an authority figure for help. That is exactly what Juliet did, turned to Friar Lawrence for help but Friar used his authority for the wrong reasons. I feel the problem with Friar Lawrence’s decision is that it was deceptive and acts of deception are more likely to fall through and cause damage rather than acts of forthrightness. Even after Mercutio 's death and Romeo 's banishment, Friar Lawrence decided that he will continue to attempt to keep Romeo and Juliet together by creating a potion that would help fake Juliet’s death. Personally, the plan he concocted for this, however, was short-sighted, poorly thought out, risky and was as effective as riding a bike with a flat tyre. If you believe that Friar’s decision to create the potion was a good idea, I strongly disagree. It is obvious that Friar Lawrence has once again gone against his religious beliefs in doing what is not ethical. Why would a Friar who was highly regarded in the Elizabethan Time create a potion that would help Juliet fake her own death? When Friar says to Juliet in the tomb, "A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our intents" (5, 3, 152-153) meaning that a power greater than us, God has ruined our plans. We can see that Friar Lawrence is trying to push the blame onto god but the only one to blame is himself. Again, how can a religious member of the Order of St. Francis place the blame on someone that he worships? When we see Friar Lawrence out at dawn gathering herbs in act 2 scene 3, he was not just gathering healing herbs. This is evident in his lines, "I must up-fill this osier cage of ours with baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers," The herbs were used to make a potion that he gives to Juliet to help her

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