Essay Comparing Lawrence In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

itself turns vice, being misapplied, And vice sometime by action dignified. /Within the infant rind of this small flower, Poison hath residence and medicine power. /For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part; Being tasted, stays all senses with the heart. /Two such

opposed kings encamp them still, In man as well as herbs—grace and rude will. /And where the worser is predominant, Full soon the canker death eats up that plant" (Act 2, Scene 3). My second point is that Friar Lawrence, on top of performing a marriage fated to end in tragedy, assisted Romeo in hiding and going to Juliet instead of immediately leaving Verona for Mantua. He caused another problem by not following his morals and Romeo visiting Juliet only made her love for him grow. The Friar used his position in the church for wrong once again, he didn't even originally believe that Romeo and Juliet's love was true, yet he protected it which only made it stronger. Maybe if the love was not as strong or if it had
lasted an even smaller amount of time, the lovers might not have resorted to suicide and instead grieved in a more natural way. Suicide is usually only committed by people who are deeply connected to someone who has died. If they weren't as close, maybe Romeo wouldn't have poisoned himself, thinking Juliet was dead, and therefore Juliet wouldn't have stabbed herself. His actions made the deaths of the lovers more likely.
The third main point is that Friar Lawrence gave Juliet the idea to use the sleeping potion: "Take thou this vial, being then in bed...No warmth, no breath, shall testify you liveth...In the mean time, against thou shalt awake, /Shall Romeo by my letters know our drift, And hither shall he come." (Act 4, Scene 1). He didn't get word of this to Romeo and Romeo thought Juliet was dead so he killed himself. Juliet, wracked with grief, also committed suicide. The Friar had already strung along the looming tragedy of their love and then he convinced Juliet to do something unnatural by taking the potion. He almost directly caused Romeo's death by encouraging Juliet to

follow his plan and then not carrying through with his part, which was telling Romeo that she was only sleeping (fake dead) and making him aware that they would soon be together again. Friar Lawrence failed his part of a plan that was unlikely to work in the first place, another huge factor in Romeo and Juliet's deaths. My fourth and final point is that specifically Juliet's death is Friar Lawrence's fault.
He left her alone at the time she was to wake up. He should have checked on her, it was his plan and she realized her husband and her suitor were both dead next to her. One, finding two dead bodies near you could be very traumatic, and her preacher who was responsible for her sleeping state was not there for her. Two, this young woman (girl) just lost her husband, not to mention his death was a result of thinking she was dead. This is the only situation in the play that Friar Lawrence's duties as a holy man could have actually been concerned, but he didn't appear to help the situation. The one time he could have helped the mess he created, he wasn't present. Friar Lawrence could have counseled her or used his experience in the church to keep her in check Juliet had already threatened and seriously considered suicide before. He left her alone and in the tomb, at which time she stabbed
herself.