Friar Lawrence Research Paper

Friar Lawrence- Friend or Foe?
An Examination of Friar Lawrence’s Role in Romeo & Juliet

Sabri C-Y
English 1H
Mr. Roberts
Tuesday, October 25th 2010

Romeo and Juliet is a remarkable play. Besides it being magnificently written, it is also exceptional because of its enduring relevance and fascinating characters. As the tragic story of two young lovers unfolds, the importance of each character’s role in the play becomes noticeable; especially that of Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence provides the pathways which direct the destinies of Romeo, and his bride-to-be, Juliet. This holy man opens many windows for Romeo and Juliet even though many of the ideas he supports and suggests contradict the desires of the Montague’s and Capulet’s
(excluding those of Romeo and Juliet). This connection with Romeo and Juliet plants the roots for his character to grow, making him all the more intriguing and compelling. What makes him such a key character is his ability to give Romeo and Juliet opportunities they wouldn’t have had otherwise and how his choices affect their fates. Unfortunately these opportunities bring on terrible misfortunes that end up creating, and concluding the tragic story, his good intentions end up having horrific influences on the lives of others... Or were they good intentions? The most powerful man of all, who some may consider an unimportant character, once controlled numerous lives in the palm of his hand. When Romeo and Juliet meet, and fall in love, they go to Friar Lawrence in hope that he will marry them against their parents’ wishes. You can immediately infer from this that Friar Lawrence is trusted and respected. Friar does not agree with the children’s wishes, but ends up marrying them because he wants to end the feud between both of their families.
Friar Lawrence: “... In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your households' rancor to pure love.” (2.3.90-93)
This action shows positive and negative traits in Friar Lawrence’s character.
First of all, this choice is selfless on his part because he is willing to lose respect in order to end the feud, but this choice was also not a wise choice. By letting the two marry, he is also putting the children in bad positions because his plan for the families’ feud to end may not work, thus threatening the relationship between Romeo and his parents, Juliet and her parents, and the families’ hatred to one another all together. Eventually, complications in his plans occur, such as Romeo’s banishment, and Juliet’s engagement to Paris. So, Friar Lawrence ends up concentrating on Romeo and Juliet’s love and discarding the thought of ending the feud. He opens many windows and creates many opportunities for the couple so that they can be together; this outlines his role in the play. Friar Lawrence provides methods for Romeo and Juliet to reunite, by giving Juliet an elixir to fake her death, and attempting to get Romeo (whom he sent to Mantua) to meet her in her tomb where she would awaken, and hence they would live “happily ever after”. Although Friar Lawrence had good intentions, the results of those actions were very unfortunate, and ended up taking the lives from who he initially tried to
save. It is difficult to determine whether Friar Lawrence was a good or bad character. Of course he did end up indirectly causing the death of both Romeo and Juliet, which threatens his innocence, but this occurred because of positive actions. Friar Lawrence definitely wanted nothing but peace at the beginning of the book, and even though his loyalty to the doomed couple was sometimes questioned, he tried his best to encourage the success of their love. Essentially the reason for the failure of Romeo and Juliet’s love, and lives for that matter, was because of Friar Lawrence’s disorganisation, if he had traveled to Mantua himself to give Romeo the news of Juliet’s fake death, then no one would have died. But because of his reliance on others, the timing of his plan strayed off schedule, resulting in catastrophe. Overall, Friar Lawrence was a good man, with good intentions, but unfortunately for him, those good intentions ironically brought on chaotic results. You could compare Friar Lawrence’s role in the play to that of a grandfather spoiling his grandchildren. How Friar Lawrence is who the lovers go to when they want something their parents won’t give them, and Friar Lawrence will. Friar Lawrence provided Romeo and Juliet with a wall to rebound off of. They chose to take another path, which unfortunately led to their own misfortune, like how when a child is spoiled by his/her grandparents, his/her mother may scold them for taking advantage of their grandparents’ generosity. In a way life itself scolded Romeo and Juliet for their choices, and Friar Lawrence is the person that opened the doors for them to choose their fate.