How To Be Pardoned In Romeo And Juliet

To Be Pardoned
“The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” written by William Shakespeare is a popular, well known play. Shakespeare includes a variety of different themes in this play; whether if they are minor or major. One of the presented themes is; there is good and evil within everybody, some more than others. Something to take into consideration is; innocent kind people may be portrayed as evil and likewise. A handful of deaths occurred in Romeo and Juliet, people are questioning whether or not to pardon or punish those who are possibly responsible for tragedy. The Prince of Verona announced, “Some shall be pardon’d, and some punished.” (5.3.333) A majority of the audience may think the two confidants and Lord Capulet should be punished, but
it’s only because their actions contradict their true intention.
The characters that should be pardoned are; Friar Laurence, Lord Capulet, and the Nurse: their true intentions are good.
Friar Laurence should have the most leeway and should be pardoned the most. He is Romeo’s confidant and would support him in any way. Not only did Friar Laurence agree to help Romeo marry Juliet to make him happy, but he also had the hopes of ending the Capulet and the Montague Family Feud. If Friar Laurence is willing to go behind Lord Montague’s back to attempt to bring peace to Verona, that says a lot about his character. When Romeo goes to him for someone to confide into, Friar Laurence is always honest with him no matter how much the truth could hurt. For example, when Prince Escalus told Romeo he was banished. Crestfallen and depressed, Romeo went to Friar Laurence’s cell to vent and rage. Disappointed and frustrated, Friar Laurence explained to him he should count his blessings. “Since birth and heaven and earth, all three do meet in thee at once; which thou at once wouldst lose.” [3.3.137] In addition, Friar Laurence also prevented Romeo and Juliet from killing themselves over each other. If his intention of making Romeo happy and bringing peace upon Verona weren’t true, he would have let them commit suicide. He also has taken responsibility for the death of Romeo and
Juliet; he explained the whole situation to Prince Escalus and has offered to give up his life as punishment. Owning up to a situation such as this is very modest. He could have run away from Verona, but instead he accepted his responsibilities for his actions. “All this I know and to the marriage her nurse is privy; and if aught in this miscarried by my fault, let my old life be sacrificed.” [5.3.289-292] Another example of Friar Laurence’s pure heart and selfless intention is when Friar John failed to deliver the letter to Romeo, he still attempted to make the plan work. Even though the plan didn’t succeed, he was honest and said the whole plan was his idea. Some of the audience may think he should be guilty because of his reaction at the tomb site, but it’s a common reaction. Friar Laurence could have been scared that he might be penalized with murders that he didn’t directly commit. Therefore Friar Laurence should be pardoned.
Following this further, Lord Capulet is the second character who should be pardoned. A majority of the audience would disagree, but in the end Capulet just wants what’s best for his daughter. Considering he didn’t know about Romeo, he thought Paris would bring Juliet happiness and help her with her “grief” over Tybalt’s death, he thought a county man like Paris could take care of his child. Although he threatened her, called her names, and forced her into the marriage, his intention wasn’t to make her unhappy. His intention was to bring her out of her deep depression. He just went about the situation wrong; he could have been less harsh with her. Another reason why Lord Capulet might have pushed the marriage is; because he made a promise to Paris and intended to keep it to maintain the Capulet name and reputation. “Look you, she loved her kinsman Tybalt dearly, and so did I. Well we were born to die. Tis very late; she’ll not come down tonight. I promise you, but for your company, I would have been abed an hour ago.” [3.4.3-7] Capulet was hostile and mean towards Juliet because he cares, even though his actions and words didn’t show it. Parents don’t always mean what they say and vice versa. In final consideration, Lord Capulet just wants what’s best for his daughter; and wants his child to be happy like any parent would.
Lastly the final character to be pardoned is the Nurse; also known as Juliet’s confidante. The Nurse is also one of those characters that the audience would debate about. Again, it most likely has to do with her actions or how she approaches difficult situations. For example, Lord Capulet threatened to put Juliet on the streets if she refuses the marriage with Paris. The Nurse initially approved of Romeo and was thrilled that her dear Juliet found love. But as soon as Lord Capulet threatened to put her on the streets, the Nurse changes her opinions and proposes that Paris is the better man for Juliet. “I think it best you married with the county.” [3.5.247] Instead of explaining the reality of the situation to Juliet, she insults Romeo after she had just praised him. That’s an example of a bad approach, similar to Lord Capulet. Some may argue that the Nurse was just afraid that she’d be out on the streets too, so she had to convince Juliet to go forth with the marriage. But that’d be selfish thinking even for a confidante; the Nurse has every right to convince Juliet to do the marriage. She wouldn’t want to see Juliet get kicked out of her home and be disowned. Also she wants Juliet to be happy with a good man and a roof over her head; Romeo being banished is problematic. The Nurse is just looking out for Juliet, if the Nurse was selfish and didn’t care about Juliet she wouldn’t have kept Romeo and Juliet a secret in the first place. Hence the Nurse should be pardoned.
In conclusion, good people could be portrayed as evil, which might be the case here. Lord Capulet is a harsh hasty father, who forced his daughter to marry. Friar Laurence is selfish because he felt uneasy and eager at the tomb site. The Nurse is fickle because she praises Romeo then insults him with the same mouth to prevent getting kicked out of the Capulet household. If this is seen clearer the results would be that Lord Capulet wants what’s best for Juliet. He felt that Paris could make her happy and be the solution to get over Tybalt’s death. Friar Laurence wants to support Romeo and has hopes to end the Capulet Montague Family Feud to bring peace to Verona. The Nurse wants Juliet to be happy and wants what’s best for her. Even though their actions didn’t express it, their intentions are clear. There is good and evil within everyone, but it’s the intentions and actions that show.