Romeo and Juliet Topic 1 Essay
Baljot Dhindsa
ENG 1D0
Word Count: 466
Mrs. Mansoor
Romeo And Juliet
Death, alas is a part of people’s lives, and when it occurs, someone is usually
responsible for it. In “Romeo and Juliet”, William Shakespeare shows the outcome of
poor responsibility and decision making skills. Friar Lawrence, a priest, gave Juliet a
potion death and failed to make sure Romeo receives the letter safely. Friar Lawrence’s
poor responsibility and decision making skills lead to the death of Romeo and Juliet. To begin, the Friar made a risky plan to give Juliet a potion which she uses to fake
her death so that she does not have to marry Paris. He made a very poor and
rash decision and he should have known better than to try the plan. The Friar’s
irresponsibility can be seen when he says, "If, rather than to marry County Paris, thou
hast the strength of will to slay thyself... take thou this vial... no warmth, no breath shall
testify thou livest." (Shakespeare IV. I. 72, 93, 98) Juliet’s’ life rests in the Friar’s hands
and if he makes a mistake, Juliet could die. Before he made this decision he
should have thought it through and knew about the consequences beforehand.
Secondly, Capulet had been deluded. When Juliet was faking her death Capulet said,
“Death lies on her like an untimely frost.” (IV. V. 28) This clearly shows that Capluet was
fooled by fake death. If Friar Lawrence did not give the potion to Juliet, she would never
be in this position and there would be no complications.
Moreover, Friar Lawrence had trusted Friar John to send the letter to Romeo without
telling him it was urgent. If he had gone to Romeo by himself, then the plan would have
ran a bit more smooth. When Friar John comes back he says, “I could not send it - here it is again –” (V. II. 14). This illustrates how careless and
Irresponsible the Friar is. Also, at such a point time, he should have trusted
ENG 1D0
Word Count: 466
Mrs. Mansoor
Romeo And Juliet
Death, alas is a part of people’s lives, and when it occurs, someone is usually
responsible for it. In “Romeo and Juliet”, William Shakespeare shows the outcome of
poor responsibility and decision making skills. Friar Lawrence, a priest, gave Juliet a
potion death and failed to make sure Romeo receives the letter safely. Friar Lawrence’s
poor responsibility and decision making skills lead to the death of Romeo and Juliet. To begin, the Friar made a risky plan to give Juliet a potion which she uses to fake
her death so that she does not have to marry Paris. He made a very poor and
rash decision and he should have known better than to try the plan. The Friar’s
irresponsibility can be seen when he says, "If, rather than to marry County Paris, thou
hast the strength of will to slay thyself... take thou this vial... no warmth, no breath shall
testify thou livest." (Shakespeare IV. I. 72, 93, 98) Juliet’s’ life rests in the Friar’s hands
and if he makes a mistake, Juliet could die. Before he made this decision he
should have thought it through and knew about the consequences beforehand.
Secondly, Capulet had been deluded. When Juliet was faking her death Capulet said,
“Death lies on her like an untimely frost.” (IV. V. 28) This clearly shows that Capluet was
fooled by fake death. If Friar Lawrence did not give the potion to Juliet, she would never
be in this position and there would be no complications.
Moreover, Friar Lawrence had trusted Friar John to send the letter to Romeo without
telling him it was urgent. If he had gone to Romeo by himself, then the plan would have
ran a bit more smooth. When Friar John comes back he says, “I could not send it - here it is again –” (V. II. 14). This illustrates how careless and
Irresponsible the Friar is. Also, at such a point time, he should have trusted