“Some Shall Be Pardoned, and Some Punished.” -Romeo and Juliet

“Some shall be pardoned, and some punished.” This was the verdict handed down by the Prince yesterday at the scene of the aftermath of the long-documented Capulet-Montague rivalry. With both houses suffering the losses of some of their most promising youth to love, lust and misperception, only one question remains: who are to be punished?

The main offenders in this charade were Tybalt Capulet (who killed Mercutio) and Romeo Montague (who killed Tybalt and Paris). The problem with punishing the two: they’re both dead. With these two law-breakers out of the picture to whom do you look to next?

Friar Lawrence commented on the issue, “Well obviously the parents. I mean they just let their kids run wild, leaving me to look after them and clean up their messes.” It is true that in the absence of any parental involvement many of the people involved sought advice from the Friar.

Both Romeo and Juliet, the central figures of the controversy, were counselled by Friar Lawrence. But was the Friar’s advice really as harmless as it seemed? It was the Friar who married Romeo and Juliet which, indirectly, led to Mercutio’s death and Romeo’s revenge on Tybalt. And it was his bungled plan that later caused the twin suicide of the lovers.

When confronted with this evidence Friar Lawrence became defensive, “I meant well. I was only trying to put an end to the bloody feud between the Montagues and the Capulets.” No matter how ‘well-meant’ a plan may be, when made by a misguided fool it can cause disaster.

When placed in the Friar’s position I think I, or any other right-minded person, would handle things a little differently. Any other person would have realized that a marriage between two fighting factions would be more likely to cause tensions to flare rather than bring instant peace, especially when the responsibility for bringing said peace is placed in the hands of the very young. Any intelligent person would also have seen that the risks involved in Friar Lawrence’s plan to unite Romeo and Juliet far outweighed the advantages. Although he maybe a well-meant but misguided fool, the Friar still remains a valid suspect in the case.

Not all of the blame can be placed on Friar Lawrence though. We must remember that the cause of the entire debacle was the feud between the adults of the Montagues and the Capulets. To raise your children to harbour such hate for another person or house is a crime within itself. Although there was speculation that the parents had been punished enough through the loss of their children, this reporter believes that they need to pay a little more for disturbing the peace in fair Verona.