Essay, Research Paper: The Role Of The Friar In Romeo + Juliet

The Friar directly and indirectly took part in suicide, murder,
and other tragic happenings. The Friar is an honored man,
who sells herbs and medicines to the people of Verona. He
is a type of ancient pharmacist, who has potions for both
causes of good and evil. There are three specific instances
of the Friar playing a major role in Romeo and Juliet: the
impossible marriage of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet's "death"
plan, and Romeo's death. Without the Friar many crucial
and tragic events would not have happened in Romeo and
Juliet.

The forbidden wedding of Romeo and Juliet could not
have happened without the Friar. First of all, the Friar
impulsively agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though
he knows it will cause later problems. In the beginning, the
Friar thinks that "...this alliance may so happy prove; To
turn your households' rancor to pure love." (II iv 91-92)
Which shows that the Friar has a slight hope of their
marriage possibly working. Consequently, at first, he shows
no reluctance to marry the two controversial lovers.
However, as time moves on, the Friar lets on that he has
regrets about the marriage. The Friar feels that "Too swift
arrives as tardy as too slow." (II vi 15) In other words, the
Friar means that he senses that this whole wedding is
happening too fast and he radiates a feeling of second
thought. If the Friar had thought this crucial decision
through he may have prevented many future tragedies.
Accordingly, the Friar knows all along that "These violent
delights have violent ends" (II vi 9) The Friar knows that
this is an impossible situation, which if made possible by
himself will without a doubt end up in tragedy in one way or
another. Under these conditions, as the Friar predicts,
Romeo sinks into a deep depression, as a result of the fact
that he cannot see his wife. Romeo has a one-track mind
that is focused on something he cannot have. Similarly,
Juliet becomes depressed and is grieving over the reality of
her and Romeo's separation. Without the Friar the two
lovers would not have been married, which would have
prevented both of these depressions and future problems to
come.

The Friar is responsible for many problems which have
a snowball effect after he assists Juliet with her "death"
plan. When Romeo and Juliet are at their lowest point of
depression, and Juliet is expected to marry Paris, she needs
an escape plan. Juliet pays a visit to the Friar, who devises
a plan for Juliet to fake her death with a sleeping poison.
When Juliet asks the Friar to help her break free from her
wedding with Paris, he replies that:

"If, rather than to marry County Paris,
Thou has the strength of will to slay thyself;
Then it is likely thou will undertake
A thing like death to elude away this shame,
That cop'st with death himself to scrape from it;
And, if thou darest, I'll give thee remedy."
(IV i 71-76)
Therefore, for the second time, the Friar acts impulsively
and agrees to give Juliet this illegal potion. The Friar
concocts this entire plan, which will take total perfection and
cooperation on everyone's part to work effectively. The Friar
has to make sure that Romeo is informed of the plan.
However, the Friar puts too much trust in Friar John, who
consequently fails to deliver the letter to Romeo. Inevitably,
it is Friar Lawrence's' fault that Romeo is not informed and
ends up confused about the recent happenings involving
Juliet. Also, the blame of the succeeding events should be
thrust upon the Friar too. The Friar played an extremely
integral role in this part of Romeo and Juliet. Without his
carelessness Romeo and Juliet could have been living
happily ever after somewhere in Mantua. Instead of the
concluding results of the events to come.

Finally, it is the Friars' fault that Romeo and Juliet are
dead, which makes his role undoubtedly crucial in Romeo
and Juliet. At the outset, the death's of Romeo and Juliet
may not, and probably would not, have happened if it were
not for the Friar. Romeo, who is not informed of the Friar's
plan, kills himself when he thinks that Juliet is dead. Juliet
arises and sees Romeo dead, and takes her own life. The
Friar is overcome by guilt and realizes that he has "...a short
date of breath." (V iii 229) Which could also be interpreted
as his confession of his ties to the tragic and untimely
deaths of Romeo and Juliet. If the Friar was not the reason
for the two suicides he would have no reason for guilt.
Innocent people do not act and feel guilty. In the end, the
Friar recollects the past events and cannot avoid
responsibility for these tragedies. This simple fact shows
just how much of a key role the Friar plays in Romeo and
Juliet.

Without the Friar many crucial and tragic events would
not have happened in Romeo and Juliet. The marriage of
Romeo and Juliet, which in turn led to Juliet needing to lie
and escape another marriage, which finally led to the
premature deaths of Romeo and also of Juliet. None of the
preceding would have been possible if it were not for the
Friar. The Friar married the two lovers, even though he
knew it to be impossible. Likewise, the Friar helped Juliet
fake her death and lie to her parents, and did not make a
strong enough effort to reveal this plan to Romeo. In
conclusion, a Friarless Romeo and Juliet would most likely
have at least two lives spared. The lives of Romeo and
Juliet. On the other hand, an argument can be made that
the conclusion of the play may have been more tragic if
Romeo and Juliet had of survived and lived depressed, but
without a doubt, either way, the Friar would have been
involved. Extract the Friar from the story of Romeo and
Juliet, and one may find that there would not have even
been a story. The Friar is an extremely important character.