Friar Lawrence Exonerated

Who is Not at Fault for Romeo and Juliet’s Death
Romeo and Juliet is a play written by William Shakespeare. This play told the story of two young forbidden lovers, namely Romeo and Juliet, who were children of two feuding households. Romeo was a Montague and Juliet was a Capulet, the Montagues and Capulets were in a conflict for decades, and it was most definitely unacceptable that they loved each other. Romeo and Juliet were married by Friar Lawrence, who was an important character because he was the driving force of many events in the play. Romeo and Juliet took their own lives at the end of the play, a tragic event that affected all of Verona. Friar Lawrence should be exonerated from the blame of Romeo and Juliet’s deaths because he had

Juliet was arranged to marry Paris days after she and Romeo were wed. Friar Lawrence saw the tragedy in that event “O Juliet, I already know thy grief”(4.1, 47). Due to the fact that Friar Lawrence saw the issue, he was compelled to make a plan to help Juliet avoid the arranged marriage. “Hold, daughter. I do spy a kind of hope, / Which crave desperate an execution / As that is desperate which we would present / If, rather than to marry County Paris / Thou hast strength of will to slay thyself / Then it is likely thou will undertake / A thing like death to chide away this shame”(4.1, 70-76). Friar Lawrence explained that if Juliet had the courage to kill herself instead of marrying Paris, she also had the courage to fake death and save herself from the dreadful marriage. Furthermore, Friar Lawrence wanted to aid in Juliet and Romeo’s path to a happy life together by helping them

Right before Friar Lawrence married Romeo and Juliet he thanked Juliet for marrying Romeo. “Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for us both”(2.6, 11-14). This displayed that not only was Romeo going to be exuberant about marrying Juliet, this marriage benefited Friar Lawrence while he tried to help Verona become a better place. Friar Lawrence wanted the marriage to work out, for the couple’s happiness. “The sweetest honey / is loathsome in his own deliciousness / And in the taste confounds the appetite. / Therefore love moderately. / Long love doth so”(2.6, 11-14). This quote was advice from Friar Lawrence to Romeo and Juliet. Without a doubt, Friar Lawrence had the intention of creating happiness for Romeo, Juliet, and Verona. It is known that Friar Lawrence had good motives and should be excused from the