One of Friar Laurence’s characteristics is that he is benevolent. Throughout the second act of the play, we get to see that Friar cares deeply about Romeo and is quite literally his “spiritual advisor”. We see that he has Romeo’s best interest in mind multiple times including the following quote, “Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift. Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.” This is one place Friar showcases how much he cares for Romeo. At this point in the play, Romeo is struggling to face the fact that he has fallen in love with Juliet. He knows that the perusing a relationship with her would be difficult, and is hesitant to tell Friar Laurence. Friar’s quote clearly displays benevolence because he is stressing to Romeo that …show more content…
Through his dialogue and actions, Friar Laurence has proven to be benevolent and erudite, but also illogical. He truly cares about Romeo and wants what is best for him, and he uses prior knowledge and life experience to attempt to fulfill this. However, I find Friar Laurence’s ideas illogical and I believe they could harm Romeo rather than help …show more content…
Throughout the second act of the play, we get to see that Friar cares deeply about Romeo and is quite literally his “spiritual advisor”. We see that he has Romeo’s best interest in mind multiple times including the following quote, “Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift. Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.” This is one place Friar showcases how much he cares for Romeo. At this point in the play, Romeo is struggling to face the fact that he has fallen in love with Juliet. He knows that perusing a relationship with her would be difficult, and is hesitant to tell Friar Laurence. Friar’s quote displays benevolence because he is stressing to Romeo that he can’t be gifted forgiveness unless he clearly states his sins. Friar Laurence is a Roman Catholic friar, meaning he believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the one and only son of God. Although it never states this directly in the text, after doing further research, I found that the Roman Catholic belief says that to be granted eternal life you must confess and repent all your sins. Friar Laurence is encouraging Romeo to do so before him. According to his belief, if Romeo doesn’t confess and repent he will not be gifted eternal life, thus not fulfilling the optimized outcome for his life. Everything considered, Friar is benevolent by trying to help Romeo live the best life, or in this case afterlife, by encouraging him to do what is right in the