Friar Lawrence Responsible For Romeo And Juliet's Downfall

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Why Friar Lawrence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s downfall Imagine if one’s friend comes to them with a problem and only they can help them because they are the only person who knows, but if they help them, the person could die. This is precisely what happens to Friar Lawrence in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. After Lord Capulet pronounced that Paris is to be married to Juliet, Juliet comes to Friar Lawrence, asking him to help her fake her death. She asks him to make her a potion so that she can get out of marrying Paris. Friar Lawrence sent a letter to Romeo before their plan was played out, but he did not send it on time. This causes Romeo to think Juliet is dead. All these events lead to Romeo killing himself and Juliet’s death following, making this Friar’s fault. Friar Lawrence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s downfall because he helped Juliet fake her death and did not send a letter to Romeo on time. …show more content…

It is supported through this quote in the text, “Take thou this vial, being then in bed, and this distilling liquor drink thou off; when presently through all thy veins shall run a cold and drowsy humor; for no pulse shall keep his native progress, but surcease no warmth, no breath shall testify thou livest” (Shakespeare). In this line, Friar gives Juliet a vile to help her fake her death. When Friar gave her this vial, he set their downfall into motion. Now that the plan is in motion, he is responsible for anything that happens and must make sure everything goes according to plan, but he fails to do this. Since he chose to help Juliet, he officially set everything up for