Friar Lawrence Responsible For The Deaths Of Romeo And Juliet

The famous Philosopher Socrates once said, “The hottest love has the coldest end”. In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Romeo and Juliet, young love leads to an earth-shattering tragedy. Although many people and factors play a part in the devastating end to Romeo and Juliet’s love story, the ultimate responsibility for their deaths is found in Friar Laurence. Friar Laurence is ultimately responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet as he decides to lie and go against the teachings of the Church by marrying them. The friar is responsible to not only the people he serves, but also to God. When he agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet, he not only abuses the trust of their parents but also rebels against the teachings of God and the Church. Friar

The mess becomes incredibly uncomfortable for the Friar who aims to please everyone but fails to uphold the truth, leading to many conflicts with the Church, the Capulet, and Montague families which leads to more and bigger mess. This clearly shows that Friar Laurence is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Another statement that could be said why Friar Laurence is to blame is because he had the responsibility to deliver the letter to Romeo, which didn’t reach him on time. The Friar tells Juliet that he has a plan. She has to agree to the marriage, drinking a potion the night before that will make her appear dead while in reality leaving her asleep. The Friar will then send Friar John to send word to Romeo, who will return and rescue Juliet once she awakes in the family tomb..”Take thou this vial, being then in bed, And this distilling liquor drink thou

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, “With an immature prefrontal cortex, even if teens understand that something is dangerous, they may still go ahead and engage in risky behavior.” Romeo and Juliet understood that they should not try to be together and were going against their parent’s wishes, yet they still insisted on falling in love. They fully understood the repercussions, but did it anyway. Although it could be argued the prefrontal cortex plays a part in their deaths, ultimately brain development is not to blame for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. As stated by the US Department of Health and Human Services, “Beginning around the age of 12, adolescents decrease their reliance on concrete, here-and-now thinking and begin to show the capacity for abstract thinking, visualization of potential outcomes, and a logistical understanding of cause and effect. Teens begin looking at situations and deciding whether it is safe, risky, or dangerous.” Even though Romeo and Juliet got married and died very quickly, they had time to see that their hasty relationship would not turn out in their best interest. Their brains were equipped to use the minutes apart to slow down their fast love story. They chose not to do this, which was not the fault of their prefrontal cortex development. Romeo and Juliet’s deaths were not