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Friar Lawrence Responsible For The Tragedy Of Romeo And Juliet

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Love can be the best thing to happen to someone. But has anyone ever thought of the bad side to love? The idea of love brings happiness, joy and smiles to people's faces. But in the tragic case of Romeo and Juliet, it brought despair, violence, and grief. Instead of ending with a happy tale of two lovers, it ended with suicides and grievances all throughout the city of Verona. Many factors played into the deaths in William Shakespeare’s play, but one character's decisions and actions are liable for the misfortune in this story. Friar Lawrence’s flawed decisions are ultimately responsible for the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet.
The main reason Friar bears the blame for the tragedy in Romeo and Juliet is because he married them in hopes of ending their family feud. After Romeo came to him, Friar had told him to “love moderately; long love doth so; Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow (2.6.14-15).” Friar knows that something bad might happen if Romeo and Juliet marry too quickly. Despite this, he was selfish and only thought about the feud. Friar Lawrence was itinerant and mendicant, meaning he lived off of the charity in the community and had …show more content…

Leaving, he told Juliet “Stay not to question, for the watch is coming. Come, go, good Juliet. I dare no longer stay (5.3.159-160).” Friar had already arrived too late to save Romeo and therefore Juliet had to see her husband’s dead body. Despite this, Friar’s selfishness caused Juliet to also commit suicide as he was afraid of people coming and finding him there. This shows how Friar’s “offer of help is clearly driven by his desire to ‘turn [the] households’ rancour to pure love’.” (“Character Insight: Friar Lawrence - Oxford Education Blog”). After Romeo died, there was no ending the feud, which meant Friar did not have a reason to stay any longer. His desires were gone and he did not care anymore what would happen to

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