Friar Lawrence To Blame In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

In William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, the tragedy is that the protagonists commit suicide. Their own rashness and impulsiveness lead them to their own destruction. Shakespeare blames the young couple for the outcome because the rushed everything and did not stop to think. However, as a reader, there are several other characters that are too blamed for Romeo and Juliet’s death. A character who could be easily blamed is friar Lawrence because he married the couple for the wrong reasons instead of stopping them and to guide them in the right direction. Also, toward the end of the play, his “master plan” that was supposed to fix everything fails horribly.
While Friar Lawrence is to blame for Romeo and Juliet’s death, Shakespeare believes that Romeo and Juliet are completely liable for what they did because of their imprudence. When Romeo and Juliet first meet at the Capulet’s party, within minutes of talking Romeo mentions kissing her. “O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.” (I, v, 101-102). Romeo used his wittiness and charm to ask Juliet’s permission to kiss her, and eventually they did. Also, as everyone is starting to leave the party, Juliet asks the

When he finds out that Romeo and Juliet want him to marry them he is taken aback, but he eventually decides that maybe their marriage could be helpful in the end. “In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancor to pure love.” (II, iii, 90-92). Friar Lawrence agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet because he believed that the long lasting feud between the Montagues and Capulets would finally end, possibly, if their only children married. Since Friar Lawrence is a priest he should know how to help people who are not making wise choices. Furthermore, Friar Lawrence had risked people’s lives, and he should never put someone in