How Does Friar Lawrence Make Correct Decisions

Arushi Gupta
Dani Howard
Lit/Writ Period 1
May 20th, 2018
The Reckless Decisions of Friar Lawrence
“Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast” (2.4.101). In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is characterized as a wise and holy man, widely respected by those in Verona. Throughout the play, he is shown to constantly ignore his advice on how rushing through things lead to negative consequences. He hastily decides to marry Romeo and Juliet, even he knows it isn’t a good idea. He fakes Juliet’s death with a faulty plan which leads to Romeo killing himself. The friar also makes the unwise decision to flee from the tomb when he hears a noise, missing the chance to have possibly saved Juliet’s life. Thus, Friar Lawrence’s poorly planned

He has his doubts from the beginning. He is baffled that Romeo, who was “heartbroken” about his unrequited love with Rosaline just a few days ago, is already in love with someone else. As soon as Romeo caught sight of a prettier girl, he completely forgot about Rosaline. Friar Lawrence thus observes, “...Young men’s love then lies / Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes”, remarking how Romeo seems to only be in “love” with girls because of their physical appearance. (2.2.71-72). He knows that Romeo’s marriage is not very feasible because of his recklessness, yet he marries them anyway with the hopes that their “alliance” may help “turn [their] households’ rancor to pure love” (2.3.99). Although he has good intentions, he ignores the problems the marriage could cause and makes the decision

When Juliet learns she has to marry Paris, she turns to the friar for help, saying she will kill herself if he speaks “not of remedy” (4.1.68). Friar Lawrence plans to fake Juliet’s death and advises her to drink a vial with liquor which “When presently through all thy veins shall run / A cold and drowsy humor” (4.1.97-98). Yet he makes the unwise decision to let Romeo know by letter, saying that he’ll “send a friar with speed / To Mantua with [his] letters to thy lord” (4.1.125-126). However, he doesn’t think of the possible consequences, including the possibility of the letter being delayed. Unfortunately, Friar John is quarantined and the searchers of the town do “not let [him] forth”, so he is unable to deliver the letter (5.2.11). Thus, Romeo is not aware that Juliet is actually alive when he visits her, and consequently ignores the signs of her awakening. His death is unfortunate because it could have been avoided had he been properly informed about Juliet’s “death”. The friar did not account for possible faults in his plan, and his impulsiveness ultimately led to Romeo’s