Was Romeo and Juliet’s fate written in the stars, or by Friar Laurence? Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. In this play set in the 1300s, the title characters meet, fall in love, get married, and kill themselves within a few days. There are many potential themes for this piece of literature. A theme is a universal idea able to be understood by all of mankind. One possible theme play is: “Destiny cannot be stopped but it can be slightly altered.” Romeo and Juliet’s destiny is to be together no matter how it happens. Friar Laurence influences the theme because he marries Romeo and Juliet secretly, plans their escape, and gets someone else to deliver an important letter to Romeo. To begin, Friar Laurence first influenced the …show more content…
For example, in act 5 scene 2, Friar John tells Friar Laurence that his letter did not make it to Romeo. On lines 18-20 Friar Laurence says, “The letter was not nice, but full of charge, / Of dear import, and the neglecting it / May do much danger…” This reference shows Friar Laurence saying that it is dangerous that Romeo has not gotten the letter. The letter contained vital information about the escape plan, such as when Juliet would awaken and that she was not dead, just under a sleeping potion. The Friar putting the responsibility of delivering the letter off on someone else influenced the theme because it ended up causing both Romeo and Juliet to commit suicide. Had he brought the letter to Romeo himself Romeo would have been at the tomb when Juliet woke up and they would have run away to Mantua together. Instead, Romeo got to the tomb thinking that Juliet was dead and killed himself. When Juliet awoke she also killed herself, seeing that Romeo was dead. They did end up being together, but in death. Their destiny was still fulfilled, just not the way it should have been. The Friar caused this tragic end with his advice that did more bad than good. Therefore, Friar Laurence not delivering the letter to Romeo himself impacted the theme because he slightly changed Romeo and Juliet’s