Who Is The Friar Responsible For Romeo And Juliet's Downfall

Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, shadows two teenage lovers who fall for each other whilst in the middle of a family feud. They eventually take their own lives, closing the play with a very devastating finale. Despite the fact that many of the characters were held accountable for the tragedy, Friar Lawrence was at most fault. His severe characteristics of carelessness and selfishness around Romeo and Juliet ultimately led to the demise of the two lovers. There were three main occurrences, all fostered by the Friar, that proved to the audience that he was the main culprit for their losses. These include the Friar secretly marrying the young lovers, his lack of focus when creating the secret plan to fake Juliet’s death, and his selfish need

One of the main reasons was because of his impetuous action of eloping the two beloveds. Instead of helping them out and supporting their tough situation, he capitulated to their desire to get married. The Friar ended up secretly marrying the two, creating a very deep bond between them. The Friar described it as, “‘For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone. / Till holy church incorporate two into one. / Unfold the imagined happiness that both / Receive in either by this dear encounter.’” (II.vi. 35–37). Many may argue that his intentions were very positive as he hoped to terminate the conflict between the Montagues and Capulets. However, he had many substandard decisions toward the catastrophe involving the deaths of Tybalt and Mercutio. Since Romeo was already married to Juliet, he refused to fight Tybalt when challenged. This caused Mercutio to step in and initiate the fight between him and Tybalt, leading Romeo to stop them fighting. Romeo’s intrusion in the fight led to Mercutio’s death and ultimately Tybalt. Mercutio complains saying, “‘Why the devil came you between us?/ I was hurt under your arm.’” (III. i. 99–100). Because fighting wasn’t tolerated at anytime in Verona, Romeo was banished from the city because he had killed someone. This began the separation between the two, with the Friar being the primary instigator resulting in all these horrendous