Friar Lawrence Is To Blame In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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The blame for the repercussions of events are often placed on every possible shoulder besides those who made the choice to bring about those events. In Romeo and Juliet, the immortal story by playwright William Shakespeare, a pair of lovers are star crossed by the ancient feud of their families, the Capulets and the Montagues. As Juliet and Romeo are caught between their passion and their cultures, desperate grasps at holding on to their love result in the murder of both Capulets and Montagues, as well as the suicide of both Romeo and Juliet. After Juliet fakes her death in order to run away with Romeo after he is banished, misunderstanding prompts the both of them to take their own lives. A common question in the discussion of his play is…show more content…
For example, it was Juliet who agreed to take Friar Lawrence’s potion and fake her death. In act four, scene one, line 124, Juliet gives her consent to the Friar’s plan, asking for the vial of sleep-inducing potion “Give me, give me! O, tell not me of fear!” she says, and takes the liquid. It was entirely in Juliet’s control to make the decision as to whether or not she was willing to risk the consequences of the friar’s plan. If she wanted to, if she had foreseen the possible repercussions of taking the potion, it was in Juliet’s control to deny the friar and figure out her new course of action. If Juliet had not pretended to die, Romeo would have never thought her death was legitimate and he would have never killed himself. In turn, if Romeo had not passed then neither would have Juliet. Another reason as to why her suicide is the fault of Juliet is the same reason as for Romeo, she was the one who decided to kill herself. In act five, scene three, lines 182 and 183, Juliet kills herself over Romeo’s body, “Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger, This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die.” It is seen here Juliet making the decision herself to commit suicide. No one else is there to make the decision for her, and it was completely within her power to not stick that knife within her chest. In this scene, Juliet had the power, and she used that power to kill herself.…show more content…
Many would say that the blame is Friar Lawrence’s. In act four, scene one, lines 96 to 100, Friar Lawrence says ”Take thou this vial, being then in bed, And this distillèd liquor drink thou off, When presently through all thy veins shall run A cold and drowsy humor, for no pulse Shall keep his native progress…” As seen here, it was the friar who initially proposed the plan for Juliet to fake her death and gave her the potion to induce her sleep like state. Therefore, if it wasn’t for the friar’s counsel, the plan would have never existed and Juliet and Romeo would still be alive. From this it is certain that Friar Lawrence played a role in the suicides of Romeo and Juliet. While this is true, he did not play the biggest role in their deaths. While the friar proposed the plan, it was Juliet who eagerly agreed to it, as illustrated in act four, scene one, lines 129 to 131, “Love give me strength, and strength shall help afford. Farewell, dear Father.” Juliet was in no way forced to agree to take the potion. As discussed before, her decision was entirely hers to make, both to follow through with the friar’s advice and to ultimately take her own life. Therefore, Friar Lawrence is not the most guilty character in regards to the deaths of Juliet and

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