Essay Summary of Romeo and Juliet

Text Response Essay Friar Lawrence’s involvement in Romeo and Juliet is largely to blame for the woeful ending that took place. His short-sightedness, irresponsible decisions and incompetent actions all contributed to the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet/ Lack of good judgement from Friar Lawrence played a major role in the passing of Romeo and Juliet. Instead of being supportive of their relationship and assisting them in confronting their parents, the Friar took the easy route out. The naive couple were thinking irrationally and were blinded by their love, to which Friar Lawrence himself warned, “These violent delights have violent ends.
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness, and in the taste confounds the appetite: Therefore love moderately: long love doth so, too swift arrives as tardy as too slow. ” As the respected and responsible adult in the situation, Friar Lawrence should not have succumbed to their hasty requests. The marriage simply made Romeo and Juliet’s relationship stronger, and because of their newly formed bond, Romeo refused to fight Juliet’s cousin Tybalt. Mercutio stepped in to defend his honour, and as a result was slain.
To avenge the death of his best friend, Romeo kills Tybalt in a fit of rage and is banished from Verona by the Prince. The scheme Friar Lawrence concocted in order to keep Romeo and Juliet’s relationship intact was precarious and poorly thought out, ultimately leading to their demise. The plan was quite farfetched – Juliet would have to fake her own death – and could not be guaranteed. Both parties should have been informed of the Friar’s intentions before Juliet was provided with the sleeping potion, an error that would later prove to be fatal.

Not only was his idea risky, it also stopped Juliet from ever returning to her old life if her feelings were to change. Once the plan was carried out, Juliet would never again be able to contact her family or live in Verona. Even though the Friar’s intentions were admirable, his involvement evidently only brought disaster and misfortune. The death of Romeo, and in turn Juliet, could have been avoided altogether if not for several incompetent actions by Friar Lawrence.
He did not place the level of importance that was required on delivering the letter to Romeo, and did not follow his original agreement with Romeo about passing on messages. “Sojourn in Mantua; I’ll find out your man, / Every good hap to you that chances have,” he promised. Instead, Friar Lawrence sent his letter with Friar John, who failed to deliver the message in time. If this crucial error had been avoided then Romeo would not have acquired a potion to end his life after receiving news that Juliet was dead.
Friar Lawrence was a man who was compassionate to the point of recklessness, and made many decisions before contemplating the consequences. In his quest to keep Romeo and Juliet together, he was irrational, irresponsible and in times of importance, acted inadequately. Admitting that he himself was the main cause of the tragedy, Friar Lawrence says, “And here I stand both to impeach and purge/ myself condemned and myself excused. ” Without him, the catastrophic events would not have unfolded the way they did, and perhaps Romeo and Juliet would have lived to see a happier ending.