In the play, Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is a monk in Verona. He vowed himself to poverty, chastity, and obedience. A monk shows kindness and tries to give people Godly advice in helping with problems that may occur. These attributes are clearly seen in Romeo and Juliet. When Friar Lawrence begins to share his first advice to Romeo about Rosaline; Romeo keeps coming back for more. Soon, Romeo depends on Friar Lawrence more than he depends on his own father. As one sees in the play, Friar Lawrence gets deeper and deeper into the lives of both Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence’s influence on them can best be described as kind hearted and doing whatever it takes to make both of them happy together. Within Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence played an important role in both Romeo and Juliet’s lives by being not only a friend but also a father figure.
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Friar Lawrence helps Romeo out in a couple of ways. He helps Romeo by hiding him in his cell for a while after he was banished from Verona. Friar Lawrence keeps Romeo there for a while, so Romeo can see Juliet for the last time until they meet again. Second, the friar goes out of his way to get a letter to Romeo, and keep him informed about what is happening in Verona. When Friar Lawrence realizes that the letter was not delivered, he hurries to get the letter on time. If Friar Lawrence would have not cared about Romeo seeing Juliet or Romeo in general, the letter would have never been delivered.
In addition to Romeo, Friar Lawrence helps Juliet throughout the play. First, we see Juliet’s family does not listen to Juliet, so she finds another way to talk to somebody. So, she goes to Friar Lawrence to talk to him. Friar Lawrence speaks to her of good advice and more importantly listens to what she has to say. Juliet now starts to depend on Friar Lawrence more than her own parents. Just like Romeo, she is now seeing the friar as a father figure in her life. Secondly, Friar Lawrence gives the sleeping potion to Juliet. He gives the potion to her, because he understands that Juliet does not want to marry Paris. Also, he knows that Juliet loves Romeo more than anything in the world, and like a father he wants his kids to be happy. Again, this shows Friar Lawrence’s good fatherly characteristic of caring.
In Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence speaks to Romeo and Juliet as if they were his own children. Romeo talks often to Friar Lawrence throughout the play. Whenever Romeo sees the Friar he says “Good morning father” (Ellis, 706). Meaning that, when Romeo sees Friar Lawrence, he is glad to see him and refers to him as a father. Another quote struck me while I was reading. Friar Lawrence gets important news from an unknown source. Romeo hears of it and says “Father what news” (Ellis, 730). Again, Romeo is referring to Friar Lawrence as father.
Though Juliet never refers to the friar as “father,” Friar Lawrence speaks to her as if she were his daughter. In the quote “Hold, daughter” (Ellis, 749) Friar Lawrence refers to her as a daughter. He is telling her to stop, because he cares for her not to get hurt. Another quote showing that Friar Lawrence is referring to Juliet as a daughter is “Romeo shall thank thee, daughter, for us both” (Ellis, 716). It is in these two quotes Friar Lawrence is showing yet again the fatherly trait of caring as if she were his own.
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Friar Lawrence also speaks to Romeo in a father to son sense. The friar is concerned that Romeo is angry, so he says to Romeo “Young son, it argues a distempered head So soon to bid good morrow to thy bed” (Ellis, 706). In this, he is telling Romeo to set aside his anger and move on in his life. This is a fatherly attribute of giving good advice. Friar Lawrence makes another concern towards Romeo. He says to him “Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift.’ Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift” (Ellis, 706). This means that Friar Lawrence is telling Romeo, simply, to stay out of trouble and be good. Even though Friar Lawrence’s advice did not keep Romeo out of trouble, his advice was fatherly and should have been taken with respect. Lastly, the friar makes a statement to Romeo showing that he is happy to see him but concerned to where he had been. Friar Lawrence states in the following: “That’s my good son!’ But where hast thou been then?” (Ellis, 706). Friar Lawrence cares a lot about Romeo and Juliet. In fact, He cares so much that he refers to Romeo and Juliet as son and daughter.
Friar Lawrence had an astronomical influence on Romeo and Juliet. He played the Key role in both of their lives. It meant a great deal to them both that the friar was always there to help them with whatever problems would arise in their lives. I see this in comparison with God and “we” the people. Whenever we need help or somebody to talk to, we turn to God for his guidance and then he helps us to fix the problem. If Friar Lawrence would not have been there to help Romeo and Juliet, they would have never excelled as far as they did.
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