Romeo & Juliet Essay
Love can end in happiness or in woe ~ Anonymous. Who caused the death of Romeo and
Juliet? The cause of Romeo and Juliet’s death was definitely Friar Laurence he came off
as a very sneaky person in this story. With that said here are a few reasons why Friar
Laurence caused the death of the star-crossed lovers: He married Romeo and Juliet in
secret, He gave Juliet a potion to make her appear dead, and Friar Laurence plan for
Romeo and Juliet did not work out well.
To begin with, Friar Laurence is the cause of Romeo and Juliet’s fatality because he
married them in secret. For example in (act two scene three lines ninety-six through onehundred) It shows Friar Laurence and Romeo speaking of the secret wedding. “Friar
Laurence: Thy love did read by role, that could not spell, but come, young waver. / Come
go with me/. In one respect/ I’ll thy assistant be; for this alliance may so happy prove to
turn households/’ Rancor to pure love/ Romeo: O let us hence! I stand on sudden haste. If
Friar Laurence wanted the marriage to end the feud between the families why didn’t he
just marry them publicly instead of keeping it a secret? Another example is in( act two
scene six line numbers thirty-four through forty) we have Friar Laurence bringing Romeo
and Juliet together to begin the wedding. “Come come with me, and we will make short
work; for by your leaves, you shall not stay alone till holy church incorporated two in
one”. In this scene Friar Laurence seems to be in a bit of a hurry to marry them off. Friar
Laurence should have never married Romeo and Juliet if he knew that it could get him in
deep trouble and since he was so unsure about it.
In addition, Friar Laurence is the cause of Romeo and Juliet’s bad fortune because he
gave Juliet a potion to make her appear dead.( In act four scene one line numbers one
hundred and five through one hundred and ten) we have friar Laurence explaining what
will happen when Juliet has drunk the poison. “Take this vial, being then in bed and this
distilled liquor drink thou off; then presently through all veins no pulse shall keep his
native progress no warmth/ no breath shall testify though livest. / Thy rosy lips/ cheeks
will fade like death when he shuts up the day of life. Instead of Friar Laurence giving
Juliet a vial of poison to make her appear dead he should have just gave her a horse and
then let her leave to be with Romeo. Or he could have snuck off got Romeo and have
them leave together. In (act four scene three line number sixty) it shows Juliet drinking
the vial. “Romeo I come! This do I drink to thee”. Before Juliet drank the vial she should
have really been thinking of other ways she could be with Romeo. Juliet could have also
snuck out the window and ran-away.
Furthermore, Friar Laurence is the cause of Romeo and Juliet’s eternal rest because
the plan he made did not work out. In( act five scene two line numbers fourteen through
twenty- one) we have Friar Laurence talking about the letter for Romeo that did not make
it to him. “Friar Laurence: Who bare my letter, then to Romeo? / Friar John: I could not
send it here it is again. / Friar Laurence: Unhappy fortune! By my brotherhood, the letter
was not nice, but full of chore, and neglecting it may do much danger”. So that this didn’t
happen Friar Laurence should have just delivered the letter himself. Or he could have just
found a way to visit Romeo instead of giving the letter to someone else to deliver. In( act
five scene three line numbers eighty- eight through one hundred and twenty-two). We
have Romeo who has come back to find Juliet” dead”.” For here lies Juliet/ and her
beauty makes this vault a feasting presence/full of light heres to my love! O true
apothecary! / Thy drugs are quick. / Thus with a kiss I die. Instead of Friar Laurence
having the idea of making Juliet appear dead he should have just hid Juliet in his cell.
Another idea and reason he caused the death of the two is because he didn’t go find
Romeo right away after he found out the letter did not send.
All in all many believe that Friar Laurence was the cause of Romeo and Juliet’s
hardship because he married them in secret and his plan for them to get back together
didn’t work out. Although others believe that Romeo is the cause of the tragedy because
he was banished from Verona. In (act three scene three line number one-hundred-seven
through one-hundred forty-nine) we have Juliet worried about Romeo and how her future
will turn out without him.” But I, a maid, die maiden- widowed. Come cords; Come
horse I’ll go to my wedding bed; and death, not Romeo take my maidenhead” When
Romeo got banished from Verona that was when Juliet went to friar Laurence and she got
the horrible plan which caused Romeo and Juliet their futures. Another reason Romeo
was the cause of the tragedy because he killed himself before Juliet awoke from the
potion. In (act five scene three line number one-hundred seventy-four thru one-hundred
eighty-three) we have Juliet finding Romeo dead. “What’s here? A cup, closed in my true
loves hand? / Poison, I see hath been his timeless end. Then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger!
/ This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die! / Romeo should have gotten an explanation
on how and why Juliet passed away. He also should have noticed she wasn’t really dead
from her complexion and looks. That still doesn’t change the fact that Friar Laurence is
still the main cause of Romeo and Juliet’s death.
In conclusion, Friar Laurence was the cause of Romeo and Juliet’s expiration because
he married them in secret. He gave Juliet a potion making her appear dead. Lastly the
plan Friar Laurence thought out ended up down falling. Friar Laurence should have really
thought about the outcome of his decisions before he put them in place. He should have
been prepared and went public with everything right from the beginning and that could
have stopped this sad ending.