Constantly committing trickery is a flaw, in many people both in real life and in stories, that always leads to unpleasant ends. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, two lovers from powerful rival families, the Capulets and the Montagues, are married by a priest, Friar Laurence, without their families’ consent. This action ultimately leads to the deaths of the lovers and many others. All of this happens because of the priest’s determination to mend the rift between the families, even if he has to lie to the families to do it. Friar Laurence’s dishonesty and faithfulness is a clear flaw, expressed by the motif of poison, that leads to the tragic ends of Romeo and Juliet. Friar Laurence poisons the potential love and happiness
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In Act 2, the Friar tries to justify his intended act by exclaiming, “For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households’ rancor into pure love”(II-iii-85), though when he married the lovers at the end of Act 2 he sets off a series of events that would lead to their deaths. His act was like a plant, and as the Friars murmurs at the beginning of Act 2 Scene 3, “Poison hath residence, and medicine power. For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part, Being tasted slays all senses but the heart”(II-iii-18), which means that plants can be used as poison or as medicine depending on how it is used. This relates to the Friars act of secret marriage because he intends to use it as medicine to mend the families’ hatred, but instead the act works as a poison which leads to the death of the two lovers. While the Friar’s heart was in the right place, his deception was the cause of the play’s tragic …show more content…
His plan was to have Juliet drink a potion that would make her seem dead so that she would be brought to her tomb where Romeo would get her to bring her to Mantua. This plan would not end up having a joyful end because the friar that Friar Laurence sends to inform Romeo of his plan fails to reach Romeo. Even Juliet would have her doubts of the vial in Act 4 where she wonders, “What if it be a poison which the Friar Subtly hath ministered to have me dead...How if, when I am laid in the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo Come to redeem me”(IV-iii-24), she would still take the potion and fall into a deathlike sleep. Romeo would later find her in the tomb and shouts, “Here’s to my love! O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die”(V-iii-119), and die because he believed she was dead. Friar Laurence goes to the tomb after Romeo dies and is there when Juliet wakes up, but instead of watching over her to make sure she doesn’t do anything rash he runs away because he hears a noise. Soon after the Friar leaves her she sees that Romeo is dead and kills herself, if the Friar had not left he most likely would have been able to stop her. His actions show that while he has good intentions he cares more about himself and what he gains from the outcomes of his
In Act 2, the Friar tries to justify his intended act by exclaiming, “For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households’ rancor into pure love”(II-iii-85), though when he married the lovers at the end of Act 2 he sets off a series of events that would lead to their deaths. His act was like a plant, and as the Friars murmurs at the beginning of Act 2 Scene 3, “Poison hath residence, and medicine power. For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part, Being tasted slays all senses but the heart”(II-iii-18), which means that plants can be used as poison or as medicine depending on how it is used. This relates to the Friars act of secret marriage because he intends to use it as medicine to mend the families’ hatred, but instead the act works as a poison which leads to the death of the two lovers. While the Friar’s heart was in the right place, his deception was the cause of the play’s tragic …show more content…
His plan was to have Juliet drink a potion that would make her seem dead so that she would be brought to her tomb where Romeo would get her to bring her to Mantua. This plan would not end up having a joyful end because the friar that Friar Laurence sends to inform Romeo of his plan fails to reach Romeo. Even Juliet would have her doubts of the vial in Act 4 where she wonders, “What if it be a poison which the Friar Subtly hath ministered to have me dead...How if, when I am laid in the tomb, I wake before the time that Romeo Come to redeem me”(IV-iii-24), she would still take the potion and fall into a deathlike sleep. Romeo would later find her in the tomb and shouts, “Here’s to my love! O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die”(V-iii-119), and die because he believed she was dead. Friar Laurence goes to the tomb after Romeo dies and is there when Juliet wakes up, but instead of watching over her to make sure she doesn’t do anything rash he runs away because he hears a noise. Soon after the Friar leaves her she sees that Romeo is dead and kills herself, if the Friar had not left he most likely would have been able to stop her. His actions show that while he has good intentions he cares more about himself and what he gains from the outcomes of his