Friar Lawrence and the Nurse are two very important characters in the play, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare. The play takes place in Verona and Mantua, Italy, around the fourteenth century. Even though the play was written in the fifteenth century. the play actually takes place in the fourteenth century. Friar Lawrence is a Franciscan Priest and the Nurse is a servant to Juliet. There are many similarities and differences between Friar Lawrence and the Nurse.
Friar Lawrence and the Nurse are similar in that they both play parental roles for Romeo and Juliet. Friar Lawrence plays a fatherly figure to Romeo, whereas the Nurse plays a motherly role to Juliet. One quote that …show more content…
He is a Franciscan Priest that offers many people words of wisdom and tries to help many people. Friar Lawrence is like a mentor to Romeo and often gives him advice. One quote from the play that shows words of wisdom are, “Be patient. The world is broad and wide.” Here, Romeo wants to go to Verona but is banished so Friar Lawrence is telling him to take his time and that there are other options. Some advice Friar Lawrence gives to Romeo in Act 3 is when he says, “Climb to her room and comfort her. But be sure you don’t stay until the night guards come on duty, for then you can’t escape to Mantua where you will live until we can find a time to announce your marriage, reconcile your friends, ask the Prince’s pardon, and bring you back home with two million times more joy than when you left in sorrow.” Friar Lawrence is telling Romeo it is safe to visit Juliet that night but has to be gone before morning so he won’t get caught. He will the after have to go live in Mantua until their marriage is announced. This is good advice from Friar Lawrence because it was helpful to Romeo because it was a safe plan to visit Juliet before he had to flee to Mantua. In Act 4 the Friar Lawrence says to Juliet, “Take this bottle and when you’re in bed, drink this distilled liquor. Immediately a cold and quieting liquid shall run through all your veins. Your pulse will stop.” Friar Lawrence tells Juliet to marry Paris but on the …show more content…
Some similarities are that they are both parental figures towards Romeo and Juliet and they both want Romeo and Juliet to be together. Some differences are that the Nurse is a personal servant to Juliet as well as a motherly figure. Friar Lawrence is a Priest that acts as an adviser to Romeo as well as to many others. I think that Friar Lawrence’s strength is that he is a very wise man that gives great advice. He is also kind hearted and quick to help others. I think Friar Lawrence’s shortcomings are that he thinks he is able to help everyone but it doesn’t always work the best. He doesn’t often think things through and he acts very quick without much thought. I think that some of the strengths for the Nurse are that she truly cares about Juliet and is always there for her. I think that the Nurse’s shortcomings are that she also makes decisions too fast and talks too much. Friar Lawrence could’ve prevented both deaths if he would have found a better way to deliver the message about Juliet’s fake death to Romeo rather than a letter. If Romeo was notified about Juliet’s fake death he never would’ve killed himself and neither would’ve Juliet. I think that there wasn’t much that the Nurse could’ve done to prevent the death of Romeo and Juliet because she didn’t even know about the Juliet fake death