Romeo And Juliet Friar Relationship

A mentor is caring towards their mentee and has an intimate relationship with them, whereas a mentee trusts their mentor and listens to what they say. William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, develops a very complex relationship between Romeo and his mentor, Friar Laurence. The Friar attempts to guide Romeo to not be impulsive, and failing that, tries to keep Romeo out of danger while he follows his treacherous path. Through his actions, Friar Laurence clearly shows that he cares about Romeo and is very close to him, even though he makes desperate, questionable choices. This desperation, however, is caused by Romeo, whose impulsive actions manipulate the friar to work towards his misguided interests, leading to his fateful marriage to …show more content…
When greeting Romeo, Friar Laurence shows concern when he believes Romeo has been up all night: “What early tongue so sweet saluteth me? / Young son, it argues a distempered head / So soon to bid good morrow to thy bed. … Our Romeo hath not been in bed to-night.” (2.3.33-35,43). Friar is surprised that Romeo is so “early”, and then is worried that something is wrong that took him out of bed so early before guessing that Romeo had “not been in bed” at all. Friar Laurence is concerned for the well-being of Romeo, demonstrating he clearly knows him and is close to him, suggesting that Friar trusts Romeo to have such an intimate relationship with him. Later in the play, before marrying Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence tells them, “These violent delights have violent ends … Therefore love moderately: long love doth so; / Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow” (2.6.9,14-15). By giving this piece of advice, Friar Laurence attempts to guide Romeo to “love moderately”, warning that moving too quickly is just as bad as bad as moving too slowly. He encourages Romeo to hear his wisdom and give himself time to think. The friar’s work to influence Romeo’s behavior towards the better shows that he deeply cares about Romeo and wants the best for him. When speaking with Friar Laurence about Juliet, …show more content…
Romeo refuses to acknowledge the wisdom of Friar’s advice and instead manipulates Friar to do what he wants. When Friar becomes desperate, he panics and goes against his better judgment. Shakespeare illustrates through this relationship that when a mentee tries to manipulate their mentor, the mentor can become hasty, making the relationship detrimental. Mentoring requires a close relationship where the mentee trusts the mentor’s