Essay About Love In Romeo And Juliet

The two people that are aware of the love between Romeo and Juliet and are partly responsible for their demise are Friar Lawrence and the nurse.

In the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is one of the only people aware of the lovers’ ongoing relationship and marriage. After Romeo meets Juliet at the Capulet feast, Romeo instantly falls in love with her and forgets about Rosaline. Once Romeo leaves the Capulet feast, he jumps over the Capulet wall to talk with Juliet, which leads to them arranging their marriage with Friar Lawrence. When Romeo encounters Friar Lawrence and asks him if he could marry him and Juliet, Friar Lawrence is surprised by how quickly he has gotten over Rosaline. However, he decides to help them, as he believes that helping with the marriage can help solve ongoing problems between the Capulet and Montague. Friar Lawrence says, “In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancor to pure love” (Shakespeare 89). Friar Lawrence believes that he can not only help Romeo and Juliet in their marriage, but he also thinks he can bring peace to the Capulet and Montague households by reconciling their dispute with love. Regardless of his intentions, Friar Lawrence was wrong for actions such as hiding their marriage from the lovers’ families and giving Juliet a potion to fake her death before informing Romeo. Friar Lawrence was irresponsible and did not think of the consequences that could come from marrying Romeo and Juliet, meaning he helped the lovers, but was also partly responsible for their demise.

The second person who knew about Romeo and Juliet’s love and marriage is the nurse. When Romeo and Juliet first met at the Capulet feast, they began kissing, which the nurse broke up because Juliet’s mother was looking for her. Since the nurse caught on to what was going on, Juliet informed her about their love and sent her to meet with Romeo to arrange their marriage. Even though Romeo is a Montague, the nurse helps Juliet by acting as a messenger for her and does not disapprove of their relationship. Once the nurse arrives back after meeting with Romeo, she says, “Your love says, like an honest gentleman, and a courteous, and a kind, and a handsome, and I warrant, a virtuous…hie you hence to Friar Lawrence’ cell. There stays a husband to make you a wife” (Shakespeare 108-109). The nurse expresses her thoughts about Romeo and compliments him for many of his features, followed by the help she provides by approving their marriage. She knows that her parents wouldn’t allow Juliet to marry Romeo, but she conceals the marriage for the lovers to be happy. However, when Juliet’s father demands that Juliet will marry Count Paris, Juliet goes to the nurse for support, but she tells Juliet that she should marry Paris. Juliet was upset by her advice, so she decided to seek another plan by going to Friar Lawrence, who advised her to fake her death. This plan ends with the death of Romeo and Juliet, meaning that the nurse is responsible for helping with Romeo and Juliet’s marriage while also being responsible for the lovers’ demise.