Friar Lawrence Character Analysis Essay Sample

Arguably one of Shakespeare’s most popular works, Romeo and Juliet, a story of lovers doomed by fate, features many characters and people that readers can determine whether or not act realistically. All the characters’ actions and emotions are different, but some characters are made more believable than others. One of the most believable characters is Friar Lawrence, as throughout the play, the actions and emotions he displays to try to help Romeo and Juliet as they get married despite their families’ feud reveal his character. There are several examples of Friar Lawrence showing believable traits, but some of the most prominent were well-devised plans, his rational responses and understandings of other characters, and his genuine and positive intentions. With these qualities displayed, Friar Lawrence is made a believable character.

Friar Lawrence and his plans are actually a root cause for the plot of this play and in this way, although things almost always go wrong, he displays the traits of logic and thoroughness, both of which are believable attributes. With ideas in place, the Friar comes up with several diligent plans over the course of the play. For example, after several somewhat successful plans to marry Romeo and Juliet and keep them in secret, Friar Lawernce develops a very tedious plan to help Romeo and Juliet escape Verona. He uses knowledge and cleverness to have Juliet fake her death by using a herb that would put her into a state of deathly appearance, and then Romeo would retrieve her by the time the herb wore off and the two could run away. This plan was well put together and thought out, and if it was executed perfectly it would certainly work. However, even with Friar Lawernce’s use of logic, the plan definitely does not work perfectly which actually reinforces the believability of this character. This is because oftentimes, in real life, even well put together plans, have a tendency to never work out perfectly or completely fail. So, Shakespeare writes the Friar as a believable character by giving him the cleverness to develop elaborate plans, while also giving him the capability of failure.

Another thing that makes Friar Lawence a believable character are his rational responses to other characters' irrational actions and reactions. Many of the characters in this play have dramatic and over exaggerated reactions. Two very notable instances of this are actually both with interactions between Friar Lawrence and Romeo. First, when Romeo comes to Friar Lawrence after meeting Juliet, he tells him he wants to marry Juliet and is in love with her. In response, Friar Lawernce, who realizes that Romeo claimed to be in love with Rosaline just a little while ago, says: “Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.” In other words, Friar Lawernce is recognizing Romeo’s capricious behavior and speaking out as to the fact that Romeo is being hasty and only “loving” people for their looks, as many people do in real life, therefore demonstrating Friar Lawrence’s realism and relating to the audience. Another example is when Romeo had gone to Friar Lawrence for safety after killing Tyablt in a fight. Under the circumstances, Romeo is complaining about how terrible his situation is, as he is now to be banished rather than killed. However, Friar Lawrence, with an appropriate and reasonable reaction says: “O deadly sin, O rude unthankfulness![...]This is dear mercy, and thou seest it not.” This shows that the Friar is understanding that Romeo should be grateful for how fortune has treated him and therefore it shows the sensibility of Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence is believable because he does not have unsound reactions, but instead has a realistic and pragmatic point of view.

A third reason why Friar Lawrence is a believable character is because of his authentic manners and well-intentioned actions. In relationships and interactions with characters in the story, Friar Lawrence demonstrates a genuine personality that can be related to real life. As mentioned before, Friar Lawrence seems to only have good intentions, mainly in the way of helping others and specifically wanting to help to unite the Montague and Capulet families and bring peace to many. Shakespeare displays examples of this when he writes the Friar’s thoughts of what would happen if he were to marry Romeo and Juliet. He writes, from the perspective of Friar Lawrence, “ In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your households’ rancor to pure love.” The Friar is saying here that if he were to marry them, their families would love each other and stop hating each other. The reason this proves how the Friar is a relatable character and ultimately a believable character is because it is a common real life characteristic to want to be helpful to others and demonstrate care through actions. So, by including these details about Friar Lawrence, the reader can relate to him and find him believable.