The Importance Of Choices In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Friar Laurence is a conscientious man, but even the most honorable people make choices that “affect everyone [...] one way or another.” Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, tells the tale of a young couple's relationship that their families make impossible. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet come from fighting households that despise each other. Many factors lead to their unfortunate ends, but a priest known as Friar Laurence makes decisions that place this burden on his shoulders. Friar Laurence is responsible for Romeo and Juliet’s deaths because he marries them, fabricates a dangerous plan, and abandons Juliet.  

Friar Laurence marries Romeo and Juliet despite his doubts. Romeo trusts the Friar and confides in him. In the beginning of the play, Romeo loves Rosaline. He cries to the Friar about her because she vows to live a life of chastity; however, when Romeo attends a Capulet party and sees Juliet, they fall so madly in love that they make plans to marry. Romeo goes to the Friar and tells the Friar “[he prays] / That [he] consent to marry [them] today” (Shakespeare II.iii.63-64). After recently witnessing Romeo’s sadness over Rosaline, doubt clouds the Friar’s mind. He voices his opinion and says, “Young men’s love then lies / Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes” (Shakespeare II.iii.67-68). The Friar doubts Romeo’s sincerity in his love for Juliet. He thinks that Romeo only loves her for her looks. Even during the first interaction that the Friar and Romeo have about Juliet, he feels that something about this match is not quite right. The Friar also tells Romeo, “they stumble who run fast” (Shakespeare II.iii.94). He attempts to warn Romeo that rushing a relationship can be the reason for its possible failure. He emphasizes this point on the couple’s wedding day by telling both Romeo and Juliet, “these violent delights have violent ends” (Shakespeare II.vi.9). The Friar knows that passion fuels Romeo and Juliet’s relationship and causes them to ask as impulsive as reckless children. He also knows that passion fades and can cause gruesome endings. His choice to marry Romeo and Juliet regardless of his hesitation leads to their deaths; however, this is not the only choice he makes that affects so many people. Along with marrying the two young lovers, the Friar also creates a plan in an attempt to help them stay together.

Friar Laurence fabricates a plan that puts Romeo and Juliet in danger. In the beginning of the play, Count Paris asks Juliet’s father for her hand in marriage. At first, Lord Capulet is against the idea of his daughter marrying before the age of fifteen, but later he changes his mind and agrees. Unbeknownst to him, his daughter married Romeo behind his back. When Juliet finds out about this arrangement, she flees to the Friar for help. The Friar constructs a perilous plan in an attempt to help the grief-stricken girl. The most hazardous part of this plan is Romeo’s ignorance of it due to his banishment to Mantua. The Friar tells Juliet that intends to send Friar John to deliver a letter to Romeo (Shakespeare IV.i.123-124); however, his message about the plan never arrives. This failure to communicate is fatal to Romeo and Juliet because it causes a ripple effect. When Friar Laurence tells Juliet to “take [...] this vial” (Shakespeare IV.i.93), he gives her potion to make her appear dead. Since this news never gets to Romeo, he thinks his wife is truly dead and announces, “Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight” (Shakespeare V.i.34). He goes to her tomb and commits suicide. Shortly after this event takes place, Juliet wakes up, takes a dagger, and kills herself. Friar Laurence’s choice to create this plan in the manner that he did causes these deaths directly, but he also makes the decision to abandon Juliet when she needs comfort and help the most.

The Friar also contributes to the deaths because he left Juliet in the tomb. When Juliet awakens from her death after drinking from the vial, her fear that it might not work dissipates, she no longer has to marry Paris and might be able to live happily with her husband. She expects to see Romeo standing with the Friar after breaking into her tomb to rescue her, but when she asks where her husband is (Shakespeare V.iii.148), she finds that he is dead. Friar Laurence tries to convince her to leave, but he gives up. He chooses to leave her, telling her that he “[dares] no longer stay” (Shakespeare V.iii.159) because the watch is coming, and he does not want to be caught. When Juliet does not leave, he abandons her instead of trying another way to persuade her to go with him. He throws away the chance to save Juliet’s life by leaving her when she needs someone more than she ever has. This makes him responsible for her death because after he leaves, she picks up a dagger and says, “this is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die” (Shakespeare V.iii.170). If the Friar made another choice, the play’s ending could change drastically. He could save Juliet, but he chooses to leave her in the tomb for cowardly reasons. Juliet could live, but a Friar, who supposedly cares for people and teaches them about doing the same thing, abandons a girl in need. Friar Laurence’s choice to do this shows that he is responsible for her death.

At the end of Romeo and Juliet, it becomes clear that the Friar’s choices “affect everyone” in a negative way. The Friar’s decisions to marry Romeo and Juliet, create a dangerous plan, and leave Juliet in a time of need cause Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. Because of the Friar’s decisions to do these things, Romeo and Juliet’s fate continues to go down in history as a sorrowful tale of forbidden lovers whose lives were taken too soon.