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His Royal Highness, Prince Escalus of Verona, the case of Romeo and Juliet is a truly tragic series of events that could’ve been avoided from the beginning. The tale of two children in love breaks the hearts of those in our city that know the pain and blind devotion that love can bring. Rightfully so, justice must be brought to these two young souls that lost their lives in the fault of Friar Lawrence. If he had not gone against the Capulet’s authority, taken a moment to listen to his own advice, and not let the children participate in naive mistakes, perhaps they would have lived to spend a lifetime together. Hear me out as I continue my reasoning as to why Friar Lawrence should be blamed for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

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Friar Lawrence meddled in the affairs of Romeo and Juliet, going against their parents’ authority.

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Meddling  Can Lead to Mistakes and Misery

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Meddling  Can Lead to Mistakes and Misery

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1. “In one respect I’ll thy assistant be, For this alliance may so happy prove To turn your households’ rancor to pure love (2.3.97-99)."

2. Friar Lawrence knew from the very beginning that Romeo was going to marry Juliet. He was told the morning after Romeo had met Juliet.

3. Without thinking about getting their parent’s consent, he promises to marry them. Even though he has good intentions, this is a very big problem because he knows that Romeo isn’t thinking clearly and falls in love too easily. He is well aware that both of the kids lack the maturity needed to form a healthy relationship.

4. His actions can be defined as meddling because he doesn’t think in this moment to inform the Capulets or Montagues of their children’s wish to marry. Although he had good intentions and hoped that the marriage would fix a long-held feud, he should’ve told the parents. He is interfering with what they want for their children, something that isn’t exactly wrong but his approach towards the situation is terrible and ultimately leads to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.

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Reason 2 | Friar Lawrence's Second Mistake

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Reason 2 | Friar Lawrence's Second Mistake

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Friar Lawrence gives Romeo so much good advice throughout the events but he fails to follow his own counsel.

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1. Had he done so, the ending for both children would have been completely different.

2. Perhaps he didn’t think his actions would have serious consequences or that the rules didn't apply to him. Either way, he allowed Romeo and Juliet to go on with what they were doing.

3. The friar constantly warns Romeo that his passion will blow up in his face. “These violent delights have violent ends (2.6.9)." He tells them to “love moderately” because he sees that neither one of them can control themselves. He allows both of them to carry on in their relationship even though it doesn’t seem like a very healthy one.

4. He tells them to slow down with their relationship and to take their time. “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast (2.4.101)." The friar, though, does nothing to slow either of them down. In fact, he actively participates in hurrying their relationship by consenting to marrying them, knowing that they hardly know each other.

5. He sets a terrible example for Romeo, a young man, who thinks he can get away with anything. He is simply letting Romeo free from consequence until consequence catches up with him.

6. Even though he gives them good advice, he doesn’t urge them to follow it and goes along with whatever they want to do. He gave fantastic counsel that anyone today should heed. It's a shame that he didn’t listen to his own words.

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Counter-Argument | Release Romeo and Juliet From Responsibility 

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Counter-Argument | Release Romeo and Juliet From Responsibility 

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While others will argue that Romeo and Juliet should be blamed for their own deaths, I think it would be a serious problem to blame two children for what could’ve been avoided if they’d had better role models in their lives.

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The Absence of Good Guidance Can Affect Young Adults 

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The Absence of Good Guidance Can Affect Young Adults 

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1.  It is true that Romeo and Juliet do take their relationship too far and indulge in an unhealthy devotion towards each other. In the end, it is literally them who drink the poison and stab themselves. However, it's important to note that these were not the only things to happen in the story. As I mentioned earlier, it was a series of events that led to their deaths.

2. "Read o’er the volume of young Paris’ face, And find delight writ there with beauty’s pen (1.4.87-88)." …."So shall you share all that he doth possess By having him, making yourself no less (1.4.99-100)."

3. Lady Capulet tells Juliet to marry so that she can hold a successful social stance and for the beauty that Paris seems to have. She fails to mention love the whole conversation. If this is the guidance that Romeo and Juliet have been given their whole lives, then it's unlikely that they know what true, healthy love is.

4. They don’t have proper adult guidance in their lives.

5. The Capulets are too busy trying to get Juliet to marry Paris and ignore  anything that she has to say on the matter. Not to mention they're both carrying on an immature feud that has already led to multiple deaths.

6. The nurse and the friar don’t think about their actions. They both encourage them to dive deeper into the problem that has already arisen and later abandon Romeo and Juliet when they realize that their actions have gone too far.

7. You wouldn't blame a child for making a mistake because he simply doesn't know any better. If the child thinks that they know exactly what to do, you can't give them the opportunity to do something reckless because their lack of experience prevents them from knowing how to control the situation. If you did let them take control, you would be setting them up for failure. That is exactly what Friar Lawrence does.

8. It's important to note that Friar Lawrence doesn't exactly lack the IQ needed to handle this situation, like the Nurse does. He also holds the maturity that one as a friar should have, otherwise he wouldn't be part of the clergy.  He was also the one who was informed throughout the whole relationship that Romeo and Juliet were together.

9. Clearly, none of the adults in Romeo and Juliet’s life had no common sense and didn’t take the time to listen to them. That is why they cannot be blamed for desperately trying to find something that they couldn’t find in their own homes, which was love.

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Friar Lawrence - The Man That Should Be Put Behind Bars

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Friar Lawrence - The Man That Should Be Put Behind Bars

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Had Friar Lawrence not interfered in the relationship of the two children and let the parents know what was going on, the events would’ve turned out differently. It was the one time that being a snitch would’ve been a good idea. If he had simply followed his own counsel and done something about Romeo’s decisions when he had the chance, the story would've turned out a success. Friar Lawrence was too passive when he should’ve urged the children to be honest, not deceiving, with their parents. It would be absolutely ridiculous for anyone one of us to blame anyone other than the Friar for hiding the truths that could’ve changed the fate of Romeo and Juliet.