Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare's plays about 

tragedy.  It is about two lovers who commit suicide when 

their feuding famillies prevent them from being together.  

The play has many characters, each with its own role in 

keeping the plot line.  Some characters have very little to 

do with the plot but some have the plot revolving around 

them.  Friar Lawrence does not have very much time on stage 

but the time he does have is crucial to the plot line.  

Through his words Friar Lawrence demonstrates the he is a 

good intentioned, yet sometimes short-sighted, man who is 

not afraid to take risks to help others



One of Friar Lawrences most favourable traits is how good 

intentioned he is.  He may do something out of the ordinary 

if he thinks the outcome will help someone he cares for.  

For example, when he says "In one respect I'll thy assistant 

be; for this alliance may so happy prove, to turn your 

households rancour to pure love."(Act 2, Scene 3), he is 

saying that the only reason he will marry Romeo and Juliet 

is because he hopes that the marriage will end the 

hostilities between the two houses.  When he says "Shall 

Romeo by my letters know our drift, and hither shall he 

come; and he and I shall watch thy waking, and that very 

night shall Romeo bear thee to Mantua." (Act 4, Scene 1), he 

tells Juliet how everything will be all right.  

Unfortunately, for all his good intentions the play still 

ends in tragedy.



Friar Lawrence is a man who is not afraid to take risks when 

he feels it is neccesary to help someone.  For example in 

Act 2, Scene 6, when he marries Romeo and Juliet, he is 

risking his reputation as a Friar so he can help the two 

lovers.  Also, when he says "Take thou this vial, being then 

in bed, and this distilled liquor drink though off;" (Act 4, 

Scene 1), he is suggesting that Juliet drink a potion so 

that she might feighn her own death and avoid marrying 

Paris.  This is an extremely risky thing to do because 

anything might happen to Juliet while she unconscious.



Even after all Friar did to help Romeo and Juliet the play 

still ended in tragedy because of Friar Lawrences' short 

sightedness.



When the Friar married Romeo Juliet in secrecy, he did not 

think of all the complications that would arise but instead 

went on with the marriage because at that time he thought it 

was the right thing to do.  In Act 4, Scene 1, he gave 

Juliet a sleeping potion without thinking of the possible 

outcomes of such an outrages plan.  He admits that much of 

the fault of the tragedy lies in his hands when he says "And 

her I stand both to impeach and purge myself condemned and 

myself excused", and  when he say "Her nurse is privy; and, 

if aught in this miscarried by myself..." (Act 5, Scene 3).



Although Friar Lawrence does not have an especially large 

role, his role is none the less important.  It is because of 

his good intentions that he was willing to help his friends 

that Romeo and Juliet were married - a key event in the 

play.  It is because of his willingness to take risks for 

his friends that Juliet aqquired the sleeping potion - 

another key event in the play.  Finally, it was the 

shortsightedness of his actions that in part led to the 

deaths of the two lead characters.  This demonstartes that 

Friar Lawrence was a man who was a man with good intentions 

who was willing to take risks to help his frieneds.  If he 

had been any other way, the play might not have turned out 

the way it did.