Friar Lawrence

Romeo and Juliet (2013)

Paul Giamatti (2013)

Holy Friar

Juliet Capulet (friend, deceased)

### Personalities

Optimistic, wise, kind, civic-minded, helpful, spiritual, naïve, religious, trustworthy, friendly, respected, compassionate, honest, frustrated, paternal, secretive, ignorant, caring, determined, reckless, political, cunning, protective

### Allies

Romeo Montague

Juliet Capulet

### Likes

Picking herbs and flowers, offering spiritual advice, helping Romeo and Juliet

### Dislikes

When his plan backfires, Romeo and Juliet’s childish behaviour

### Goal

To perform Romeo and Juliet’s wedding (succeeded)

To offer Juliet a potion that will put her to sleep as a plan to have her be with Romeo (succeeded, then failed)

### Fate

After Romeo and Juliet die in the Capulet vault, he reveals the truth of the lovers to the Prince and the parents.

### Famous quotes

“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.”“These violent delights have violent ends.”

> "*Young men’s love then lies not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes*"
> ― Act 2, scene 3
>
>

Friar Lawrence is a major character in William Shakespeare’s *Romeo and Juliet*.

Friar Lawrence is a Franciscan monk who is well-known in Verona and arranges for Romeo and Juliet to marry in hopes they will bring their troubled families together. However, some of his decisions and actions are somewhat questionable and indirectly result in the deaths of the young couple.

## Description

Friar Lawrence is a local Franciscan monk who plays a vital key role in the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet. He may have known about the feuds of the Montagues and Capulets for many years and hoped there must be a way to restore peace in Verona, where the constant street brawls and hostility between the feuding families disrupt the peace. So when the two young teens from both sides of the families fall in love, he would be part of their tale for compassionate love and what roles he would play.

Throughout most of the story, Romeo and Juliet look up to the friar as their personal friend and advisor, the only one to keep their relationship a secret since it would be considered dangerous if they revealed their romance to their parents. Friar Lawrence was initially surprised at how quickly Romeo abandoned a girl he had feelings for and instead fell head over heels for Juliet. Despite teaching and warning Romeo of the possible consequences of falling in love too quickly, he secretly agrees to marry the couple. He believes their marriage will provide peace and reason to their parents. And when things quickly go awry, such as when Romeo is punished by expulsion from Verona for killing Tybalt, he attempts to devise a plan to keep the young couple together.

But no matter how hard he tries, he can also be a spinner of fate. Every choice he makes foreshadows or predicts the untimely demise of the young couple he is willing to protect and support. Yet he is nearly unaware of the consequences and assumes it will all go according to plan. For example, after he comes up with the plan involving Juliet faking her death and being entombed in the family crypt, he expects to have a message delivered to Romeo explaining what happened; at the last moment, when he is informed the message wasn’t directly delivered to Romeo, Friar Lawrence suddenly realizes his plan was backfiring and attempts to rush to the tomb to find Romeo dead and Juliet awake. After explaining his failure and his inability to have Juliet come with him, he knows it is no point keeping it all a secret and ends up confessing to the families how he married their children and will accept the consequences given to him; instead, he was spared from any further punishment as the parents were instead punished, although some readers may argue Friar Lawrence may still be punished for his unwise decisions and wrong planning.

## Storyline

### Romeo’s Request

One early morning, Friar Lawrence emerges from his cell with a basket to pick some medicinal herbs, flowers and weeds. He muses about how the Earth is nature’s mother and tomb and how all the plants come and go in the presence of Earth’s nature.

Romeo appears as Friar Lawrence muses about how a flower he picks smells refreshing but is deadly when eaten and compares these elements to good and evil. Romeo greets him, and Friar Lawrence is surprised to see him so early at dawn and senses something is wrong if Romeo is up. He claims that old men never sleep, and younger men don’t seem to care but still need more sleep. He suggests Romeo is anxious when he awakens early in the morning and asks if he slept last night.

Romeo replies that he had a peaceful night, and Friar Lawrence asks if he was with Rosaline. Romeo says he has now forgotten about her and the painful feelings she brought to him. Friar Lawrence praises him but asks where he has been, and Romeo replies that he was at the Capulets’s last night and fell deeply in love. The friar tells him to speak plainly and reveal who he has suddenly fallen in love with, and Romeo replies that it is the Capulet’s daughter, Juliet and says he will need him to marry him and Juliet. He would explain later where they met and how they fell in love and begs him to arrange a marriage between them today.

Friar Lawrence is shocked at Romeo’s sudden change of heart and reminds him about the misery he received during his relationship with Rosaline; women aren’t always that faithful. Romeo tells Friar Lawrence that he scolded him so many times for his love for Rosaline, and the Friar replies that he scolded him for being too obsessive about her. Romeo laments that he wants him to get over his feelings, and the friar says he didn’t tell him to forget one girl and instantly fall for another. Romeo begs Friar Lawrence not to scold him, and Juliet returns his feelings while Rosaline never does. While still skeptical, Friar Lawrence agrees to help Romeo with his wedding and hopes the marriage will bring peace to both the feuding families. However, Romeo tells him they must hurry, and Friar Lawrence says he shouldn’t rush as they leave together.

### Romeo and Juliet’s Wedding

After all the arrangements are made with Juliet’s nurse, Friar Lawrence, and Romeo wait anxiously in the friar’s cell for Juliet’s arrival. The friar hopes Heaven will bless the marriage and that nothing will be ruined. Romeo says no misfortunes will affect his happiness with Juliet, and all the friar has to do is join them together in marriage. Friar Lawrence warns Romeo that these joyous moments can end suddenly if their romance becomes too intense and advises him to love Juliet moderately to keep their love life intact.

Juliet then embraces Romeo as Friar Lawrence muses about fragile love. Juliet greets the friar, and he replies that Romeo will thank her later. She says she will offer Romeo her gratitude, and the couple discusses their marriage. The friar tells them they must hurry and get this over with as he leads the couple away and marries them.

### Romeo’s Expulsion

The same day he is married, Romeo kills Tybalt in the town square after his close friend Mercutio is killed by Tybalt.After running away from the crime scene, Romeo hides in the friar’s cell, and Friar Lawrence tells him to come out of hiding. Romeo asks him what his punishment is for killing Tybalt, and the friar says he does have news from the Prince regarding his punishment. Romeo asks if it is worse than death, and the friar reveals that he will be exiled from Verona instead of facing execution.

Romeo laments that banishment is a fate worse than death. Friar Lawrence tells him he is permanently exiled from Verona, and it is something he must endure. He also reminds him to be patient and await what the outside world awaits him. Romeo again laments that the world outside Verona is nothing but purgatory, torture and hell, and being exiled is like death to him. Friar Lawrence scolds him for acting childish and reminds him he should be grateful the Prince has decided to spare his life and sent him into exile. Romeo weeps that banishment is torture and begs the friar if he has a dagger or poison to kill himself with. Friar Lawrence demands him to listen and says he’ll protect him from death with philosophy, but Romeo doesn’t think it will help him.

Friar Lawrence says insane people cannot hear, and Romeo wonders why wise people cannot see. He wants to talk about the situation with Romeo, but Romeo laments that if he was young like him and married Juliet, and if he was exiled, he could talk about it. Romeo throws himself onto the floor and cries that he may as well measure out his grave. Knocking is heard at the door to his cell, and Friar Lawrence orders him to get up and hide. Romeo says he will only hide if his broken heart creates a mist that will keep him hidden. The knocking continues, and Friar Lawrence tells him to hide in his study.

Friar Lawrence asks who is knocking, and Juliet’s Nurse replies to let her in and explain why she has come. He opens the door and invites her in, and she asks where Romeo is. He replies that he is on the ground weeping. The Nurse says he acts like Juliet, who is also sobbing uncontrollably and orders him to reveal himself. Romeo appears and asks her what Juliet thinks of him now that he has killed her cousin. The Nurse replies that she cries while calling out her husband's and cousin’s names. Romeo draws his dagger and asks the friar where he can stab himself. Friar Lawrence begs him to stop and asks if he’s a man and why he is ranting about his birth, Heaven and the Earth. He reminds him that he should be grateful to still live by being exiled and that killing himself won’t make things better for Juliet. He also tells him he should be relieved that Tybalt didn’t get the chance to kill him, but instead, he is lamenting about his bad luck and thwarted love. He tells him to climb up to Juliet’s room tonight and comfort her, but he must leave before the Prince’s watchmen look for him. He will then head straight to Mantua and stay there until the marriage is announced in public and peace is restored with the families, followed by a request to the Prince to pardon him, and he will be happily welcomed home.

Friar Lawrence tells the Nurse to head home before Romeo and asks her to send his regards to Juliet. He also wants the Nurse to tell Juliet to send everyone in the household to bed; their grief may make them go to bed anyway. Once everyone is asleep, Romeo will come. The Nurse wishes she could stay longer and listen to his good advice, and she tells Romeo she will inform Juliet of his arrival. She also gives him Juliet’s ring and urges him to hurry before she leaves. Romeo is delighted by Juliet’s ring, and Friar Lawrence bids him go and reminds him to leave Verona at daybreak before the Prince’s watchmen look for him. He tells him to stay in Mantua for a while, and he will find a servant to accompany him and inform him of any good news. He bids him goodbye, and Romeo leaves for the Capulet house.

### Friar Lawrence’s Plan

Count Paris meets Friar Lawrence in his cell the next day, informing him that Lord Capulet has arranged for him and Juliet to marry on Thursday. [1] The friar thinks it’s happening too soon. Paris explains that Juliet is too grief-stricken by her cousin’s death, and Lord Capulet hopes that she will get over her sorrow with his love by marrying her off quickly. Friar Lawrence wishes he didn’t know why he wants the marriage to happen immediately. However, before he can give him some advice on his upcoming marriage, Juliet arrives, and Paris greets her, looking forward to their wedding on Thursday. He asks her if she has come for confession, and she replies that she has come to confess love. He hopes to confess his love to her and notices her sadness. Juliet says she would rather confess alone and asks Friar Lawrence if he’s available to talk or if she should return at night. He replies that he can talk to her now and tells Paris to leave. Paris kisses Juliet before he takes his leave.

Juliet begs the door to be shut as soon as they are alone and desperately need to talk. Friar Lawrence says he understands how she feels, but he can do nothing about her wedding to Paris on Thursday. She pulls out a dagger and threatens to kill herself if he can’t help her out of her predicament. Friar Lawrence consoles her and says there is still another chance and that killing herself won’t resolve her problems, and she must hear out his solution. Juliet laments that she would rather jump off a tower or be chained with bears and snakes than be without Romeo.

The friar urges her to be strong and has her listen to his plan. First, she must go home, agree to the marriage, and ensure she is alone in her room the night before the wedding. He shows her a vial and instructs her to drink the vial, which will cause her body to turn cold, her heart will stop beating, and her breathing will stop. Her skin will turn pale, her eyes will close, and her body will freeze, making her look like a corpse. She will be in deathlike sleep for 42 hours, and when Paris and her family find her, they will think she’s dead. Instead of a wedding, they will dress her in her best clothes, put her on a funeral bier and carry her to the Capulet tomb. The friar then explains that when she is taken to the tomb, he will send word to Romeo about the plan and return to Verona. They will watch over Juliet until she awakens, and Romeo will take her to Mantua. He reminds her that this is the only way she can escape her predicament unless she suddenly backs out from the plan or changes her mind.

Juliet declares she’s not afraid and demands the vial. Friar Lawrence gives it to her and wishes her good luck. He will also send a friar to deliver his letter to Romeo. Juliet thanks him and hurries home.

Friar Lawrence arrives at the Capulet home the next day after Lord Capulet moves the wedding to Wednesday. He enters Juliet’s room with Paris and the wedding musicians, asking if she’s ready to be married.He finds the Capulets grieving, and Lord Capulet says Juliet is dead, and he breaks the news to Paris. Lady Capulet and the Nurse weep over Juliet’s death and lament that today is their worst day. Paris condemns Death for taking his bride away.

Friar Lawrence tells them not to cry too much and assures them that Juliet is now in a better place in Heaven. He says all they have hoped is for her to be married off well, but now they are grieving her uncontrollably even though they should have known she is now at peace. He even thinks a girl should die young when she is just married rather than be married for years. He urges them to stop crying, place their rosemary on Juliet’s body, dress her in her best clothes and take her away to the church. Lord Capulet laments that everything he has prepared for the wedding will now be used for a funeral. Friar Lawrence urges the Capulets to prepare for Juliet’s entombment and tells them to stop fighting Heaven’s will.

### The Plan Fails/Friar Lawrence’s Confession

At Friar Lawrence’s cell, another friar named Friar John rushes inside to meet him. Friar Lawrence recognizes his voice and greets him, asking about Romeo and if he has his letter from Mantua.

Friar John explains that he went to see another friar to accompany him, who was visiting the sick in a nearby town. After Friar John found him, the town officials suspected them of being exposed to the plague and forced them into quarantine so Friar John could not leave and head to Mantua. Friar Lawrence asks who sent his letter, and Friar John replies that he couldn’t send it and couldn’t find a messenger for him because everyone feared the plague. He gives the letter to Friar Lawrence, who is shocked that the letter has never been sent to its destination and may result in terrible consequences. He orders Friar John to bring him a crowbar, and Friar John obeys before he leaves.

Friar Lawrence decides to go to the tomb, and Juliet wakes up within three hours. She will likely be infuriated with him if Romeo hasn’t received the news, but she hopes he can write another letter to him at Mantua and will keep Juliet in his cell until he arrives. He also fears Juliet being entombed alive inside a crypt full of corpses.

Friar Lawrence arrives at the Capulet tomb that night with a lantern, crowbar and shovel. He notices someone is there, and Romeo’s servant, Balthasar, appears.Friar Lawrence asks him why a light emits from the Capulet's tomb. Balthasar replies that it’s his master, Romeo, and he’s been inside for half an hour. The friar urges him to accompany him to the tomb, but Balthasar refuses, saying Romeo will kill him if he follows him. Friar Lawrence decides he’ll go in alone, afraid something terrible has just happened.

As he approaches the tomb, Friar Lawrence is shocked to see bloodstains at the entrance and bloodied swords on the ground. He looks inside and sees Romeo and Paris’s dead bodies beside Juliet, who awakens. She greets him and asks where Romeo is. Voices can be heard outside, and Friar Lawrence begs her to come with him immediately. He explains that a terrible power has ruined their plan, and Romeo and Paris are dead. He decides to find her a place as a nun and urges her to leave with him as the watch is approaching. Juliet refuses, and the friar leaves without her. As the watch approaches the tomb, Juliet kills herself with Romeo’s dagger.

After the chief watchman and Paris’s page find the bodies, the other watchmen gather Balthasar and Friar Lawrence as The Prince and his attendants arrive, along with the Capulets and Montagues.

The Prince demands what has happened. Lady Capulet says she heard people screaming the names of Romeo, Juliet and Paris at the tomb. The Chief Watchman explains that Count Paris’s body is inside the tomb, along with Romeo and Juliet’s bodies, and Balthasar and the friar have tools for breaking open the tomb. The Capulets are devastated to see their daughter’s corpse, and Lord Montague appears, saying Lady Montague died of a broken heart over her son’s exile. He is also devastated to find his son’s corpse. The Prince orders the families to pause their grief and wants the suspects to explain what happened.

Friar Lawrence knows he’s the prime suspect because he was at the scene of the deaths and knows he must give his explanation and be punished. He makes his story brief, believing he won’t live much longer. He explains to the Prince, Lord Montague and the Capulets that he married Romeo and Juliet, and their secret wedding was held the day Romeo killed Tybalt, which resulted in his exile. Juliet was grief-stricken over Romeo’s banishment and not Tybalt’s death, resulting in the Capulets planning to marry her to Paris. He further explains that Juliet came to him for some advice to prevent her from being married to Paris, threatening to kill herself if he didn’t help her. He gave her the vial that made her fall into her deathlike sleep and wrote to Romeo to return to Verona and bring Juliet out of the tomb once she’s awake. But Friar John couldn’t deliver the letter to Mantua, so he returned it to him, who decided he would arrive at the tomb himself to find Juliet when she woke up. He had planned to keep her in his cell until he wrote another letter to Romeo but found Romeo and Paris’s bodies and Juliet awake. He tried to make her come with him, but he was frightened by the watch approaching, so he fled without her. He sees that Juliet is too desperate to come with him and kills herself to be with Romeo.

The friar says he knows everything about this, and even the Nurse knows about the secret marriage and will accept any further punishment given to him if he is to blame. The Prince says he knows him to be holy and calls Balthasar forward. Balthasar explains that he had informed Romeo of Juliet’s death and quickly returned to Verona. He shows the letter Romeo wanted him to give to his father, and Romeo threatened to kill him if he didn’t leave when he went into the tomb.

The Prince takes the letter and calls the page forward. The page explains that his master Paris came to the tomb to bring flowers for Juliet and wanted him to part from him. When Romeo appeared to break open the tomb, and Paris fought with him, he ran away to fetch the watch.

The Prince reads the letter, confirming Friar Lawrence’s story, describing the course of their love and how Romeo heard of Juliet’s death and subsequently bought the poison from a poor apothecary and brought it to the tomb to die with Juliet. However, instead of punishing Friar Lawrence, the Prince punishes Lord Montague and the Capulets for their feud that indirectly resulted in their children’s deaths. He will also take the blame because he has already lost two family members.

Lord Capulet and Montague end up reconciling by ending their feud and agreeing to make golden statues to honour their children.

## Personality/Appearance

Friar Lawrence is a respected monk and holy man well-known in Verona. He develops a philosophy in plants and nature, which he sees as a coexistence of good and evil, and this juxtaposition will play out in Romeo and Juliet’s situation, which means that their marriage will be doomed by death. He is also an expert in making plants into potions and identifying which plant is either medicinal or poisonous.

He serves as Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet's friend, advisor, and role model. He is kind and compassionate to the young teenagers and is deeply concerned about their parents’ feud, disrupting the peace in Verona. He is appalled at first when Romeo declares he is now in love with Juliet instead of Rosaline, and he tries to counsel Romeo about his sudden change of heart. He later concludes that he can marry them because of his spiritual beliefs and good intentions. However, his good intentions result in bad outcomes for the young couple, and he may not be the wise, trustworthy friend he appears to be. His only goal is to have the young teenagers married, and he is optimistic it will finally bring peace to the Montagues and Capulets. He is a devoted friend to the teenagers and promises to protect them.

Despite his wisdom and spirituality, Friar Lawrence isn’t cautious with his choices to solve Romeo and Juliet’s problems and often has consequences. He initially tries to persuade Juliet that she should marry Paris anyway, as Romeo has been banished, but he suddenly changes his mind when Juliet threatens to kill herself, mainly because he doesn’t want to take the blame for her death if she doesn’t get what she wants. He plans to have her drink a vial of potion that will fake her death for about 42 hours and make her family think she has died. He also sends a messenger to Mantua to deliver a message to Romeo about the plan, and he’ll return to Verona to retrieve her. This plan backfires when the messenger can’t reach his destination, and when he finds Juliet awake and Romeo dead in the tomb, he fails to have her come with him, and he flees the tomb, leaving her alone to kill herself.

Because he has been such a close friend to Romeo and Juliet, he also keeps their romance a secret, and the only person he can pass this information to is Juliet’s Nurse. He also keeps confessions private from everyone who visits him for confession, and he does the same for Romeo and Juliet. When the Capulets grieve over Juliet when they find her dead in her room, he is the only one who knows she’s still alive from the potion she drank, and he assures them she is in a better place and doesn’t appreciate them expressing how miserable life is without her.

At the play’s conclusion, Friar Lawrence knows he can’t keep the couple’s secret when Prince Escalus demands an explanation of what happened inside the tomb. He openly confesses to the Prince and the families that he married their children and how his plans to have them together ended in tragedy. In the end, the families finally end their feud, but it isn’t the kind of reconciliation Friar Lawrence had hoped for, with Romeo and Juliet’s marriage bringing a peaceful union to their parents. Instead, Romeo and Juliet are dead, and the families decide that ending their feud can offer closure to everyone.

As common with Franciscan monks, he often wears a brown robe, open sandals and a tonsure hairstyle.

## Relationships

#### Romeo Montague

The 16-year-old son of Lord Montague and a friend of Friar Lawrence. After he forgets about his former love, Rosaline, and falls in love with Juliet, he consults with the friar about marrying Juliet. The friar is initially concerned about his quick change of heart but agrees to marry them. He gives Romeo important advice about love and marriage but scolds him for his childish behaviour when he is banished from Verona after killing Tybalt. He urges Romeo to spend his wedding night with Juliet before heading to Mantua and assures him that his banishment will be temporary. After Julia takes the vial that fakes her death, the friar attempts to send a message to Romeo about his plan, but instead, he finds Romeo’s body inside the Capulet tomb.

### Juliet Capulet

The 13 year old daughter of Lord Capulet and a friend of the friar.

## References

1. ↑ Act 2, Scene 3
2. ↑ Act 2, Scene 6
3. ↑ Act 3, Scene 1
4. ↑ Act 3 Scene 3
5. ↑ Act 4, Scene 5
6. ↑ Act 5, Scene 2
7. ↑ Act 5, Scene 3