Friar Lawrence Flashcards
vehicle statement
Shakespeare uses the character of the Friar as a vehicle to bring attention to the morally ambiguous nature of some religious individuals who fail to prioritise or adhere to the teachings of the Church. The Friar acts as a pseudo
paternal figure to Romeo yet, in his genuine keenness to assist him, the Friar makes arguably hasty decisions. Such choices eventually leads to the death of Romeo and Juliet, leaving the Friar feeling remorseful for his involvement in
their demise.
Act 2 Scene 3:
‘ The earth that’s nature’s mother is the tomb’
• The ‘earth’, the source of life, is also the ‘tomb’, the place of death (juxtaposition)
• Foreshadows how Romeo’s love for Juliet, which gives him vitality, will be the cause of his untimely death
• Similar to the combination of love/hate – all positive things come with some form of negativity.
• DRAMATIC IRONY
Act 2 Scene 3:
‘Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, / And vice sometime by action dignified’
• everyone/everything can change
• foreshadows R+J’s death: they are happy now but will be despondent in the future
• has a high level of insight -> which further highlights his moral ambiguity later on (since he does not seem to
plan well for the future)
Act 2 Scene 3:
‘Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes’
• Criticises how men of the younger generation are wholly preoccupied with the aesthetic which could question how genuine their love is
• Is able to subvert norms by questioning actions which foreshadows how he will subvert the typical expectations of a friar and become morally ambiguous where he doesn’t do the right thin
Act 2 Scene 3:
‘In one respect I’ll thy assistant be for this alliance may so happy prove”
• Despite knowing it is wrong, he still agrees to marry them, confident that it will help mend the feud between the Capulets and Montagues which eventually he does albeit only causing their deaths
• He warns Romeo that they are moving at too fast of a pace and it could lead to their own fallings if they choose to pursue their love
• Very naïve of him as we don’t know his true intentions as he knows they are moving too fast which could end horribly, but still isn’t deterred from helping them- morally ambiguous
Act 2 Scene 3:
‘full soon the canker death eats up that plant’
• The ‘plant’ is symbolic of Verona where anger has power over love. – insightful
• Demonstrative how the feud is eating away at society.
• Use of the phrase ‘canker death’ highlights the fact that the root cause of this feud is from within Verona.
Act 2 Scene 3
’Within the infant rind of this weak flower Poison hath residence, and medicine power:’
• states how medicine and poison are so closely linked together.
• Insinuates that with healing there is also pain and suffering
• Foreshadow’s the ending of the play, their families come to peace through the poisons drank.
• Substances which heal you, also have the power to kill. Vice Versa
Act 2 Scene 6
’These violet delights have violent ends’
• Strongly focused on the potential disaster which accompanied this union -> high level of insight. Repetition of ‘violent’ -> extent of potential tragedy
• However, he still decides to marry them anyway —> moral ambiguity
Act 2 Scene 6
‘Love moderately, long live death so; Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow’
• Insightful in that he knows the danger of hastiness and excessive love
• One may argue that if he already has this level of insight he would know that the love of R+J is very excessive and rushed
• However he still decides to marry them anyway —> moral ambiguity
• Alliterative ‘long live’ highlights how love that lasts is moderate and not hasty as alliteration slows down
pace of the line
Act 2 Scene 6
** ‘Come, come with me and we will make short work’**
• Though given all his warnings, he still commits to joining the couple together in marriage whereas he should have believed in the sanctity of marriage instead of rushing the ceremony himself, since being a holy figure who society would look up to for doing the right thing
• Adjective ‘short’ refers again to the speed and hastiness of the process, bringing attention to the morally ambiguous nature of the Friar who overlooks his own warnings in order to appease Romeo
Act 3 scene 3
‘I’ll give thee armour to keep off that word: Adversity’s sweet milk, philosophy,’
• The friar acts a pseudo-paternal figure to Romeo as he tries to comfort Romeo with ‘sweet milk, philosophy’.
He feels responsible for Romeo.
• He ‘give thee armour’ as if he is a father protecting him with ‘I’ll give thee’ shows a direct and personal
statement to Romeo.
• ‘Adversity’s sweet milk, Philosophy’ - the soothing comfort of hardship.
