Friar Lawrence Flashcards
Write down a quote displaying his close relationship to Romeo
That’s my good son
Friar Lawrence is close to Romeo, almost like a father figure.
Write down a quote that displays the Friar attitude towards Romeo’s new found love
“Young men’s love then lies, not in their hearts but in their eyes”
This addresses the idea that young men may believe that “love” is what they are feeling when they see a beautiful woman. The rhyme scheme proves as a reminder for the audience that they shouldn’t forget the naivety of Romeo and his inexperienced, inconsistent emotions. Remember, Romeo and Juliet were young adolescents who were mostly driven by hormones and misconcieved longings. Romeo has just proclaimed his love for Juliet one day after he was pining for Rosaline. The friar is questioning Romeo’s ability to identify true love since he has fallen immediately in love with Juliet upon seeing her and forgotten Rosaline in that same instant. Love, as Romeo believes he is in, and to which the friar is referring, should not be so quickly changed from one girl to another.
Write down a quote reminding the audience of the violence to come in the play
These violent delights have violent ends”
The oxymoron of “violent delights” seems to also remind the audience of the inevitability of conflict and violence in the play, especially when in contact with the lover’s relationship. This quote also has importance because it foreshadows the ending of the play. The “violent delights”, in relation to Romeo and Juliet’s passionate love, brings about violent ends for both. This quote is similarly symbolic of the play’s theme - all of the “violent delights” of the characters, both love and hate, result in tragic ends; Mercutio and Tybalt and wrapped up in emotion and duel, when Mercutio is killed, Romeo’s grief puts him in a murderous rage. When humans allow emotion to take control and to be exaggerated, then they are putting themselves in danger.
Write down a quote highlighting the fast pace of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship
“Wisely and slow, they stumble that run fast”
If the two lovers had taken things slower it all would have worked out much better for them, and Friar lawrence is warning Romeo that they are going very fast with their relationship. Friar Lawrence was absolutely right with this statement, not only in respect to the wedding but with almost everything that’s happened with Romeo. If he had waited to try to find a different way to marry Juliet other than in secret, she wouldn’t have to try and marry Paris. If he had waited ten minutes when Mercutio died, the Police would have put Tybalt to death without having to banish Romeo. If he had waited a bit when Balthazar told him about Juliet’s death, Friar lawrence would have gotten to the tomb first and been able to tell him the Juliet wasn’t really dead. Thinking before acting is something that Romeo is definitely not good at, and a message that Shakespeare is trying to show the audience with almost everything the young couple does. This also shows that Friar has too much of a soft spot for Romeo, what he should have done is told Romeo to slow down.
Write down a quote displaying the Friar intention to bring peace
This alliance may so happy prove to turn your household’s rancour to pure love.
The Friar, whilst wary that this marriage is very sudden, sees the purity of Romeo and Juliet’s love and the potential to end the fued. The Friar is being calculating here - his main aim is “alliance”, suggesting two famlies coming together. It has a political tone rather than a romantic one, as the Friar is more a character of knowledge and guidance rather than love and romance. However, the use of “may” creates tension again - there is no certanity that this will work, another subtle hint at the tragedy to come. The use of “alliance” here, however, makes Romeo and Juliet seem as if they are being used to bring an end to the family fued or verona, as if the Friar (or the play itself) gives no care for their true feelings for eachother.
Write down a quote highlighting the Friar defeat in bringing the two lovers together
“A greater power that we can contradict…our intents”
The Friar, a man of God, had admitted defeat and believes the lovers had been destined to fail as a “greater power” has decided their plan would not succeed. It is important that the Friar delivers this line. He refers to a “greater power”, rather than explicitly to God, leaving it deliberately ambiguous as to whether the Friar is referring to God or fate as this “greater power”, which also creates some tension within this scene. The noun “intents” has associations with positive reasons for the plan the Friar and Juliet put in place - they only intended to do good, yet good seems to always ben defeated within the rest of the play. “Contradict” shows that conflict continues to dictate the outcome of the play - even though the Friar and Juliet had good “intents”, greater power has decided to destroy them.
Write down a quote highlighting the Friar warning to the two lovers
“The sweetest honey is loathsome in his own deliciousness”
Here, the Friar personifies the “sweetest honey” in reference to Juliet. Again, the Friar is warning the couple to slow down with their hasty decisions, as if he is worried they might end in disaster, which it so rightly does. The contrasting ideas of “loathsome” and “deliciousness” juxtapose each other and, when doing so, creates the idea that there is silent repulsion of said deliciousness, as if Romeo’s hasty actions may lead the “loathsome” conflict to arise once more. However, similarly, “deliciousness” can be linked with Romeo’s greed for Juliet, as if the urgency with which he wishes to marry her suggests and underlying sense of property or even hunger for her to be his, and this was often the case during marriage, especially of young, prosperous women, of this time.
