Romeo and Juliet: Friar lawrence

Question 1

foil to romeos youth

Answer 1

Shakespeare presents Friar Lawrence as an older more experienced character, and as a foil to Romeo’s impetuous youth.
“they love did read by rote that could not spell”
The metaphor of learning words is ironic, as the Friar is a Catholic minister; in the Catholic tradition masses were conducted in Latin, a language that most of the people at the services would not have understood. Elizabeth 1st had recently started the process of turning England back into a Protestant country, after ‘Bloody Mary’ had persecuted English protestants. By critiquing Catholicism in this way, Shakespeare was arguably garnering favour with the Queen and court, who he depended on for patronage.