Friar Lawrence

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Friar Laurence (or Friar Lawrence) is a character in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet.

[edit] Role in the play

Friar Laurence plays the part of an advisor to Romeo, along with aiding in major plot developments.

Alone, the innocent Friar gives us foreshadowing with his soliloquy about plants and their similarities to humans.^[1] When Romeo requests that the Friar marry him to Juliet, he is shocked, because only days before, Romeo had been infatuated with Rosaline,^[2] a woman who did not return his love. Nevertheless, Friar Laurence decides to marry Romeo and Juliet in the attempt to end the civil feud between the Capulets and the Montagues. ^[3]

When Romeo is banished^[4] and flees to Mantua for murdering Tybalt^[5] (who had previously murdered Mercutio), he tries to help the two lovers get back together using a death-emulating herb to fake Juliet's death.^[6] The friar's letter to Romeo does not reach him because the people of Mantua suspects the messenger came from a house where the plague reigns,^[7] and the Friar is unable to arrive at the Capulet's monument in time. Romeo kills Count Paris,^[8] who he finds weeping near Juliet's corpse, then commits suicide,^[9] by drinking poison that he bought from an impoverished apothecary,^[10] over what he thinks is Juliet's dead body. Friar Laurence arrives just as Juliet awakes from her chemically-induced slumber.^[11] He urges Juliet not to be rash, and to join a society of nuns,^[12] but he hears a noise from outside and then flees from the tomb. Juliet then kills herself with Romeo's dagger, completing the tragedy. The Friar is forced to return to the tomb, where he recounts the entire story to Prince Escalus, and all the Montagues and Capulets. As he finishes, the prince proclaims, "We have still known thee for a holy man."

[edit] References

1. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 2.3.1-22
2. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 2.3.180-81
3. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 2.3.26-31
4. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 3.1.188-99
5. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 3.1.87-93
6. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 3.5.91-101
7. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 4.5.5-12
8. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 5.2.72-73
9. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 5.2.119-120
10. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 4.5.66-79
11. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 5.2.148-50
12. ^ Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet; 5.2.156-160

v • d • e A series on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Characters	Romeo • Juliet • Mercutio • Tybalt • Benvolio • Friar Lawrence • Nurse • Paris Prince Escalus • Lord Capulet • Rosaline • Full Character List
Sources	The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet • Pyramus and Thisbe Palace of Pleasure • Troilus and Criseyde • Ephisaica
Musical Adaptations	West Side Story (musical) • Roméo et Juliette (musical) • Giulietta e Romeo (musical) Roméo et Juliette (opera) • I Capuleti e i Montecchi (opera) • Romeo and Juliet (ballet) Roméo et Juliette (symphony) • Romeo and Juliet (overture)
On Screen	Romeo and Juliet (1908) • Romeo and Juliet (1936) • Romeo and Juliet (1954) Romeo and Juliet (1968) • Romeo and Juliet (1978) • The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1983) Romeo and Juliet (1988) • Romeo and Juliet (1992) • Romeo + Juliet (1996)
	Beneath the 12 Mile Reef (1953) • Romanoff and Juliet (1960) • West Side Story (1961) Romie-0 and Julie-8 (1979) • The Sea Prince and the Fire Child (1981) Tromeo and Juliet (1996) • Love Is All There Is (1996) • Shakespeare in Love (1998) •Romeo Must Die (2000) • حبك نار Hobak Nar (2004) • Pizza My Heart (2005) West Bank Story (2005) • Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss (2006) • Romeo x Juliet (2007)