Throughout time, there have been many tragedies caused by romance and lust. The famous love story of "Romeo and Juliet" is a perfect example. This play by William Shakespeare is known for the passionate affair between two star-crossed lovers that went horribly wrong. The tragedy in this story however, could have been avoided if Friar Lawrence had not been involved. The Friar's intentions seemed innocent and sympathetic in the beginning, yet his hasty decisions could lead the reader to believe he had ulterior motives. Due to the feud between the Montague and Capulet families, Romeo and Juliet desperately needed consultation after they discovered their forbidden love for each other. Luckily the Friar Lawrence was a holy and spiritual individual that these two central characters could turn to when they needed guidance and believed he could help. In the end, Romeo and Juliet obviously relied on Friar Lawrence a little too much – the Friar was ultimately the reason for their tragic deaths.
Any one of the primary characters could be considered a catalyst for the demise of Romeo and Juliet. However, Friar Lawrence is undoubtedly to blame for the young lovers' tragic deaths. A series of thoughtless and dishonest actions, made by the Friar, ultimately led to the downfall of Romeo and Juliet. These misaligned choices included the initial marriage of Romeo and Juliet, the deceitful scheme to fake Juliet's death, and his inability to follow through with this scheme.
First and foremost, the Friar foolishly agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though he knew the tumultuous history between the families. Binding these two households by a marriage would cause much chaos and turmoil in Verona and the Friar was very aware of that. The young lovers had not publicly announced their secret marriage or even their love for each other, due to the notorious hatred for the opposite family. However the Friar believed that the marriage between Romeo and Juliet would help the bad blood.