Love in "Romeo and Juliet"

Essay by niki113090High School, 10th gradeA, February 2007

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When playing a game of poker, we often find that our hand provides us with some good cards and some bad ones. The same is true for the play of Romeo and Juliet. Franklin M. Dickey explains that "Romeo and Juliet die... only as the result of a series of mistakes and misunderstandings" (467). What Dickey is saying is that the deaths of Romeo and Juliet only occur because of a series of misdeals or, in this case, a series of mistakes. Unfortunately for Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare decided not to play their cards right, and therefore their lives turned out to be the cost of this deadly game.

While shuffling through the characters of the play, Friar Lawrence sticks out in my mind. The friar played a huge role in the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps his first mistake was his initial plan to marry them. It almost seems that Friar Lawrence is the dealer of this story, because he begins the game by starting the initial union between the two "star-crossed lovers" (Shakespeare, prologue).

Without him, Romeo and Juliet would not have married and therefore may not be dead. The friar seems to only see the good side of a situation, without ever considering the consequences if the game changes its course. Instead of considering how marriage between the feuding family's children could be dangerous, he only exclaims, "For this alliance may so happy prove/to turn your households' rancor to pure love" (II, iii, 98-99). Friar Lawrence can also be put to blame specifically in the death of Juliet. After hearing noises from the tomb's surroundings, he warns to Juliet, "come, go, good Juliet. I dare no longer stay" (V, iii, 164). To his surprise, Juliet responds, "go, get thee hence, for I will not away" (V,