Why would Friar Lawrence ask Juliet to carry out a dangerous plan instead of just going to her parents and explaining that she was already married to Romeo? Find examples from the text to support your opinions. Be sure to elaborate and explain your thoughts in detail.
Friar Lawrence knew that Lord and Lady Capulet would not react well if they found out that their only daughter was married to the child of their greatest enemy. Because of this, he knew that for Juliet, her best choice would be to trick her parents rather than to admit to them the true reason why she did not want to marry Count Paris. For example, when Lady Capulet exclaims, "Prince, as thou art true,/ For blood of ours, shed blood of Montague" it shows how much she dislikes Romeo, and the Montague family in general (Shakespeare 170). If Juliet confessed to her parents, they would most likely be furious with her. When he says "Wife, we scarce thought us blest/ That God had lent us but this only child;/ But now I see this one is one too much,/ And that we have a curse in having her. Out on her, hilding!" it shows how he can easily lose control of his temper (214). Friar Lawrence was considering Juliet's safety and the reactions of her parents when he asked her to drink a "deadly" poison.
arbitrating: deciding; judging
distraught: upset; distressed
immoderately: wastefully; extravagantly
inundation: flood; outpouring
resolution: solution to a problem
spited: acted maliciously or with ill will
supple: flexible; pliant
Links:
To see the score of Romeo and Juliet, written by Tchaikovsky, click here
To see Shakespeare's play in its entirety through MIT's website, click here.
Romeo and Juliet were so happy. They had no idea how much trouble their marriage would bring.
Great job! I really appreciate the links, too - and might use them in the future. Your response as to why Friar put Juliet up to this plan is good. Great quote to support and well-written. I'm looking forward to your final blog post!
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