![]() He is a holy man, anxious to help the lovers in order to reconcile the Montagues and Capulets and bring peace to Verona. The Friar, like the herbs he collects, displays conflicting characteristics. The Friar is a religious idealist, a philosopher who understands the big picture while other characters in the play are too involved in their interrelationships to share his perspective. "Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied / And vice sometimes by action dignified." Good and evil coexist in imperfect harmony. While an undeniable certainty exists within this natural cycle, the Friar suggests that the deeply flawed human being imposes some degree of mutability on the entire process. The theme of nature destroying life in order to create life recurs frequently. The Friar's comment that "he earth that's nature's mother is her tomb / What is her burying grave that is her womb" harkens back to Capulet's statement about his daughter in Act I, Scene 2 - "the earth has swallowed all my hopes but she." Romeo and Juliet's love exists in an atmosphere electrified by the darkness of the hatred between the families. Capulet loves his daughter, but treats her like his personal property. His plan, however, precipitates the tragic end to the play.Īs the play progresses, the contentious coexistence of love and hate unfolds. His intentions are good he wishes to end the feud in Verona. The tension between good and evil is a constant force in this play - a strong undercurrent that conveys fate into the characters' lives. The dual nature within the Friar's plants suggests a coexistence of good and evil. He will provide Juliet the sleeping potion that she drinks to avoid marrying Paris. His discourse on the healing and harming powers of plants will echo loudly later in the play. This scene introduces the Friar, a philosophical man who wishes to heal the rift between the families. The Friar is amazed and concerned at the speed with which Romeo has transferred his love from Rosaline to Juliet, but agrees to help the couple in the hope that the marriage might ease the discord between the two families. Romeo tells him of his love for Juliet and asks the Friar to marry them later that day. The Friar is collecting herbs and flowers while he postulates on their powers to medicate and to poison. ![]() Romeo arrives at Friar Laurence's cell as day breaks. Analysis of Setting in the Opening Scenes of Luhrmann's Film, Romeo + Juliet.The Role of Comic Characters in a Tragedy.
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