Friar Laurence and Nurse

Riley DeBacker
Adv. English 10
Romeo and Juliet Reflection 2

Friar Laurence and Nurse: father and mother, wise guardians, trusted companions. Or are they reckless and lenient crones, set on personal gain? They have spent their lives with Romeo and Juliet, watching them grow and guiding them along their paths of life. But now they allow these star-crossed lovers to marry, though the know nothing of the other but a few whispered words and a night’s passion. Are these sages to be admired and sought after, or fools at which to scoff and avoid?
First, Let us analyze Friar Laurence. The Friar is first alluded to by Romeo as he leaves the infamous Balcony scene;   "Hence will I to my ghostly father's cell,   His help to crave, and my dear hap to tell" (2.2.188-189). Here Romeo refers to the friar as his “ghostly father” meaning his spiritual father, but he leaves to tell the Friar of his troubles, as he would to a father. This leads us to assume that Friar Laurence serves as Romeo’s father figure, particularly after Romeo’s real father demonstrates his own ineptitude at dealing with his son in act 1. However, as a new scene dawns, we see another purpose to Friar Laurence and that is his portentousness. The Friar’s opening speech is riddled with elements of foreshadowing, when he relates people to plants. But the Friar is rattled from his soliquoy by Romeo and kids him about being out late, again reflecting his role as a father figure. Furthermore, when Romeo approaches Friar Laurence about his intention to marry Juliet, the Friar chides him about his former affections for Rosaline;”God pardon sin! wast thou with Rosaline?” (2.3.140). The friar’s words inform us that this is not the first time Romeo has been to see him over his fiery emotions. But as the scene progresses, we see that the friar knows Romeo well enough to marry them, for he is determined t be married and will do so whether Friar Laurence performs the ceremony or not. Again, this demonstrates the...