Romeo and Juliet Dramatic Irony

Dramatic Irony is a literary device commonly used by playwrights in their plays. It occurs when the audience understands the implication and significance of a specific situation on stage, whereas the characters are unaware of the gravity of the meanings underlying that situation.

Characterized as one of the hallmarks of Shakespearean tragedies , dramatic irony is used to build and sustain audience’s interest thereby keeping them actively engaged in the play . Some of its examples in “Romeo and Juliet” are given below with analysis.

Dramatic Irony in Romeo and Juliet

Example #1:.

pair of star- cross ’d lovers take their life… ( Prologue 6)

The aforementioned verse , taken from the prologue, highlights the first instance of dramatic irony in the play. In this line, the chorus asserts that the play about is going to revolve around two lovers who commit suicide.

The irony resides in the fact that this tragic end is revealed to the audience but not to the characters involved in it. Thus, from the outset, the audience becomes aware that Romeo and Juliet’s love is destined to fail whereas the main characters remain oblivious to this fact.

Example #2:

Whose misadventur’d piteous overthrows Doth, with their death, bury their parents’ strife. (Prologue 7-8)

The above revelation is made by the chorus in the prologue of the play. Referring to the deaths of the two passionate lovers, the chorus emphasizes that the legacy of rivalry between the Capulets and Montagues will only end after the tragic deaths of their children, Romeo and Juliet.

The irony is inherent in the fact that the unfortunate deaths of two lovers will bring about a peaceful resolution to an otherwise long-standing conflict between their families. The irony is further intensified by the fact that while the audience is aware of it, the two rival families remain obstinately unaware of the consequences of their animosity.

Example #3:

This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. (I.v. 105-107)

These heartfelt lines are uttered by a love-struck Romeo who regards himself as an ardent pilgrim and Juliet as his scared shrine. As a self-professed and devoted pilgrim, Romeo pleads that he be allowed to kiss his holy shrine. The ironic fact about the entire wooing incident is that at this stage Romeo is not aware that Juliet is the daughter of the Capulets, his family’s archrivals. Thus, he unknowingly falls in love with his nemesis .

Example #4:

Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye Than twenty of their swords! Look thou but sweet, And I am proof against their enmity. (II. ii. 76-78)

These lines are uttered by Romeo to Juliet in the renowned balcony scene. In these particular verses, Romeo is trying to reassure Juliet that she needs not worry about her family issuing threats to him. Moreover, Romeo tries to convince Juliet that her sweet and loving gaze will protect him from all dangers.

Romeo is confident that their love will win against all odds. Yet, the audience is aware that Juliet’s fears are not unfounded. In fact, nothing can protect the young lovers from their doomed romance .

Example #5:

Alas poor Romeo! he is already dead; stabbed with a white wench’s black eye; shot through the ear with a love-song; (II. iv. 14-16)

The aforementioned remarks are made by Mercutio while he is conversing with Benvolio. The conversation revolves around Romeo’s love-stricken state. The irony resides in the fact that whereas both Mercutio and Benvolio assume that Romeo is craving for Rosaline, the audience is aware that reality is contrary to their perception, and that Juliet is the newfound center of Romeo’s love and affection.

Example #6:

Ah, well-a-day! he’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead! We are undone, lady, we are undone! Alack the day! he’s gone, he’s kill’d, he’s dead! (III. ii. 42-44)

Juliet’s nurse delivers the aforementioned disturbing news in relation to Tybalt’s death. The nurse only used the pronoun “he” to describe who died. Juliet thought that the nurse was referring to Romeo. She thought that he has been killed. This has made her become engulfed in sadness. As opposed to Juliet, the audience is aware that Romeo is still alive which exacerbates the dramatic irony underlying the situation.

Example #7:

Where I have learn’d me to repent the sin Of disobedient opposition To you and your behests, and am enjoin’d By holy Laurence to fall prostrate here, And beg your pardon… (IV.ii. 18-22)

Juliet makes the above-mentioned earnest remarks in an effort to give her father the impression that she is a dutiful daughter who harbors no intention to contest her parents’ wishes. Although Juliet’s feigned earnestness convinces her father that she has happily conceded to marry Paris, the reality is that she is only pretending to be an obedient, respectful daughter.

The audience is aware that Juliet has already made a prior plan with the Friar to drink the sleeping potion and has no intention of marrying Paris. This contrast between Capulet’s naiveté and the actual truth known by the audience, contributes to the dramatic irony and tension of the scene.

Example #8:

If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep, My dreams presage some joyful news at hand. (V. i. 1-2)

Uttered by Romeo, the aforementioned verse is replete with manifold layers of dramatic irony. The first instance of irony resides in the fact that although Romeo anticipates joyful news, moments later Balthasar ushers in and delivers the news of Juliet’s death.

This terrible news leads Romeo to commit suicide. Romeo does not know the ultimate reason why Juliet has committed suicide. He did not know what drove Juliet in order to do this act. Out of his love, he decided to follow and commit suicide too.

Example #9:

I could not send it,- here it is again, – Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, So fearful were they of infection. (V. ii. 14-16)

Friar John made these remarks in response to Friar Laurence’s inquiry about the letter supposedly dispatched to Romeo.  Romeo is supposed to be informed of Juliet’s plan to take the sleeping potion to escape her marriage. However, the above revelation by Friar John highlights that plague outbreak made him unable to deliver the letter to Romeo.

The irony is inherent in the fact that due to this failure to deliver the letter, Romeo stays unaware of the fact that Juliet is alive — a fact that would have otherwise saved his life.

Example #10:

Ah, dear Juliet, Why art thou yet so fair? shall I believe That unsubstantial death is amorous, And that the lean abhorred monster keeps Thee here in dark to be his paramour? For fear of that, I still will stay with thee; And never from this palace of dim night … (V. iii. 101-107)

Romeo uttered these lines when he saw Juliet lying in the tomb. The dramatic irony implicit in the aforementioned verses evokes sympathy in the audience. Overwhelmed by his love for Juliet, Romeo makes a pledge to join his beloved in the dim night of death. The fact that Juliet appears beautiful and utterly untouched by death highlights the dramatic irony underlying this tragic scene, since Juliet is actually sound asleep and not dead.

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dramatic irony in romeo and juliet essay

dramatic irony in romeo and juliet essay

Romeo and Juliet

William shakespeare, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Mercutio often jibes Romeo for his obsession with Rosaline, as in this moment from Act 2, Scene 4, which simultaneously functions as dramatic irony and foreshadowing:

Alas, poor Romeo, he is already dead, stabbed with a white wench’s black eye, run through the ear with a love-song, the very pin of his heart cleft with the blind bow-boy’s butt shaft. Cite this Quote

Mercutio's joke demonstrates his skepticism about Romeo's interest in Rosaline. He is the only one of Romeo's kinsmen to recognize that Romeo's love for Rosaline may be fundamentally superficial and self-indulgent. In Mercutio's opinion, Romeo is not actually in love with Rosaline; in fact, he hardly knows her at all. Rather, he is love with the idea of loving someone. Romeo, to Mercutio, is merely "run through the ear with a love-song," which has led him to believe that he is attracted to Rosaline (despite being unattractive, as Mercutio suggests: he describes her as a "white wench" with a "black eye").  

However, Mercutio doesn't realize that Romeo is now in love with Juliet, not Rosaline, and that the love he is experiencing for Juliet is genuine. This is an example of dramatic irony, since the audience is aware of Romeo's new obsession, having observed his interactions with Juliet in the previous scenes. Mercutio's joke has a ring of truth to it, but it also indicates a clear conflict in the play: Mercutio scorns romance while Romeo is irrevocably drawn to it.

Although Mercutio never learns about Romeo and Juliet's relationship, he suspects that Romeo may have had sex with another woman after the Capulets' ball. ("That’s as much as to say such a case as yours constrains a man to bow in the hams," he says to Romeo later in this scene, using a euphemism for sex.) Mercutio seems to perceive Romeo's interest in women as a betrayal of his bonds with other men. In Mercutio's view, romantic love for women weakens men, though Romeo's love for Juliet actually seems to revitalize him. 

Moreover, by joking that Romeo has "died" for love, Mercutio is unwittingly prefiguring Romeo's death, which will indeed result from his love for a woman. To Mercutio, a lovesick Romeo is as good as dead, since he appears to have chosen love over male friendship. This assumption indicates Mercutio's cynicism about the value of romantic love, a belief that Shakespeare subtly undermines throughout the play: though Romeo will die for love, his sacrifice will be a noble one. 

Love and Violence Theme Icon

In Act 3, Scene 2, just after Romeo kills Tybalt, Juliet's nurse confuses her by rushing into her room and raving about the death of an unnamed man. This is yet another instance of dramatic irony in the play, since the audience is aware that the death the Nurse is referencing is Tybalt's, but Juliet is led to mistakenly believe that Romeo has died. "Ah weraday, he’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead!" the Nurse cries, alluding to Romeo as Tybalt's murderer: "O Romeo, Romeo, Whoever would have thought it? Romeo!" Juliet, confused, asks: "Hath Romeo slain himself?" When the Nurse responds by saying that she "saw the wound"—meaning Tybalt's fatal wound—Juliet assumes that she is talking about Romeo and falls into a fit of grief. 

The Nurse's hysterics hint at the confusions and complications to come in the remainder of the play. Romeo, too, will mistakenly believe that Juliet has died (as will the Capulets and the Nurse). Her ranting also provides some comic relief in the midst of tragedy while underlining another key irony of the play. Throughout Romeo and Juliet , adult characters often behave in illogical or absurd ways, in spite of their apparent wisdom and authority. (For instance, the Nurse describes Tybalt as "the best friend I had," though the two never interact in the play, and the Nurse is clearly closest to Juliet.) Ironically, it is Juliet—who's basically a child—who must patiently reason with the Nurse to get her to explain the situation clearly, suggesting that youthfulness is not necessarily opposed to wisdom or maturity. 

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Romeo and Juliet  is frequently cited as a prime example of dramatic irony for its famous conclusion in Act 5, Scene 3. Romeo, believing Juliet to be dead—due to an error of communication between Romeo and Friar Laurence—ends up killing himself out of grief, though the audience knows that Juliet is only sleeping. Unbeknownst to Romeo, Juliet has taken Friar Laurence's sleeping potion to fake her own death and eventually meet Romeo again. Ultimately, the two are reunited, but only in death. 

One one hand, this ironic conclusion can be seen as retribution for Romeo and Juliet's unwillingness to follow their families' rules. By defying both their families and the social conventions they have been raised to obey, Romeo and Juliet have seriously disrupted Verona's social order, undermining its core principles: Montagues and Capulets are not allowed to fraternize, and young people (especially women) are given little to no freedom to choose their spouses or to enjoy true, self-directed romance. Thus, Friar Laurence's warning to Romeo in Act 2 about "violent delights"—youthful passion—leading to "violent ends" is proven correct. Romeo and Juliet's deaths are made all the more tragic because they may have been preventable: if Friar Laurence had been able to deliver his letter to Romeo, warning him about the sleeping potion, or if Juliet had woken up a few minutes earlier, the two lovers may have been able to escape together. By rendering that conclusion impossible, however, Shakespeare suggests that restrictive societies will always have disastrous effects on the people they seek to control and confine. 

The play's conclusion also serves as a punishment for Montague, Capulet, and Lady Montague and Capulet—Romeo and Juliet's parents—who, unlike the audience, have been unaware of the burgeoning relationship between Romeo and Juliet. (Only the Nurse and Friar Laurence, who serve as true mother and father figures to Romeo and Juliet, are party to the lovers' romance.) Thus, they are all the more shocked and horrified by the consequences of their own actions, which Prince Escalus makes clear to them when he visits the grisly scene: "All are punished," he declares. 

In Act 5, Scene 3, Romeo gazes at Juliet, seemingly dead in the Capulet tomb, and marvels at how alive she still appears. This is a clear example of dramatic irony in the play—one that adds gravity to the tragic conclusion:

Beauty’s ensign yet Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks, And death’s pale flag is not advancèd there. Cite this Quote

The audience knows—though Romeo does not—that Juliet is alive. She has taken a sleeping potion that makes her appear dead, but the slight flush in her face (the "crimson" in her "lips" and "cheeks") should indicate to Romeo that she is still alive. But Romeo's grief overwhelms him. He is unable to read the warning signs clearly, and the impetuous side of his personality takes over, driving him to kill himself with poison just before Juliet awakes from her deep sleep. 

Ironically, Romeo instinctively understands that "death's pale flag" has not yet consumed Juliet entirely. It is "not advancèd" in her face, which still bears the marks of "beauty's ensign." In the moment, though, he can think only of his own tremendous sorrow, and assumes that her appearance is misleading. That Romeo is so close to figuring out that Juliet is alive—but is ultimately unable to do so—adds further poignancy to the tragic spectacle of their deaths. 

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Romeo and Juliet

By william shakespeare, romeo and juliet irony.

At the beginning of the play, the Chorus informs the audience of the basic circumstances surrounding Romeo and Juliet (notably, the feud between the two families), and even divulges that the two lovers eventually take their own lives. The Chorus also notes that after the deaths of the protagonists, the feuding families are able to "bury their...strife" (Prologue). The tragic irony of this outcome is that two young people had to die before the feud could be put to rest.

The Lovers' Meeting

When Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time, Romeo is taken with Juliet's beauty, even comparing himself to a pilgrim who has come to worship at the "shrine" that is Juliet. Of course, Romeo is unaware that Juliet is a Capulet, creating dramatic irony as he continues to pursue his enemy.

Mercutio's Death

When Mercutio dies, his final words are condemnation for both the Montagues and the Capulets. A critic of both houses throughout the play, Mercutio is often seen as the voice of reason that could have helped mediate a resolution to the feud. Ironically, however, he is killed halfway through the play, ensuring that the feud will continue and even more death and destruction will follow.

Romeo's Death

The most tragic example of dramatic irony in the play occurs, of course, when Romeo thinks Juliet is dead. Having taken a heavy sleeping potion, Juliet appears dead to everyone around her, including her lover. Romeo's response to seeing his "dead" wife is to take his own life with a dagger. Juliet then awakes shortly after to find Romeo dead beside her, and responds in turn by stabbing herself.

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Romeo and Juliet Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Romeo and Juliet is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Can you find verbal irony in the play? Where?

One example of verbal irony would be Romeo's reference to the poison he has purchased as a "sweet medicine". A cordial is a sweet liquor or medicine.

Come, cordial and not poison, go with me To Juliet's grave; for there must I use thee.

What do we learn about Mercutio in queen man speech?

The whole speech is based on pagan Celtic mythology. Mercutio’s speech is laced with sexual innuendo. The words “queen” and “mab” refer to whores in Elizabethan England. As his speech goes on we notice the subtext get increasingly sexual...

What does Romeo fear as he approaches Capulet house? What literary device would this be an example of?

Romeo feels something bad is going to happen.

I fear too early, for my mind misgives Some consequence yet hanging in the stars

Looks like foreshadowing to me!

Study Guide for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

  • About Romeo and Juliet
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Essays for Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

  • Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies
  • Fate in Romeo and Juliet
  • Romeo and Juliet: Under the Guise of Love
  • The Apothecary's Greater Significance in Romeo and Juliet
  • Romeo and Juliet: Two Worlds

Lesson Plan for Romeo and Juliet

  • About the Author
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  • Common Core Standards
  • Introduction to Romeo and Juliet
  • Relationship to Other Books
  • Bringing in Technology
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E-Text of Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet e-text contains the full text of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

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Wikipedia Entries for Romeo and Juliet

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dramatic irony in romeo and juliet essay

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Romeo and Juliet — Dramatic Irony In Romeo And Juliet Play

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Dramatic Irony in Romeo and Juliet Play

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Published: Mar 25, 2024

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Introduction, introduction of tragic irony, dramatic irony in act 3, scene 1, dramatic irony in act 5, scene 3, dramatic irony in act 2, scene 2, the role of dramatic irony.

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dramatic irony in romeo and juliet essay

Romeo and Juliet Dramatic Irony

  • Alliteration
  • Anachronism
  • Antimetabole
  • Aposiopesis
  • Characterization
  • Colloquialism
  • Connotation
  • Deus Ex Machina
  • Didacticism
  • Doppelganger
  • Double Entendre
  • Flash Forward
  • Foreshadowing
  • Internal Rhyme
  • Juxtaposition
  • Non Sequitur
  • Onomatopoeia
  • Parallelism
  • Pathetic Fallacy
  • Personification
  • Poetic Justice
  • Point of View
  • Portmanteau
  • Protagonist
  • Red Herring
  • Superlative
  • Synesthesia
  • Tragicomedy
  • Tragic Flaw
  • Verisimilitude

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dramatic irony in romeo and juliet essay

How does Shakespeare present the theme of conflict in ‘Romeo and Juliet’?

dramatic irony in romeo and juliet essay

In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the theme of conflict’s pervasive and intoxicating nature first emerges in the prologue. 

Shakespeare's use of a fourteen-line sonnet in the prologue hints at the conflict to come in "Romeo and Juliet." Through violent language, he reveals the deep-rooted feud between the Montagues and Capulets, setting the stage for their bitter r…

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Dramatic Irony in “Romeo and Juliet”

The mockery is one of the favorite modes in the theatre. Its potential lies in the very fact of imitation because it includes a contrast between actual and imaginary realities. Nothing could be more ordinary in a play than a context when a person is mistaken for another one. Dramatic irony becomes brighter if the superior knowledge of the viewer is shared by one of the performance’s heroes, especially if a victim does not suspect his or her presence on the stage.

Exemplification Shakespeare varies mockery during all play. It is found as funny, intriguing and, ultimately, tragic. Its goal is as long as possible to keep the audience's attention to what is happening on the stage through an inconspicuous transition from ridiculous cases to serious things. The tense atmosphere is maintained due to the realization that words and operations of main figures have a completely different meaning for the reader than for them.

One of the first ironic scenes is the conversation between Tybalt and Romeo when the first participant demands to show him grounds for sympathy for his opponent. Unlike Tybalt, spectators know that young man is married to Juliet, which means they are one family. An absence of ignorance and hatred could prevent a chain of sad events. Dramatic irony is also evident in the prologue, where a plot and the play’s ending are revealed. So, an author creates some presence of fate, which, despite all efforts, prepared death for lovers instead of happiness and domestic peace.

Even the scene of an acquaintance at the masquerade is filled with satire. Romeo and Juliet fall in love before they comprehend own belonging to hostile clans. The priest's good intentions through their marriage to get over with enmity also turned into an absolute opposite. Perhaps Shakespeare tried once again to emphasize the power of divine providence and human's weakness before heaven.

A classic example is the death scene of Juliet. The author gave us to grasp that a girl will come to life in a few days. Uncertain Romeo immediately returns home, having received such tragic news. Along the way, he encounters Paris, feeding an unrequited love for the principal heroine, and kills him because of false assumptions. Believing that his beloved is dead, a youngster without delay makes a decision to drink poison to reunite with Juliet. So, a combination of cosmic and personal mockery led to the loss of three human lives.

Thus, thanks to dramatic irony, a viewer perceives elements of intrigue hidden from the personage and do not allow the latter to act with the competence of the matter. A joke in a similar sense is extremely tragic because spectators constantly feel superior to the stage action. Irony plays the role of an element of exclusion, which destroys a theatrical illusion and encourages us not to perceive the play’s upkeep literally.

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Dramatic Irony Examples in Romeo and Juliet

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In the play Romeo and Juliet by Capulet and Friar Lawrence affect the dramatic and tragic ending and the plot of Romeo and Juliet, they made many irresponsible and nearsighted decisions that could have been avoided if they did not interfere with the relationship of the star-crossed lovers throughout the play. Capulet and Friar Lawrence had good intentions but were unaware that making these decisions would lead up to the devastating deaths of Romeo and Juliet and ruin their relationship with everyone because they chose each other over their family and friends.

Capulet made many selfish decisions that majorly impacted the future life of Romeo and Juliet and which direction their lives were heading. Lord Capulet is the the patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and an enemy of Montague. In Verona Capulet throws a grand masquerade party for a tradition and to socialize. The serving man invites Montagues to the party unknowingly. During the party Tybalt recognizes that Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio are at the party and they are not Capulets. Tybalt is infuriated of the presence of Montagues at a Capulet’s party and tells Lord Capulet he will not tolerate their presence and asks to kill them or at least kick them out. Lord Capulet does not think Romeo and his friends are here to scorn the Capulets, so he tells Tybalt He shall be endured. What, Goodman boy! I say, he shall. Go to. Am I the master here, or you? Go to. You’ll not endure him! God shall mend my soul, you’ll make a mutiny among my guests. You will set cock-a-hoop (1.5.76-80).

If Capulet did not disagree with Tybalt and kicked Romeo out of his party, Romeo and Juliet would never meet each other and fall in love at first sight. Capulet loves his family and wants the best for them, especially wanting the best for Juliet throughout the play. Although he truly loves Juliet he will not let her have a voice or any opinions. Lord Capulet has a growing insistence that Juliet marry Paris and because she is already secretly married and loves Romeo, Juliet is not willing to marry anyone else. While Lady Capulet and Capulet are talking to Juliet about marrying Paris in her bedroom she immediately refuses but is very thankful for her parents to care about her and are proud of them. However, Capulet is furious that Juliet will not do as he wants so he says to her forcefully Thank me no thankings, nor proud me no prouds, but fettle your fine joints ‘gainst Thursday next. To go with Paris to Saint Peter’s Church, Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. Out, you green sickness, carrion! Out, you baggage! You tallow face (3.5.152-156). Capulet does not let her decide if she wanted to marry Paris, this forces her to find a hasty solution therefore, taking a large risk by following the plan Friar Lawrence has made for her. Their plan is very dangerous because if not completed perfectly Romeo and Juliet may never be reconciled but she consents to the plan because this is her last option other than killing herself. If Capulet never forced Juliet to marry someone she was not in love with the play’s ending would have been completely different. Juliet and Friar Lawrence could find a solution to the banishment of Romeo, separating them and in the end lived happily together as a married couple. They wouldn’t have to die just for the families to be in complete shock and realize that their ancient feud cannot continue. Capulet’s decisions mostly affected the play negatively and without his decisions Romeo and Juliet could have lived a much more peaceful life. Paragraph #2 topic sentence: Friar Lawrence made numerous impetuous decisions for Romeo and Juliet that he hoped would help the Capulet family and the Montague family stop their feud and violence.

All of the decisions he made were intended to help the couple, so deeply in love but none go as planned and make the ending of the play lamentable. Friar Lawrence is the person who marries Romeo and Juliet. This is one of the worst decisions he makes. He was dubious at first when Romeo asks if he will marry them. After he thought about it more Friar Lawrence makes a very dangerous risk by making a plan that could go terribly wrong. Hold, daughter. I do spy a kind of hope, Which craves as desperate an execution As that is desperate which we would prevent. If, rather than to marry County Paris, Thou hast the strength of will to slay thyself, Then is it likely thou wilt undertake A thing like death to chide away this shame (4.1.70-76) Juliet and Friar Lawrence thinks the plan will work if every step goes how they plan so they continue. He gives Juliet a vail with the potion and when she gets home she drinks it and falls into a deep sleep. Everyone thinks she died but he will send a letter to Romeo explaining there plan. As the friar’s warning to Romeo gets lost, Romeo kills himself because he believes Juliet to be dead, and when Juliet wakes, she kills herself upon discovery that Romeo is dead. If Friar Lawrence never told Juliet of this plan none of that could have happened.

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