English resources/Romeo and Juliet/Friar Lawrence
Friar Lawrence
Marries them in secret hoping to end the feud. His plans go wrong every time.
5 key quotes by and about Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet, in the order they happen, from Act 2, Scene 3 to Act 4, Scene 1. Learn this one first: “Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” (Friar Lawrence, Act 2, Scene 3).
Who Friar Lawrence is
Friar Lawrence is a Franciscan friar and Romeo's adviser. When we first meet him he is gathering herbs and explaining that the same plant can heal or kill, which is a fair description of what his own plans will do.
He agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet in secret because he hopes the marriage will end the feud. After Romeo is banished he hides him and sends him to Mantua, and when Juliet is ordered to marry Paris he gives her a potion that will make her look dead for forty-two hours.
His letter explaining the plan never reaches Romeo, because the friar carrying it is shut in a house during an outbreak of plague. He reaches the tomb too late, leaves Juliet alone when he hears the watch coming, and afterwards tells the Prince everything.
Why he matters: he means well every time, and every plan he makes moves the lovers closer to death. He is the play's clearest example of good intentions and bad timing.
The quotes
5 quotes by or about Friar Lawrence, in the order they happen.
Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.
Friar Lawrence · Act 2, Scene 3 · time · youth
The Friar tells Romeo to slow down. Nobody in the play listens to this.
These violent delights have violent ends
Friar Lawrence · Act 2, Scene 6 · fate · love · death
Love this wild ends badly. The Friar says it and then marries them anyway.
There is no world without Verona walls
Romeo · Act 3, Scene 3 · youth · love
Banished from Verona is banished from life, Romeo says. The Friar tells him to stop being a child.
Art thou a man?
Friar Lawrence · Act 3, Scene 3 · youth
Romeo is on the floor crying. The Friar asks him to act like a man.
O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris, From off the battlements of yonder tower
Juliet · Act 4, Scene 1 · love · death · youth
She would jump off a tower before marrying Paris. The Friar offers her a potion instead.
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