blog 6

• Support the statement: Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker.

Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker. Both the movie and the play showed that the reason why Friar Lawrence agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet was that he saw the possibility of two families having a good relationship by seeing the love between Romeo and Juliet.

When Romeo first went to find Friar Lawrence and said that he wants to get married, Friar Lawrence thought of the bride being Rosaline. He asked if Romeo is marrying Rosaline and showed some worries. When Romeo said the bride is not Rosaline, Friar Lawrence calmed down. That interaction showed that Friar Lawrence doesn't want Romeo to marry Rosaline. However, the only thing Shakespeare pointed out about Rosaline was that she is a Capulet. That might be the reason why Friar Lawrence doesn’t want Romeo to marry her. He doesn’t want to see these two children suffer from their lovers’ parents’ hate towards each other. However, after Friar Lawrence noticed that Romeo is actually going to get marry with Juliet, he was more worried and refused to marry them. Romeo was very upset about it and begged Friar Lawrence by showing how much he and Juliet love each other. Nevertheless, in the movie, the thing that really made Friar Lawrence accept Romeo’s request was the scenes that flashed through his mind. The scenes that only contains violence and hatred between the two families. In his mind, as he said in his monologue in the beginning of act 2 scene 3, “ Two such opposed kings encamp them still In man as well as herbs, grace and rude will; And where the worker is predominant, Full soon the canker death eats up that plant.” The conflict can only make people suffer, he doesn't want to see it happen. The lyrics of the song in the movie pointed out what Friar Lawrence wanted: “ Love will bring the hop”. Finally, he agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet. Therefore, Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker.

• Disagree with the following statement: Friar Lawrence is a peacemaker.

Friar Lawrence is not a peacemaker. Even though it is common for girls to get married when they are young in Verona, it is very possible for children to do things out of passion too. Getting married on the second day of knowing each other is clearly one of those things. Even Friar Lawrence refused Romeo’s request at first, he still decided to trust such a young boy to marry another girl without letting their parents know. Meanwhile, two children are the greatest enemy of each other. It is really not a wise choice. Moreover, the marriage made Romeo and Juliet more into their immature relationship. What if Friar Lawrence can stop them and let them think twice before they actually get married? They might get their parents’ permission and live a happy life together. Even though it seems quite impossible, but it is definitely better to let the children try to get understanding from their parents rather than kill themselves directly. Friar Lawrence somehow helped the tragedy to happen. Even it eventually led to the peace between two families, Friar Lawrence can’t be honored for it. Therefore, Friar Lawrence is not a peacemaker.