Romeo And Juliet 4 :: essays research papers

The Nurse and Friar Laurence are kind but powerless characters who inadvertently contribute to the tragic ends of Romeo and Juliet. The Nurse is ignorant and unthinking as she enjoys and sets up the secret marriage, but she does not think about the consequences or take responsibility for them. The Nurse helps Juliet to marry Romeo when the Nurse knows it is forbidden. The Friar is wise and insightful when he marries Romeo and Juliet, but he simply does not have the power or the foresight to stop the tragic events that come after the marriage. Friar Laurence agrees to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though it is risky. These two characters share good intentions and love for Romeo and Juliet, and share the responsibility for their deaths. The Nurse helps Juliet to marry Romeo because she is just thinking about Juliet’s feelings without thinking about the problems this marriage could cause. In Act I, Scene. v., lines 137-138, she tells Juliet who Romeo is. It causes Juliet to get very upset: “My only love, sprung from my only hate.'; (I.V.139), but the Nurse doesn’t think about this. She doesn’t see the trouble that has started. After the nurse realizes that Juliet and Romeo love each other, she doesn’t stop it; instead, she agrees to carry the message to Romeo, although she knows Romeo is a Montague. After the Nurse has a secret meeting with Romeo, she teases Juliet and praises Romeo as a handsome and nice young man. She does not explain to Juliet the problems of loving Romeo. She helps and encourages Juliet to get to Friar Laurence’s cell to get married. The Nurse doesn’t consider the dangerous result of this action. She only thinks of the moment. After the marriage, the Nurse quickly abandons Juliet. The Nurse refuses to help Juliet any more after Romeo kills Tybalt. Even though the Nurse supported the marriage before, she does little to stop the forced marriage of Juliet to Paris. She does not understand Juliet’s emotional love for Romeo because the Nurse only thinks love is physical. She suggests to Juliet that Paris is as good as Romeo, and Juliet might as well take Paris because no one will know: “I think you are as happy in this second match,/ For it excels your first: or if it did not,/ Your first is dead; or ‘twere as good he were'; (III.