One of the most famous love stories in the English literary tradition is Romeo and Juliet. In the play, love can be identified as naturally the most dominant and significant theme. More of the play’s focus is on the romantic love and the intense passion between Romeo and Juliet at first sight. The play is characterized by violent, ecstatic and overpowering love superseding all loyalties, values, and emotions. They younger lovers are forced to defy their families, friends, rulers and social world. Despite having a few individuals against them, some characters know of their love and help them attain their goals as discussed in the essay.
One of the supportive individuals is Friar Laurence. He is depicted as a holy man who has earned the trust and respect of other characters. His role as not only a friend but also the advisor of the lovers highlights the antagonism between parents and their kids. Consequently, the centrality of Friar’s role indicates the failure of parental love. The quarrels between the families of Romeo and Juliet prevent them from confessing their love.
Friar is the only person who offers neutral love to the isolated Romeo and Juliet. Friar, at first, is overwhelmed by how quick Romeo abandoned Rosaline for Juliet and he, therefore, reminds Romeo of his sudden decisions. By use of the formal language of proverbs and rhyme, Friar emphasizes on the necessity of caution to Romeo. However, he obliges to marry the two lovers in the hope that it would be a cure to the rift disagreements between Capulets and Montagues. Despite the fact that his decision is well-meaning, it indicates his naivety in his perception of the rift and has not reflected on the effects of Romeo and Juliet’s secret marriage. Friar’s relationship with the two lovers is manifested by the conflict between young and old age. While Laurence tries to console Romeo’s grief after being banished with rational debate, Romeo is quick to interject that if Friar were young and had fallen in love, he would reject such advice too.
Laurence’s knowledge of plants, particularly their dual attributes to hurt and heal, play a crucial role in the actions that follow. His concept of improving the conflict through nature reversal, leading to the “death” of Juliet to bring forth her life’s acceptance with Romeo is arguably unnatural. To save Juliet’s life, Friar should extricate her from the tomb which is another form of reversal of nature. The application of nature for abnormal objectives leads to many implications hence the tragic end of the play. However, Friar’s actions are distinctly human, and he flees the tomb abandoning Juliet.
Another character who knows of the love blossoming between Romeo and Juliet is the Nurse. Her primary role in the play is acting as a go-between for both Romeo and Juliet. Apart from Friar, he is the only other character aware of the two lovers’ wedding. Despite the fact that she served in Capulet’s household, she has an equally significant role to that of Juliet’s mother and considers Juliet as her child. Her relationship with Juliet majorly focuses on her (Juliet) age. She repeatedly makes the emphasis that Juliet has not yet attained fourteen years of age. Interestingly, it is a contrast to Juliet’s youthful age that the nurse is old and appears to enjoy making complains about her pains and aches. The frustrations Juliet undergoes by having to depend on the Nurse to send and receive messages and information is used to develop a humorous effect in Act II, Scene 5. This is after Juliet is obliged to listen to the ailments of the nurse while deriving from her the information of her marriage plans.
Just like Mercutio, the Nurse loves lengthy talks and commentary which is noted by her the regular repetition of herself while her bawdy references to the intimate aspect of love redefine the idealistic respect of the two lovers unlike how other characters in the play described it. The Nurse cannot comprehend the intense and spiritual love, and passion shared between Romeo and Juliet since she does not share Juliet’s concept of love. In her view, love is only a physical and temporary relationship. When she brings the news of Romeo’s wedding plans and arrangements to Juliet, her primary concern is the pleasures and joys of Juliet’s wedding eve where she claims that she is a drudge and toil in Juliet’s delight but insists that she will soon bear the burden that night.
She would later betray Juliet and her love. This is when she advises Juliet to get over the banished Romeo and take Paris’s hand in marriage manifesting the clash further. This is an ultimate betrayal of the trust Juliet had in her through her advocacy for a false intimacy. She tells Juliet that it would be best for her if she married the county since he was a lovely gentleman and further undermines and underrates Romeo. It is in Juliet’s disbelief that the nurse offers such a course of advice and action more so after praising Romeo and helping the couple get back together.
From the precedent, it is clear that despite the odds and conflict between the families of Romeo and Juliet, the two still fall in love. Despite antagonism and negativity from other characters, other individuals believe in the love between the two. While Friar is the advisor of the two and even agrees to marry them, the Nurse acts as a messenger, passing messages and information between the two.
