Romeo and Juliet (Vol. 33) | James C. Bryant (essay date 1974)
James C. Bryant (essay date 1974)
SOURCE: "The Problematic Friar in Romeo and Juliet," in English Studies, Netherlands, Vol. 55, No. 4, August, 1974, pp. 340-50.
[In the essay below, Bryant analyzes Shakespeare's depiction of Friar Laurence and concludes that the Friar is not, as some critics assert, the "voice of wisdom and moderation" regarding sexuality and marriage, but that he appears "impulsive, meddlesome in secular love affairs, deceitful … and apparently unfaithful to his canonical vows. "]
Friar Laurence has been traditionally called by critics the voice of wisdom and moderation in Shakespeare's drama of impetuous young lovers. For instance, George Ian Duthie1 sees him as 'a very worthy man', 'prudent', 'worldly-wise'; and G. B. Harrison2 sees him as 'sympathetically treated', 'grave, wise, patient'. Such a view of Friar Laurence is little altered after more than a century of critical...
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