Saturday, November 26, 2016

What warning does Friar Laurence give Romeo, foreshadowing future events of the play?

In Act II, scene 6 of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Friar Laurence are waiting for Juliet, as Romeo and Juliet plan to be married. The Friar warns Romeo that he is moving too quickly in marrying Juliet. He says:


"These violent delights have violent ends/And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,/Which as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey/ Is loathsome in his own deliciousness/ And in the taste confounds the appetite:/...

In Act II, scene 6 of Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Friar Laurence are waiting for Juliet, as Romeo and Juliet plan to be married. The Friar warns Romeo that he is moving too quickly in marrying Juliet. He says:



"These violent delights have violent ends/And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,/Which as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey/ Is loathsome in his own deliciousness/ And in the taste confounds the appetite:/ Therefore love moderately; long love doth so; /Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow."



The friar uses the word "violent" to express that Romeo's love for Juliet is violently strong but can also lead to violence. He compares a hasty love to a fiery death. His words foreshadow the death and destruction that await Romeo and Juliet and their families, as the friar compares their love to kisses that consume (meaning that their own kisses consume or destroy them). He also compares their love to honey that is so sweet that it makes one sick and destroys the appetite. Friar Lawrence urges Romeo to "love moderately," as love that lasts a long time is moderate, or not so passionate. It is just as bad to be fast, Friar Laurence tells Romeo, as it is to be too slow. 

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