Some topics in life, such as mathematics, are very clearly defined. Any given answer is either right or wrong; there is no in between. However, it is not always so simple. For example, when discussing the concept of morality, ideas or actions might be a little bit good and a little bit bad. Where does one draw the line between right and wrong? This duality of good and evil exists in people, events, and ideas. Sometimes, good intentions can have bad outcomes, and vice versa, In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Friar Lawrence explores the concept of duality between good and evil, a concept which then appears in multiple situations throughout the rest of the tragic play.
An important example of good intentions leading to bad outcomes occurs when Lord Capulet spontaneously decides to move the date of the wedding between Juliet and Paris up a day. Juliet had just gotten back from the Friar, who gave her a way to fake her own death and avoid the wedding, and she feigns excitement about the wedding so that her parents don’t suspect her true intentions. Capulet responds to her enthusiasm, “I’ll have this knot knit up tomorrow morning” (IV. ii. 25). Here, he is so happy that his daughter seems to have learned obedience that he changes the wedding date to one day sooner. Although he…show more content… Although the deaths of Romeo and Juliet were very tragic, it did end up putting a stop to their families feud. After hearing the whole story from Friar Lawrence, Lord Capulet says, “O brother Montague, give me thy hand. / This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more / Can I demand” (V. iii. 306-308). Here, he is attempting to make amends with Lord Montague, his sworn enemy, putting a stop to their rivalry through mutual grief. It is unfortunate that it took their children’s deaths for them to be able to get along, but this just further proves that events that seem bad can have good inside them,
