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Theme of gender in romeo and juliet
Romeo and juliet literary analysis
Romeo and juliet literary analysis
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Throughout William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, Romeo has a difficult time controlling his actions because of his emotions. Characters Romeo cares about, such as Mercutio, Tybalt, and Juliet, are affected by his behavior and actions. The choices Romeo makes are very impulsive and cause many characters throughout the story to be victimized. The first victim who suffers from an irrational decision of Romeo is Mercutio.
In Romeo and Juliet, our main character Romeo tends to be very impulsive as he goes through life. He is known to make very quick decisions without giving a second thought of what he is really saying or doing. He tends to be very moody and unreasonable. Romeo had been infatuated with a fair Capulet Maiden but she was going to be a Nun and did not want anything to do with Romeo, a Montague. Lady and Lord Montague, Romeos mother and father, becomes very worried about there son as they hardly ever see him anymore: “The shady curtains from Aurora’s bed / away from light steals home my heavy son / and private in his chamber pens himself / shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out / and makes himself an artificial light (Shakespeare, 1.1.130-134)”.
In “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare, the power of love displays a great influence on Romeo’s thoughts and actions by motivating him to make decisions that ultimately lead to both love and tragedy. Romeo’s irrational and illogical behavior was evident in the play when Romeo tells Friar Lawrence
Women’s Rights In Romeo and Juliet Juliet being forced into marriage, showed how little input women had during the Renaissance period. Renaissance is a period in which the ancient writing of Greece and Rome, “Rebirthed”, or came back into practice. During the Renaissance period, women had limited, to no rights. They were required to follow orders made by their husband’s or superior male figure. This is presented in the play Romeo and Juliet made by William Shakespeare.
This lead her to become attached to him, prompting her to feel as though she could not live without him. Romeo was also quite reckless within the play. He often acted without completely thinking things through, ultimately leading to Juliet’s
This study will focus on the way in which Shakespeare crafts his play and uses dramatic devices in his portrayal of Lady Macbeth in order to confront the gender stereotypes of the time, femininity and the natural order of society. During the early 17th century there was a substantial fear that if women were liberated from their domestic, maternal roles, the historically patriarchal society would unravel. With prevailing challenges of gender such as “When you durst do it, then you were a man” Shakespeare uses the character of Lady Macbeth to transgress the natural limits concomitant with her sex. In order to be able to answer the research question, it is vital to concretely establish the contemporary gender roles and the context of the play.
Men were supposed to act as strong fighters, while women were locked in the domestic sphere. These gender roles are prominent in the character developments of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At first, Macbeth is a strong, heroic solider that shows unbounded courage in battle and loyalty to his king. As the play progresses, he becomes cold, ruthless, and miserable. Lady Macbeth takes on a “manly” role, which is surprising because of how patriarchal the society is.
Every woman is strong. Anything can happen to anyone in life, but they have to be strong to face it. Some women may have to marry someone they truly don’t love. They fall for someone that’s an enemy, or parents don’t approve. In Romeo and Juliet there are many strong women, which shows women can indeed be strong.
Traditional gender roles in today’s society are very different from what they once were. Shakespeare had progressive views on gender and gender roles in his time period, which he expressed through his writing. In MacBeth, Shakespeare showcases both his views and unusual roles through Macbeth and Lady MacBeth, MacDuff and the witches. Gender roles in the relationship of MacBeth and Lady MacBeth are probably the most obvious correlation between masculine traits expressed through female characters. Lady MacBeth belittles MacBeth and frequently challenges his manhood.
In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the subversion of gender roles to reinforce Elizabethan notions of female and male behavior through the characters of Lady Macbeth, the three witches, and Macbeth. The ideal woman in Shakespearean times was submissive and docile. She is expected to be a mother and hostess, and little else. However, Lady Macbeth is the exact opposite of this notion. She constantly challenges and manipulates her husband to feed her ever-growing ambition.
Their tough archetypes were always present in many plays and reinforced the idea of male superiority. This fact held true, especially for a certain tragic classic by William Shakespeare. There was a misogynistic mentality towards women in Romeo and Juliet, evident through the way women were shown as objects, portrayed as weak, and made to seem unable to dictate their own lives. Men in Romeo and Juliet could be seen acting like owners towards women. Women were seen as nothing more than possessions, as illustrated when Romeo first described Juliet as, “My lady…/my love” (II.ii.10).
Within this play, there are many conflicts between feuding families and even individuals. Since societal expectations were so great of both genders, much pent-up frustration for those who did not perfectly conform was frequently released in the form of violence or aggression. It also went the other way around, where those who did not fit all of the standards were shamed and embarrassed for the way they were. Two characters in which the gender traits were partially switched are Romeo and Juliet. In their relationship, Juliet is more dominant, and Romeo is more submissive.
The thematic idea that my group and I were assigned for Romeo and Juliet is gender role in society. This is norms created by society for different genders. Gender role in society is very relevant in the world today, with many people experiencing it in their daily lives. An example of gender role in society is believing that males have to be strong and aggressive, and females have to be petite and do all of the housework. In Romeo and Juliet, gender role in society is evident throughout with arranged marriages, such as Capulet wanting Juliet to marry Paris, and forced household rules, like Juliet not being able to leave her home freely.
Types of Love in Romeo and Juliet In the play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare uses real life scenarios to convey a deep and heartwarming literary work. Romeo and Juliet showcase different types of love throughout the play in unique characters. First, Shakespeare creates the love and bond of friendship between Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio. Secondly, to show parental love he uses characters such as, Friar Laurence, Capulet, Lady Capulet, and Nurse.
In the popular play Macbeth, Shakespeare compares the gender stereotypes portrayed to those different pre-existing ideas from other generations such as the 1900’s, the 50’s, and even today 's society. Macbeth has plenty of examples of the exaggeration of gender roles that clearly differentiate male and female by construing their proper roles as polar opposite or complementary. Examples proving that there are gender stereotypes in Macbeth pertain to characters such as Lady Macbeth, The Witches, and Macbeth himself. In Macbeth, the many different stereotypes of gender roles from throughout the century to today’s society have been displayed in many aspects of the play. With examples of the exaggeration of gender constructs pertaining to the male