Examples Of Gender Norms In Romeo And Juliet

Max Solecki

Mrs. Snowden-Fargeat

English 9

5, June 2023

Does Shakespeare in fact, slay the day away… Gender norms are meant to be defied. I was always told pink and purple were my colors, dolls and babies that is what I should like. But it was always mud and dirt, legos, and cars, and the color blue, man I loved that color even painted my room that color. But those are examples of more modern gender norms, like girls like pink, and boys like blue and so on and so forth. There are many other examples of gender norms, like men can't express emotions, and that women are weak/have to listen to the men in their lives. Over 400 years ago some of these concepts were present, but even then, people were defying gender norms, especially William Shakespear. In Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet Romeo is seen as having

Romeo and Juliet was composed over 400 years ago. However Shakespeare remains authentic to the present day, especially regarding gender norms. Throughout the play he shows that gender norms are not always accurate and are meant to be defied. Shakespeare depicts this through Romeo's reluctance to engage in fights, and Juliet's defiance of her father. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents the idea of defying and showing the inaccuracy of gender norms. Shakespeare shows his defiance of gender norms in his characterization of Romeo, Romeo's defiance to fight against the capulets is an example of him defying gender norms. In the text Romeo is faced with a possible altercation between him and Tybalt, though the altercation could result in his death he refuses to fight against him. Romeo starts this interaction with saying " I do protest I never injured thee/ But love thee better then than thou canst devise/ Till thou shalt know the reason of my love./ And so, good Capulet, whose name I tender/ as dearly as mine own…"(3.1.69-73). Within this Romeo tells Tybalt that he loves him, and that he had never