ipl-logo

Interpreting Rituals In William Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

724 Words3 Pages

What About Romeo and Justin? I’m not sure if Shakespeare got the memo, but LGBTQ+ love is valid too. It’s difficult for me to read Romeo and Juliet, a story that glorifies heterosexual love, when I know that many of my peers don’t see themselves represented in the characters. Most schools in the United States are based on a heteronormative mindset, meaning heterosexuality is widely accepted as “normal,” while LGBTQ+ identities are categorized as “different” or “unnatural.” For queer youth, it can be difficult to find representation in literature. Many teens identify with a sexuality other than straight, yet the books in school curriculum fail to represent them. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is no longer relevant to teens, because it does not include LGBTQ+ characters or relationships. …show more content…

The story encourages readers to romanticize heterosexual couples, enforcing a gender binary that excludes LGBTQ+ relationships. In particular, Shakespeare emphasizes the tradition that men would perform the act of courting women. This courting ritual was very important in developing a relationship, and later marriage. This is highlighted in a scene in which Juliet apologizes for seeming too easily won over. Juliet says, “In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond, / And therefore thou mayst think my havior light. / But trust me, gentleman, I’ll prove more true / Than those that have more coying to be strange” (2.2.103-106). This sexist tradition is obviously outdated, and just isn’t representative of teen relationships today. Furthermore, by confining romantic relationships into a framework that demands opposite genders to comply with roles assigned to them, Shakespeare blatantly excludes gay relationships. What if this scene was between Romeo and a guy named Justin? Who would court whom? I would ask Shakespeare, but… he’s

Show More
Related
770 Words | 4 Pages

In recent years, the rise of new concepts of gender expression and stereotypes has challenged traditional expectations and sparked conversations about redefining masculinity and femininity. These ideas are not entirely new and have long been present in artistic mediums like cinema, theater, and literature, with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet being a classic example of a work that explores these themes. The tragic play of Romeo and Juliet tells the story of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two lovers whose families' feud prevents them from being together and ultimately leads to their deaths. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet exemplifies how adhering to societal gender ideals of masculinity can result in destructive behavior, while also implying

Read More
476 Words | 2 Pages

The most known play written by William Shakespeare is called Romeo and Juliet. This play demonstrates how love and hate can cloud your judgement when making decisions. For various of people around the world, they believe that the tragic and heartbreaking romance shouldn’t be taught in school. Despite the negative and crucial result coming out of it, there is an important lesson to be taught in high school. I believe that it should be taught throughout freshman year and be reevaluated throughout high school.

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

Romeo and Juliet are a different couple challenging the fact that each character displays a different gender trait that goes against what was the norm. When Mercutio dies, Romeo considers whether it is worth it to fight Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt. “O sweet Juliet, thy beauty hath made me effeminate and in my temper softened valor’s steel!” (Act III, Scene i, 75-78) Romeo feels like meeting Juliet has made him

Read More
974 Words | 4 Pages

For many years schools taught about the play, Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare. Some say that we should continue to allow our teens to read this tragic love story, while others may argue that we shouldn't read this play in schools. The issues concerning this tragic love story are the inappropriate jokes, the unrealistic view of love, and the promotion of suicide. These issues will indeed prove why Romeo and Juliet is ill-suited for a freshmen class. Ninth graders should no longer read Romeo and Juliet because of its inappropriate jokes.

Read More
660 Words | 3 Pages

Two forms of current-society discrimination which don’t appear in Romeo and Juliet are racism and homophobia. These are not applicable to the story because it doesn’t give enough information to create a solid view. Romeo and Juliet helps to prove discrimination has always existed, even though it has affected many different people throughout

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is a perfect example of the need to allow teens to date whoever they want. At first, many people would think the exact opposite of this, that Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example for controlling who their teens date.

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

Romeo and Juliet should no longer be assigned in school By Liliene Anderson I am a student at Rock Canyon Highschool. In my English class, we read Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Originally I was excited to read it. No kid grew up without hearing about how wonderful and romantic their love story was.

Read More
998 Words | 4 Pages

Shakespeare believes that Gender roles shouldn’t be the stereotype of any relationship because the roles can be switched, and them being switched can cause a lot of trouble. When a woman thinks for men it ends up pretty bad. The play Macbeth shows that when a man follows a women's word because they love them, that's when

Read More
841 Words | 4 Pages

In the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare incorporates his social commentary of the world around him. He incorporated his opinion of society in little bits and pieces of the play. Shakespeare also mentions about how love was back in the day, how sexist society was then, and even mentions the black plague swirling around them. Shakespeare happened to secretly write about how society was around him when it came to love. He goes into detail about how shallow guys were when it came to love,“So soon forsaken?

Read More
778 Words | 4 Pages

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).

Read More
1408 Words | 6 Pages

In Romeo and Juliet, men are not necessarily masculine, contrary to the expectations of them

Read More
998 Words | 4 Pages

The play Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare has been taught in school for many years now. Some say that we should continue to allow our teens to read this tragic love story, while many argue that this play should no longer be allowed in schools. The issues concerning this tragic love story are the inappropriate jokes, the unrealistic view of love, and the promotion of suicide. These issues will indeed prove why Romeo and Juliet is ill suited to be taught to freshmen. Ninth graders should no longer read Romeo and Juliet because it is has very inappropriate jokes that should not be associated with school.

Read More
1383 Words | 6 Pages

Within the play, Shakespeare uses many different forms of love, as love is seen as the dominant theme that runs throughout it. There are many different forms of love presented in the play but the most obvious of those being romantic love as seen between Romeo and Juliet, where both are willing to do anything for each other. This type of love is also seen between Romeo and Rosaline but the major difference between Romeo’s love for Rosaline and his love for Juliet is the fact that it is “for doting not for loving”. This unrequited, almost non-existent love plays a major role in the novel. Even though the idea of the romantic love could be seen as the most pertinent kind of love, Shakespeare threads many other kinds of love throughout the novel,

Read More
1209 Words | 5 Pages

Shakespeare’s renowned play Twelfth Night centers around love, both in platonic and romantic instances. Characters display elements of self, brotherly, amorous, and friendly love towards one another; however, of the relationships portrayed, the strongest ones are those between men. In contrast, relationships between men and women lack depth and sincerity due to the lapse of communication between the opposing genders. Men are able to express their feelings to one another more freely, which gives their bonds strength that heterosexual relationships fail to display.

Read More
720 Words | 3 Pages

The play Romeo and Juliet does not directly say it is against gay marriage, but this story takes place in Verona, Italy, a region that is primarily Catholic. The Catholic Church is against gay marriage, therefore Romeo and Juliet did not explore the topic. The play says phrases such as, “My husband is on earth,” (Juliet, Act III scene v). Clearly showing the relationship Juliet is seeking is with a man. Homosexuality and heterosexuality are both still prevalent in our world today, more so than in the fifteenth century.

Read More

More about Interpreting Rituals In William Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Related Topics

Open Document