Masculinity In Romeo And Juliet

In the opening prologue, Romeo and Juliet seem to be trapped by fate when the Chorus says that “the star-crossed lovers” die (Prologue.6). Throughout the play no matter how much Romeo and Juliet love each other, their love seems doomed. Defeating or escaping their proclaimed fate doesn’t seem possible, yet Romeo and Juliet are determined to struggle against strict gender definitions and all enemies in order to be together. Their ability to transform their inevitable death from doom to transcendence attests to their redefinition of romantic love. Their love transcends not only their circumstances but the cosmic meaning of their lives.
The threat of death is embedded in Romeo and Juliet’s transformative love from the moment the Chorus refers

The world of men in Verona is built upon violence, sexual domination, and conquest. However, Romeo challenges this idea of masculinity and Shakespeare portrays him with more feminine and submissive traits. Romance and longing fuel his daily thoughts, and give him the most fulfillment and satisfaction. In addition, Romeo’s friends are constantly mocking him for being a “romantic.” When Romeo and Juliet are together in scenes, Romeo’s male role is increasingly diminished. He puts himself below Juliet as a gesture of submission. This characteristic of Romeo’s is especially clear during the balcony scene when he says, “O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art/ As glorious to this night, being o’er my head” (2.2.26-8). A Veronese male would never dream of considering himself below a woman, nor would he put her on a pedestal to worship and revere. Shakespeare portrays Juliet in a way that, similar to Romeo, defies standards of inferiority for women. Upon first meeting Romeo at her father’s masked party, she does not shy away from his forward nature as would be proper and typical of an unmarried girl but rather engages him in playful banter and builds upon their flirtation. She even engages in a kiss with Romeo that very night. Yet the qualities that make up Romeo and Juliet respectively are what draw them together and merge their

Their first discussion is less of a proper greeting and more Romeo and Juliet declaring their love for each other while already foreshadowing their death. It’s as though they have been waiting their whole lives to meet each other and then to die together. During the rest of the play Romeo and Juliet intertwine death and love together in their speech. As Juliet drinks the potion which could lead to her death, she has profound anxieties. She accepts these fears and says, “O, bid me leap, rather than marry Paris” implying that a living life where she needs to marry someone other than Romeo is worse than the unknown world of death with Romeo (4.1.78). Romeo also yields to his consumption with fate when he says, “Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die” (5.3.120). This is yet another time where love and death appear in their dialogue. Both Romeo and Juliet are young, naive, and impulsive when they die. Death became an easier solution than a life of struggle. Calling their death decreed by fate enables them to romantically give up. It isn’t just fate, after all. As the drama concludes, Romeo and Juliet see their only choice in the face of fate and social calamities as acquiescing to their