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Masculinity In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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Have you ever fought against a gender role? Was it because you were sick and tired of following that role or just felt that it was restraining you? In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo is very emotional which portrays femininity while Juliet speaks out her opinion to her father which portrays masculinity. During the Renaissance era, men and boys were expected to be strong, to be superior, and to make all the decisions while women and girls were just seen to be mothers and to obey their fathers and brothers. Those who did not follow these guidelines were seen as weak and a disgrace to their family. 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 …show more content…

“Now, I swear by Saint Peter’s Church and Peter too, he will not make me a joyful bride there. This is a strange rush. How can I marry him, this husband, before he comes to court me? Please, tell my father, madam, I won’t marry yet.”(Act III, Scene V,116-123) Juliet is surprised by this news. She feels that this is a “strange rush”. She swears that Paris will not “make me[her] a joyful bride there[Saint Peter’s church]”. Juliet finds it strange that Paris has not come to “court” her or get to know her and they are getting married soon. She goes on to say that she “won’t marry yet”. Obviously she broke this when she married Romeo. Because she stands up to Capulet’s controlling will, the action connotes “masculinity”. Unlike girls back then, she does not automatically follow her father’s wishes. She chooses to voice her own

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They never stopped to consider that Juliet would need time to grieve the death of her cousin and that she had said earlier she wanted to wait until she was older to get married. But her parents were so blinded by the idea of their daughter marrying the County Paris they failed to really consider how she felt about the whole thing. When Lady Capulet is telling Juliet about her and Capulet’s plans to wed Juliet and Paris, Lady Capulet tells her daughter that Capulet is “One who to put thee from thy heaviness, Hath sorted out a sudden day of joy That thou expects not nor I looked not for.” (3.5.112-114) and that Juliet will “Marry… early next Thursday morn The gallant, young, and noble gentleman, The County Paris, at Saint Peter’s Church,” (3.5.116-118). She clearly was trying to sell the idea of Paris to Juliet because she knew her daughter would be hesitant.

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As the speaks to Juliet she says “Marry, that ‘marry’’ is that the very theme I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, how stands your position to be married?”(DBQ project: who is to blame, document B). One would think that Lady Capulet would is putting a

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Throughout the play of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, Lord Capulet plays a big part in Juliet's love life by being a well rounded protective and understanding parent. In act I scene II Lord Capulet brought up the topic of marriage with Paris. Paris was very anxious to get married and he was asking Lord Capulet when he would allow Juliet to get married. Although Lord Capulet adores Paris, his daughters safety was more important to him. “Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride.”

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After the balcony scene where Romeo and Juliet meet once more, Lady Capulet comes into her room to tell Juliet the news that I think was the biggest cause for the suicides. She said “ Marry, my child, early next Thursday morn, The gallant, young, and noble gentleman, The County Paris, at Saint Peter’s Church, Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride”(Act 3 Scene 5 117-120). Lady Capulet is telling Juliet that she must get married to Paris as a joyful bride on that Thursday morning. Juliet becomes enraged and swears by the church that Paris will not make her happy. She expressed confusion on why everything was moving so fast.

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Every day young men are told to “suck it up” and “walk it off” when they are hurting. This toxic view of male emotions is commonplace in today’s society. This societal expectation of men having no emotions is simply not true, 20 percent of men say that they experienced a time of sadness and depression and didn't reach out for help. This secrecy around emotions is driven by this accepted toxic masculinity. So instead of reaching out, they lie to people about their feelings, saying they're fine when they are not.

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That makes Juliet concerned because she likes Romeo. First, he tells Juliet to marry Paris which she doesn’t want to happen. This is found in Act 3 scene 5. Second, Lord Capulet rages at Juliet when he notices that she doesn’t want to marry Paris. He then tells Juliet that he will never see her again.

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Class and agency are arguably some of the most important factors in Shakespeare's plays. For example, because the capulets and the montagues are both noble houses, they are able to have enough interaction with each other that they have a strong hatred. Class and agency influence the characters’ education and actions in shakespeare's romeo and juliet because many of the events would not have happened without class and class affected much of who the person was during the renaissance. Romeo and Juliet would not have even met if they had different classes, let alone get married and die for eachother. For example, in act I scene II in Shakespeare’s romeo and Juliet, a Capulet servant asks Romeo “Perhaps you learned it without book ,but I pray, can you read?”.

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Secondly, at line 60, when Tybalt calls Romeo “Boy” instead of “Man”, the medium shot of Romeo will have a slightly higher angle, to portray that Romeo is the weaker of the pair. Thirdly, Romeo will repeat line 108 three times, “O sweet Juliet, Thy beauty hath made me effeminate And in my temper softened valour’s steel”, portraying Romeo’s shame in himself that he has lost his masculinity, and he blames it on his infatuation with Juliet. This is only one of many scenes in Romeo and Juliet that we can utilise to portray the theme of masculinity to the modern

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The movie Romeo + Juliet was lacking any finesse that is needed for a movie. It didn't quite follow the Shakespearean structure and it was supposed to be modernized but kept Shakespeare's language which made it weird. The movie is rated PG-13 which is agreeable to be the correct rating, but if a mother was to watch this movie with her child she would be scared that her children were to make bad decisions implied in the movie. Although there are some kids who don't easily get caught up in things that are in the movie and don't feel like they need to prove themselves as people do in a movie. Most of the character are actually dumb and oblivious like they came out of a Looney Toons cartoon and were put in the human form.

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Shakespeare is known for defying and playing with gender roles with certain characters in some of his plays such as Twelfth Night and Macbeth. In particular, he gives his female lead an unusual amount of strength and defiance in Romeo and Juliet. Some may even argue that Juliet is shown even moreso as the main character of the play than Romeo. Juliet continuously defies the stereotypes of her day even when others try to force her back into her supposed place in society. She does so by proclaiming that she does not want to marry right to her parents’ faces, and by taking charge, to some extent, of her relationships with both Paris, the man she’s been arranged to marry, and Romeo, neither of which seem too upset or shocked by this.

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At the beginning of the play, the young lovers' behavior reverses common gender conventions – Romeo acts in a way that his friends call feminine, while Juliet exhibits masculine qualities. Romeo is by no means an archetypal Elizabethan man; he is disinterested in asserting his physical power like the other male characters in the play. Instead, Romeo chooses to stew in his pensive melancholy. On several instances, Romeo's companions suggest that his introspective behavior is effeminate. On the other hand, Juliet exhibits a more pronounced sense of agency than most female characters in Shakespeare's time.

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“And though she be but little, she is fierce” -William Shakespeare. In today’s day and age, one of the greatest topics of debate is gender roles. It is evident everywhere, from cyberspace to the streets of home, from online petitions to marches across the country such as the Women’s March. Shakespeare lived in the Elizabethan Era of England, where Queen Elizabeth I, the virgin queen ruled.

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( II, ii, l. 121-122) She even agrees to get married to Romeo the very next day. Juliet’s rebellious streak is yet again evident when she says she will not marry Paris. In the patriarchal society that she lives in, she is expected to obey her father's . When Juliet says that Paris "shall not make me there a joyful bride".

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“If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”

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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.

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