Romeo And Juliet Gender Roles Essay

William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” has an overwhelming male presence, as almost all of the roles are male. Despite this, the gender with the greatest impact on the story is female because of Rosaline’s role in driving Romeo to Juliet, the Nurse’s part in the success of Romeo and Juliet actually marrying (despite the disastrous occurrences because of it), and one of the strongest characters in the play, Juliet herself, being of the female gender. The first argument towards females being the most dramatically important throughout the play is Rosaline, and her role in Romeo and Juliet meeting. The entire reason for Romeo’s attendance at the party, near the begging of the story, during which he meets Juliet, is driven by his remorse over his lost love at the

If the story were lacking this strong female part, there is a chance Romeo and Juliet would not have made their marriage successful at all, as she often delivers messages back and forth between the “star-crossed lovers” when they are unable to themselves as well. The third, final, and feasibly most important part dramatically in “Romeo and Juliet” is found in the title, Juliet herself. She is referred to as Romeo’s “bright angel” in his own words, during the balcony scene and provides an essential character for this tragic script. Moreover, Juliet is willing to give up her family and her life, though these actions are considered hasty by many readers and characters alike, to be with Romeo. In summary, the female characters in the play “Romeo and Juliet” have a more dramatic impact because of the roles they play- Rosaline essentially drives Romeo to Juliet, Juliet’s Nurse insures the success (no matter how short) of Romeo and Juliet’s marriage, and one of the main characters, Juliet herself, is