Emily Fernandez Dr. Rachel Prusko English 387 Lecture B1: Youth Cultures February 4th, 2023 Romeo’s Rebellion: Creation and Refusal of the Masculine Identity in Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet shows how the young men of Verona are obligated to perform a certain type of masculinity associated with violence and sexuality. Romeo, however, provides a counter to this as he displays both feminine and masculine behaviours throughout the play. Ultimately, Romeo’s refusal to adhere to the standards of masculinity and his inclination to create an identity of his own are an enduring example of the young male experience.
Male Aggression in Romeo and Juliet ; Shakespeare in his tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, presents aggressive male behaviour as a key element of the play's conflict and tragedy. He portrays male characters as aggressive and violent and as means of asserting power and dominance over each other and as a way of creating conflict and tension in his plays. Shakespeare presents the aggression of male behaviour through the creation of conflict and tension in his tragedy through the characters who are involved in violence and toxic masculinity, and the consequences they face such as banishment, imprisonment and ultimately death. Through the culture of toxic masculinity, where men are expected to be aggressive, violent and honour-bound, Shakespere establishes the futility of violence. The play shows that resorting to violence and aggression to solve problems is ultimately futile.
The portrayal of women in Romeo and Juliet is complex. On the one hand, the play presents women as passive and submissive, particularly in their relationships with men. Juliet, for example, is expected to obey her father and marry the man he has chosen for her, even though she is in love with Romeo. She tries to defy him so she can be with Romeo but it doesn’t turn out her way. Similarly, Lady Capulet is portrayed as a dutiful wife who defers to her husband's authority and does not challenge him.
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).
However, the male characters’ want for strength and control influences many of the actions and conversations that are had. The short play exposes how the male characters’ masculinity affects the way the women act, are treated, view situations, and view their worth. Firstly, the actions of the female characters are greatly influence by the male characters’ masculinity. Masculinity is revealed within the first piece of
In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, we see people that either keep stereotypical gender roles or break those roles. A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their sex. An example of a character who keeps the gender role is Capulet, who is arguably the character that keeps the strongest gender role by leading his household with a strong manner and wanting to protect his family, deciding what is best for his daughter without her input, and expecting everyone to be grateful for everything he does for them. We will also be looking at Juliet, who does not keep her gender role by rebelling against her family, expressing her own opinions, and standing up for herself and deciding what she thinks is best for herself. Finally, we will be looking at Romeo, who takes the submissive role multiple times throughout the play, down to drinking the poison to kill himself, which is viewed as a more feminine way of killing yourself.
(Romeo and Juliet: An Exploration of Gender Roles #) In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet the men of Verona are held to a extremely high standard of masculinity, and in turn learn
During the entire play, Romeo’s personality really stands out as it is very feminine in contrast to how men were supposed to be. His femininity causes him to act certain ways which leads to many tragic events. An example of this is during the balcony scene where Romeo tells Juliet, “Oh speak again, bright angel, for thou art/ As glorious to this night, being o’er my head,/ As a winged messenger of heaven” (2.2.26-28). As he talks to Juliet in this scene, Romeo’s disappearing male role becomes apparent.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet takes place in a society indisputably dominated by males. There is no such thing as an independent woman in Verona, as the men determine every decision. This is especially true in the case of the Montagues and Capulets, two formidable and influential families that have been in conflict for decades. In both the Montague and Capulet families, the men are the all-powerful breadwinners and decision-makers while the women truly serve no other purpose than conceiving heirs. Romeo and Juliet, the ill-fated star crossed lovers for whom the play is named, are forced into their desperate scenario because of this traditional patriarchal society.
Romeo and Juliet Act I Scene I Analysis: Gender, Dominance, and Violence Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is perhaps one of the most readily recognized plays of all time. While it is most well known as a tragic love story, there are many underlying themes and symbols in the play that subtly shape the reader’s perceptions of the characters and the environment in Verona. In Act 1 Scene 1 of the play a foundation is built through the dialogue, actions, props, and stage directions of and pertaining to the characters; that explains the deeply embedded structure of the familial conflict between the Montagues and the Capulets, the constructs and behavioral expectations surrounding gender, and how these ideals shape life in Verona. Act I
different female types, attempting to assimilate a few categories women fall under. The men ,however, all seemed to share common traits. For example, Romeo and Macbeth, Romeo was a very young boy who did not really know what love was, he just seemed to be guided by whatever caught his eye. He was very delicate as he would cry on several occasions,when things did not go his way. Juliet seemed to be the dominant figure in the relationship.
Romeo and Juliet, the Chorus tells us of an extenct grudge between different houses of equal dignity that has broke out into a "new mutiny" that will cause blood to flow in the streets of Verona and will ultimately result in the deaths of the star-cross'd lovers. The Chorus points to the heads of these two families as the source of the strife at hand, the rage of their parents causing the deaths of their children. We soon learn the surnames of the warring clans, Capulet and Montague, and both patriarchs as well as their respective ladies appear in the flesh in the play's first scene. Even though Tybalt of the Capulets is the most aggressive character on the stage, Mercutio's twice-spoken curse, "a plague a' both houses! Makes it plain that the sides are equally to blame for his death, and by extension, for the tragedy that befalls the lovers.
In Romeo and Juliet, men are not necessarily masculine, contrary to the expectations of them
Today, in the 21st century, most women are fairly respected and have the freedom to make their own choices; but when reading Romeo and Juliet, from the Shakespearean age, I have learned that women were viewed very differently. Using clues provided by this book, it is clear that whether women were housewives, royalty, nurses, or children, they didn’t have equal rights to men. Men were very masculine; they ordered their wives around and expected women to obey. Whereas women were very obedient and unfortunately were often taken advantage of. In this paper, will be examining the stereotypical role of a woman in the Shakespearean age.
It may seem like Shakespeare treats his female characters worse than his male characters, but it is his female characters that drive the plot
