The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous love stories that took place in Verona, Italy. The main conflict is that the two main characters are in love, but they are from families that despise each other. They try to figure it out and are hit with many obstacles including Juliet's parents trying to arrange her marriage with someone else, Romeo kills Juliet's cousin, and many more. They both end up dying and it teaches the lesson to always make good decisions. Shakepseare lived from April 1564-April 1616. He is mainly known for being a famous poet with many well-known works. He lived in England and had little education, but was an incredibly talented writer. Griffith writes, “Shakespeare is universally recognized as the foremost …show more content…
She had lots of power associated with her name and it was later thought that she had a big impact on the way Shakespeare wrote. Webster describes, “Avoided conflict with Parliament and attempted to curb monopolies and curtail expenditures. Called "Good QueenBess". The reign of 45 years saw England emerge as world power”(Webster “Elizabeth I”). She was a strict ruler who had very formal stereotypes that set the standard for gender roles at the time. Shakespeare's work was able to challenge these common stereotypes. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, the playwright uses Juliet, Romeo, and other major characters to question gender identity and roles. First, Shakespeare uses Juliet to propose questions of gender roles in society throughout the poem. At the start of the story during Act 1, the nurse, who is sort of a mother figure to Juliet, gives her some poor advice. Juliet was updating the nurse on her romantic life when the nurse told her, “Go, girl, seek happy nights to happy days” (Shakespeare …show more content…
Furthermore, Juliet questions gender roles in the play when she questions the meaning of a rose being called a rose. What's in a name? that which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet;” (Shakepseare 2.2.46-47). It could be believed she said this to compare it to gender. As Juliet questions why a rose is identified as a “rose”, she could be questioning girl and boy names and the real difference between them. Especially when the play was acted out, women were not allowed to act, so she was a boy dressed as a girl, making the situation even more fitting for her to question. Additionally, Juliet's ability to stand up for herself is a very uncommon act for a girl in that time’s society. Belsey explains, “She not only puts up a stout resistance to her father’s marriage plan, but in a series of double entendres she declares her fidelity to Romeo, while seeming to go along with her mother’s threat to kill him” (Belsey “Juliet and the Vicissitudes of Gender”). Juliet is excellent at handling her emotions. She knows how to express herself very well. She is also able to speak up for herself when necessary, proving her maturity throughout the