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Romeo And Juliet: Traditional Gender Norms In Elizabethan England

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Gender Norms in Romeo and Juliet
In Elizabethan England, women were not allowed to act on the stage, so in the play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet was likely played by a young boy, women were viewed as so much less than men that men had to portray them in plays. Nowadays you have women that can play men in plays, such as plays on broadway. Romeo and Juliet set in the 15th century was a play written about two ill-fated lovers that ended in their suicide. In Romeo and Juliet, gender played a substantial role in showing Juliet’s rights regarding her marriage and her general life. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare reveals the beliefs of traditional gender norms in Elizabethan England through Romeo's behavior when he fights with Tybalt to prove himself, …show more content…

In the article from PMT, they write about violence and how it was seen as manly, “It is clear to see that men had to be aggressive and were associated with violence as it was their role to protect their women,” (Background Information). It was traditional that men were the saviors and the violent people of the population. The men were told and believed that they had to protect their women because women were powerless and fragile. In Romeo is always trying to prove himself through acting as tough as he can. Men believed that they would be the only people that would be able to protect their ladies and children. During Romeo’s fight with Tybalt, he walks over to Juliet and says, “Thy beauty hath made me effeminate And in my temper soft’ned valor’s steel!” Romeo says he had to fight to prove himself to the people around him that he was a real man because since he had gotten with Juliet he had softened and henceforth lost his masculinity according to his morals and what he had been taught to believe. Romeo also believed that he had to prove to Juliet that he was worthy of her love because if Romeo was not masculine he thought that Juliet would not want him. When Romeo uses the word effeminate he is saying that being with Juliet made him womanish. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare shows the historical gender norms through Romeo feeling like he had to become violent to prove

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Shakespeare upholds gender norms by assigning Juliet as an assertive, self-willed character who does not submit to patriarchal nature while Romeo a passive character who distances himself from traditional expectations of masculinity. Romeo and Juliet’s exchange on the balcony scene features Juliet overlooking Romeo, implying Juliet’s spatial dominance over Romeo, and challenges the common patriarchal ideal, this idea is reinforced when Romeo metaphorically compares Juliet to an angel “As glorious to this night, being o’er my head, as a winged messenger of heaven”. By rhapsodising and cosmically implying Juliet’s cosmic and religious power above him, Romeo takes on the subservient role in the relationship. Romeo’s passive nature is also emphasised through his contrast to other males such as Mercutio, who asserts his masculinity through impulsive violence and vulgar remarks. When Romeo proclaims his adoration for Rosaline, Mercutio simply mocks Romeo and responds with a sexual statement, “If love be rough with you, be rough with love, prick love for pricking, and you beat love down”, the use of blazon (a poetic mode that uses metaphors, simile and hyperbole to describe physical attributes of an object) objectifies Rosaline and demonstrates that men of the Elizabethan era regard love as a physical pursuit over an emotional attraction.

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The image portrays two males sword fighting and a female between the two trying to stop them. In the quote Tybalt and Romeo fight and create violence because Tybalt dislikes Romeos courage to go to the Capulet party. Romeos love for Rosaline is the reason that he is going to the party, his love and heart desires Rosaline, and this love leads to violence and death as Tybalt finds this disrespectful. Romeos love is the reason for their fight and the image is portraying a fight for one’s love. In the image, the two males are creating violence because of both of their love for the same female.

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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.

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Romeo and Juliet is set during Elizabethan age when women had to acquiesce to men. This was known as patriarchal society. It was the time when fathers decided whom they are gonna marry to and whom to not. This period was an internal peace between the English Reformation and battles between Protestants and Catholics.

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Throughout Act 2, Scenes 1 and 2 of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, the dynamic female character, Juliet, defies patriarchy. While Juliet was talking to Romeo, she asked him, “Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say “Ay” And I will take thy word. Yet, if thou swear’st, Thou mayst prove false” (Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 90-93).

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Romeo and Juliet make hormonal and impulsive decisions that show their immaturity. After Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo cannot control his emotions and feels the need for revenge. He says, “Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain! Away to heaven, respective lenity, and fire-eyed fury be my conduct now”(3.1.127-129). Part of being mature is the ability to control strong emotions, and here Romeo tells us that he is letting his fury guide his actions.

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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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Another profession women were not allowed to take part in was acting, as it “was considered dishonorable for women and women did not appear on the stage in England until the seventeenth century.” It was forbidden for women to perform on the public stage or to compose works for the public stage. Young boys were also frequently cast to play the female characters in Shakespeare's plays (Shanette). In summary, the Elizabethan period was marked by important and strict gender expectations that extremely influenced the opportunities of men and women, which helped maintain the social

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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

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In Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare utilizes the relationship between Olivia and Cesario to subvert Elizabethan gender norms by expressing that men and women aren’t that different and should be treated the same. The play focuses on a love story between multiple characters taking place in the imaginary place of Illyria in the western Balkan Peninsula. A woman named Viola and her brother were wrecked at sea and are separated taking them both on a wild tail featuring love, disguise, and anticipation. Through the disguise of Cesario as a male, Olivia challenges societal expectations by falling in love with a person she believes to be a man, blurring the lines of traditional gender roles and sexual attraction. The fluidity of Cesario's gender identity and Olivia's disregard for societal norms further emphasizes the theme of disguise and the absurdity of

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This is just one of the many times that this kind of sexism shows up in the play. Violence shows up in the play Romeo and Juliet many times. The two sides tend to throw insults and threats until it escalates into a physical fight. For example in Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio said, "Good King of Cats,

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764 Words | 4 Pages

Strong Women in Romeo and Juliet In history women have suffered for a long time however, there have been strong and striving women that take control of their own lives. For example in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare there are many strong female characters such as Juliet. Juliet can be seen as a strong woman because she marries Romeo without her parents knowing, says no to her father when told to marry Paris, and fakes her death to leave her parent’s life and run away with Romeo. Therefore, Juliet is a strong and striving woman because Juliet marries Romeo without her parents knowing, says no to her father when told to marry Paris, and fakes her death to leave her parent's life and run away with Romeo.

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242 Words | 1 Pages

In “Romeo and Juliet,” women were expected to take care of the children and only that. The role of women in “Romeo and Juliet” is very different compared to today. In “Romeo and Juliet,” women were often disrespected and treated unfairly more

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778 Words | 4 Pages

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).

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These attributes are commonly associated with the opposite gender, and Shakespeare uses this exchange of traits to accentuate the irregularity of the situation being represented. The more dramatic features, though, are Romeo’s, and Shakespeare shows how difficult it is for him not to fit in the box of “being a man”. When Tybalt came to kill Romeo, Mercutio interfered, and it ended up costing him his life. Due to the death of his close friend, Romeo grew enraged and decided to “be a man” and get revenge on Tybalt. “O sweet Juliet, / Thy beauty hath made me effeminate /

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