Unlike the rest of his family, who are citizens of the Montague household and are involved in a bloody conflict with the House of Montague, William Shakespeare's Romeo is portrayed as a sympathetic lover and lovable guy who prefers not to engage in conflict or instigate bloodshed. Romeo's desire to be a lover is evident when he is in love with Rosaline or when he commits suicide for Juliet. Romeo defies the expectations of men at the time because, in act 1 scene 1, he sits in his room sobbing over his unfulfilled love for Rosaline, which is not something men would typically do at the time. Instead of acting like the typical man, who'd been viewed as being a ruler, having extreme power, and showcasing aggression or toughness. He deviated from …show more content…
As shown in this quote "Hath been my cousin. O sweet Juliet, /Thy beauty hath made me a effeminate /And in thy temper softened valor's steel" In this quote a particular word is used “effeminate” it means possessing traits and behaviours that are typically associated with women and are viewed as improper for men. This indicates that he is blaming Mercutio's death on himself and his love for Juliet. A metaphor is also used in this quote “softened” Shakespeare uses this metaphor to show how Romeo criticises the fact that his love for Juliet has made him weak and accepts responsibility for Mercutio's passing. Mercutio would still be alive if he had confronted Tybalt in a fight. Historical context is also heavily involved in gender roles, such as when Paris wanted to marry Juliet but her dad said Paris was too old for her because Paris was thought to be 25 whereas Juliet was only 13 but some other families might have permitted this,In the modern world, this would not only be unacceptable but but unlawful. Romeo was about 16 when he married Juliet, therefore there was a 3-year age difference. Considering how different things were during the Elizabethan era, today this would likewise be unlawful. With all of this stated, Romeo is portrayed as a typical male of the time since he married Juliet despite the fact that she was so