ipl-logo

The Portrayal Of Women In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

1278 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How were women portrayed in Romeo and Juliet

Women is Shakespeare’s play are often highly underestimated. They start off being easily controlled by men and having less freedom than them, but as the play goes on, they grow rebellious and disobey the laws that the men have created for them. According to Elizabethi.org, the roles of women in society were very limited. Men were expected to be the breadwinner of the household and women had to be the housewives and mother. Women were often call the “weaker sex” physically and emotionally. It was believed that women always need someone to take care of them, if married, it was the husband, but if unwed, it was often the father or brother. Shakespeare used his work to show his feelings about women and how they are portrayed in society. The most …show more content…

She would do anything to be with Romeo. Juliet says, “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (Shakespeare 46). This quote from the play explains to us the feelings Juliet feels for Romeo. She would be willing to disobey her father and betray her family to marry Romeo and become a Montague. Juliet’s parents (Lord and Lady Capulet) believe that Juliet still wants to marry Paris up until there wedding day. When there wedding day comes, Juliet drinks a sleeping potion so she can remain faithful to Romeo, tricking her parents into thinking that she is dead, so she can finally be with her true love (Romeo) by meeting him in the …show more content…

After Hamlet murdered Polonius, Ophelia’s father, she sunk deeply into madness. “Hamlet (2000) gives Ophelia room to protest against the patriarchal order in her madness by her piercing scream and refusal to be silenced by the men around her, providing a rebellious Ophelia who is self-conscious of her suppressed position” (Li 6). This quote from the book called, “The “Rebellious” Ophelia: An Analysis of Film Adaptations of Hamlet,” explains that Ophelia had so much anger built up that she finally breaks loose and refuses to stay silent any longer, which is rebellious because women were told not to speak their mind, especially in public, during this time. This shows us that the woman in this book was very different to how women would have acted in society at that

Show More
Related

Patriarchal Mentality In Macbeth

2325 Words | 10 Pages

Patriarchal mentality in Shakespeare’s female characters In my present time, I have considered women as presidents, ministers or leading figures, who have the same potential equally as men, so they play significant roles that have effect on the society in some part of the world, such as, European countries, USA and Australia. One the other hand, in other part of the world, I observe non-educated and oppressed women who are neglected and deprived of their rights to be influential partner with male gender in their societies, especially in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. And if there are few exceptions of strong female figures, they are portrayed as evil and manipulative in assisting the male ruler to usurp the power and rule the country with an

Read More

Essay On Stages Of Grief In The Secret Life Of Bees

1028 Words | 5 Pages

By the end, she found her voice and chose that her parents opinions were not her opinions. She decided that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Romeo and she would risk her relationship with her family in order to do so. Juliet says, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”

Read More

Gender Roles In Macbeth

1202 Words | 5 Pages

A reader is subconsciously using gender criticisms throughout the play to determine the influences of gender over how Shakespeare’s literature pieces are read and written. Traditional women during the 11th century in Scotland, women were not seen as powerful figures in society and were not allowed to hold any power. Women were expected to be a mother and/or a mother like figure as well as be polite, fair, and noble hostesses of guests incoming into the home. Men were expected to be courageous. For example, Old Siward was very concerned with how Young Siward died in battle.

Read More

Examples Of Loyalty In Romeo And Juliet

1253 Words | 6 Pages

Why are you Romeo? Reject your father and refuse his name. Or if you will not, just swear to be my love, and I will no longer be a Capulet”(Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 35-38). According to the quote, Juliet is so loyal to Romeo that she would

Read More

King Richard: A Manipulative, Tragic Hero

897 Words | 4 Pages

Women were not thought of as beneficial to their plot. Shakespeare, however, found use for women in his works and used them to make the plot of the play more interesting. In Richard II, he showed that women enriched the literary and theatrical aspects of his work. In Richard II, the women seem to be geared more toward family because family is important in the role of politics. Although the women in the play may be only minor characters, they play an important role in the development and plot of the play.

Read More

Essay On Women's Rights In Romeo And Juliet

630 Words | 3 Pages

You will notice that throughout the play women’s rights played a huge role in the story, mainly in Juliet’s decision making. In the play Romeo and Juliet, the submissive characteristics of Juliet, show the control men had over women at the time. Juliet allowed Lord Capulet

Read More

Juliet's Innocence

1160 Words | 5 Pages

It was his affection that led to Juliet lashing out at the thought of marrying Paris. Juliet threats to kill herself if her parents don’t move the wedding. The threat displays Juliet acting more demanding and losing her innocence in the process. Another instance where Juliet begins to lose her innocence was when she was considering whether or not to take the potion. She states, “What if it be a poison which the Friar subtly hath ministered to have me dead … if I wake, shall I not be distraught, environed with all these hideous fears… Romeo, Romeo, Romeo!

Read More

Gender And Gender Roles In Shakespeare's Macbeth

998 Words | 4 Pages

Shakespeare believes that Gender roles shouldn’t be the stereotype of any relationship because the roles can be switched, and them being switched can cause a lot of trouble. When a woman thinks for men it ends up pretty bad. The play Macbeth shows that when a man follows a women's word because they love them, that's when

Read More

Much Ado About Nothing Feminist Analysis

678 Words | 3 Pages

It can be hypothesised that Shakespeare was testing the waters to break gender norms and perceiving women as independent, dominant and powerful beings through his

Read More

Essay On The Role Of Women In Romeo And Juliet

600 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Lady Macbeth A Misogynist Analysis

1551 Words | 7 Pages

Shakespeare is often referred to as a man before his time, or even called a feminist. He revered amongst many audience members for his use of the woman in his plays. Others disagree, saying Ole Willy Shakes is a misogynist who hated women. Neither of the extremes is completely accurate, and neither have claims that could be taken very far. Shakespeare lives somewhere between being a feminist and being a misogynist, he uses female character radically; for his time at least.

Read More

Examples Of Misogyny In Romeo And Juliet

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).

Read More

How Does Shakespeare Show Loyalty In Romeo And Juliet

550 Words | 3 Pages

Furthermore, Romeo and Juliet show excessive dedication in their love, especially Juliet. Moreover, when Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge for his friend Mercutio, Juliet weeps for her cousin, but then contradicts Romeo being a murderer when she realizes that if Romeo did not take action, Tybalt could have killed him. In addition, the daughter of the Capulets disputes with her parents when she is asked to get ready for her marriage with the handsome and wealthy Count Paris. Juliet’s refusal is completely understandable, because it is clear that no one can take Romeo’s place in Juliet’s heart, since he is the man she loves and most important of all, she was already secretly married to Romeo, so there was no way she could have possibly betrayed her husband.

Read More

Romeo And Juliet: Gender Role In Society

113 Words | 1 Pages

The thematic idea that my group and I were assigned for Romeo and Juliet is gender role in society. This is norms created by society for different genders. Gender role in society is very relevant in the world today, with many people experiencing it in their daily lives. An example of gender role in society is believing that males have to be strong and aggressive, and females have to be petite and do all of the housework. In Romeo and Juliet, gender role in society is evident throughout with arranged marriages, such as Capulet wanting Juliet to marry Paris, and forced household rules, like Juliet not being able to leave her home freely.

Read More

Essay On The Role Of Women In Hamlet

1338 Words | 6 Pages

During the Elizabethan period, the role of women in society was very different from what it is today. According to the system of patriarchal society that dictated that women were inferior to men, they had to obey the male figures in their lives. The woman was seen as the weaker sex either physically or emotionally which meant that it was entirely dependent on her husband if married and members of his family if single. Moreover, in the Elizabethan theater, women were not allowed to play because of this hierarchy. Therefore, they were replaced by men disguised as women.

Read More

More about The Portrayal Of Women In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

Related Topics

Open Document