Gender Roles in Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare Essay

The play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare supports the concept that men are superior to women in all aspects in life. This is highlighted numerous times and is witnessed through the dynamic relationships shared between women and men within the play. The men of Verona crave dominance, whilst the women of Verona are subservient. Ultimately, Shakespeare’s play is a depiction of typical gender roles of the Elizabethan era.

In William Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”, Shakespeare defies most traditional gender roles by allowing his characters to exceed the stereotypical expectations and allowing them to be true to themselves. Society in Verona is clearly portrayed as the expectations for beliefs, values, and behaviours in both men and women. Women are thought of as inferior, weak, and objects to possess while men are driven by power, bravery, and sexual domination. The character of Romeo, however, challenges these ideas about men and incorporates very feminine traits into the way he presents himself. He is repeatedly associated with failure to stand, weakness and weeping, as well as privacy. Romeo’s inability to conform to society’s expectations of men brings him and Juliet together, however his later attempts to re-conform lead to their ill-fated tragedy.

Juliet matures a lot from Act1 to Act 3, one of the ways she does is when she is talking to her mom and her mom says she is too marry Paris on Thursday and she tells her no. “He shall not make me a joyful bride!/I wonder at this haste, that i must wed/Ere he that should be husband comes to woo./I pray you tell my lord and father, madam,/I will not marry yet” pg 886. lines 118-122. It must take a lot of courage for Juliet to deny her mother in such a way. This also shows how Juliet has become more defiant over the course of the play. Lady Capulet is taken aback when Juliet refuses to marry Paris on that following Thursday. It is strange how quickly Juliet changes from being obedient to defiant, dependent to independent, and immature to mature in just three acts. In becoming more mature, Juliet is more focused and driven and less playful and fun because now she realizes that the choices she’s making are real life decisions and will affect her

Throughout Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, there is a clear overlaying presence of the gender roles that both men and women were supposed to play in the Elizabethan Age. During the time period of Shakespeare, there was an explicit distinction between what was expected of males and females. In this story of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet live in a society of heavy gender roles and prominent male superiority. Accordingly, this fits into the plot of the play. Demonstrated numerous times in Verona, females were viewed as inferior and had no say in making their life decisions and had to be subservient to what men said. On the other hand, men were expected to follow the set rules they had to observe

Gender roles were a highly prevalent force during shakespearean times, but, there were some who broke free from the cookie cutter shape personality society expected to receive. During the play there is many lines and actions taken that suggest women are weaker to men, and that men are “womanish” (3.3.110) if they show their emotions. This causes many characters to either act very rash and aggressive, like a man, or act very submissive and not put their input in, like a woman. Romeo and juliet and the time it was set in was plagued with gender roles, but throughout the play, these characters broke those strict bounds

Romeo makes his way to the balcony and professes his undying love for her. They agree to marry and with the help of Friar Laurence, who hopes to bring the two feuding houses together. He marries them secretly the next day, Tybalt is still angry and challenges Romeo to a duel but Romeo refuses to fight because they are kinsmen now. Tybalt just doesn’t know it yet. Mercutio, a kinsman of Prince Escula and Romeo’s friend, is mad that Romeo won’t defend himself so he accepts Tybalt’s challenge to a dual. Romeo tries to break up the fight and somehow Mercutio is killed. Romeo is so mad and full of grieve that he kills Tybalt. When word gets out of the deaths, the houses begin feuding even more. The House of Montague says that Romeo had every right to kill Tybalt. Prince Escuela exiles Romeo because he is so mad that the families are fighting again. He tell Romeo to never return or he will die. Juliet is so upset that Romeo is exiled. Her parents, Lord and Lady Capulet, mistake her sadness and agrees to marry her to Count Paris. If she does not, she will be disowned. Juliet visits Friar Laurence for help and he gives her a sleeping potion that will put her in a deathlike coma. The Friar tells her that he will send a note to Romeo to let him know of the plan they have come up with. The night before her wedding to

It was not uncommon for Shakespeare to think outside the gender norm of the time period, giving lives to characters, especially female characters, that would have been unfathomable to anyone else. He seems to pay special attention to the differences he contributes. The female characters within the plays arguably represent a more modern, stronger woman that what would have been socially acceptable in England at this time. Women within this era were property and an okay other to the male Christians in England's borders. While still possessing the power to destroy family honor and reputations. Which essentially seems to be why they needed to be controlled, or why men thought they needed to be controlled. They possess the power to destroy livelihoods.

William Shakespeare wrote several of his most famous plays during the Elizabethan Era. During this period of time, the men are seen as the dominant gender while on the other hand, the women are seen as weak and inferior. In this Era, a woman’s role is to obey orders and serve their superior without any hesitations, they depend on the men completely and they would have no will or choice of their own. During the late fifteen hundreds to the early sixteen hundreds, this behavior is completely acceptable in numerous areas and is seen as the proper way of living. In his work, Shakespeare depicts the reality of what the women would deal with during the Elizabethan Era and how men would act in order to get exactly what they want. A closer examination of several details

Romeo and Juliet, a romance tragedy written by William Shakespeare, is a love story of two star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. To demonstrate the intensity of the young couple’s love, Shakespeare even uses iambic pentameter, poetic structure which creates a rhythm that imitates a heartbeat. Despite the fact that they are enemies, Romeo and Juliet are drawn to one another. Juliet changes from an innocent and obedient young girl to one who lies for her love she has for her enemy. The article, “Of Household Government,” discusses the role women played in Juliet's time period, the 1600s, and the expectations for a good daughter. Women like Juliet were to always be obedient and polite, honest and chaste.

The roles of a person are usually placed on them within an early age. Women are seen as homemakers and caregivers while men are the breadwinners and head of the household. These specific gender roles have been here since olden times. The roles of a person allow for them to know their duties and level of power within society. The characters in “Othello,” by William Shakespeare, have different positions that give them different outlets of power. The different power levels between the characters, questions who has power which leads to a power struggle.

Shakespeare's As You Like It is both a gentle, pastoral comedy and a complicated, dark debate on the relationship between love, power and gender construction. At the centre of the play is Rosalind, arguably one of Shakespeare's most engaging, witty, intelligent, and lovable female characters. Rosalind is the epitome of Elizabethan femininity: beautiful, chaste, and charitable; and yet she is able to transcend traditional gender boundaries to become a powerful masculine figure, allowing Shakespeare to call into question the serious nature of gender and identity, while also adding to the comic relief of the play through the use of dramatic irony.

In both The Tempest and Paradise Lost, Milton and Shakespeare share male dominant views of relationships and illustrate how it is problematic in a relationship. Power is translated as control in each relationship. Prospero asserts power over Miranda as he uses his magic on Miranda, his daughter, while they speak of the sinking ship. Prospero does so by instilling a spell on her as he speaks: “Here cease more questions. / Thou art inclined to sleep. Tis a good dullness, / And give it way. I know thou canst not choose” (1. 2. 219-221). Considering that magic is being used in this manner, it is clear that it portrays destruction and manipulation. For a

The role of women in Romeo and Juliet, and in fact in most of Shakespeare’s works, is complicated. For one, Juliet is shown as stronger than Romeo throughout the entire play, but she is also treated as property by her own father. The role of women in the fourteenth century wasn’t any better. However, even staying true to the times, Shakespeare’s portrayal of women was quite advanced for his time.

Traditionally, female characters in literature are portrayed as weak and vulnerable to attacks, and rarely do these characters defy the common stereotypes. Most women were viewed as passive in contrast to men, forcing them to serve as secondary characters who aided the primary male roles. Few female character were able to gain control over their own lives, by defying traditional values, allowing them to create their own identity. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explored the social boundaries of an ancient society in Verona through Juliet, as she gains power and control over her own life by opposing her parents’ traditional ideals. Due to the ancient grudge between the Capulets and the Montagues, Juliet’s relationship with

Though women were unexceptional to men, women in diverse classes had changed conquerors. Low class women were expected to be housewives and take care of everything to do with the house. The expectation of working class women was a little bit different. These women were likely to work for their husbands and benefit them run their business. They would work beside with their husbands and then go home and take care of the house hold. Some women were permitted to work small jobs as leather workers, fabric merchants, or as assistants to bakers. In rare cases, the wife of a merchant would take over her husband‘s position and duties after he died. This didn’t put the woman on equal footing, however, women were paid much less than a man doing the same type of job. Even a Renaissance merchant woman was expected to remain silent unless spoken to, avoid all discussions of religion or politics, and to attend to the duties of their husbands business and household.