Theme Of Masculinity In Romeo And Juliet

One might think that masculinity is only a mental and ethical issue, yet throughout the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, masculinity proves to be a two headed beast that not only is a mental but also physical problem. All the way from the beginning in scene 1.1 to the final scene of act 5, there was constant conflict occurring with short breaks of love and triumph collapsed by more ensuing conflict. Furthermore, a majority of this clash between the two families, Capulets and Montagues, was indirectly or directly evoked by the masculine behavior exerted by the men in the story. All things considered, the tragedy where two lovers upon many others meet their ultimate fate of death would have never been a tragedy without all of the masculinity that all of the men characters seem to exude. All throughout this essay, it will become more apparent that the idea of the internal and external need for masculinity in the men has consequently kindled the fire of conflict between the Montagues and Capulets in the tragedy because of the status quo, disrespect for women, and mindset of a masculine man.

To begin with, Mercutio is a good friend to Romeo in that he stands up for Romeo when in need. In Act III, Scene I, there is a scene in which Tybalt, Mercutio, and Romeo are conversing. In lines 59-60, Tybalt says, “Romeo, the love I bear thee can afford no better term than this: thou art a villain.” This

The idyllic housewife, Lady Capulet, is a loving, virtuous, and obedient wife who is completely supportive of her husband's wishes above the well-being of her daughter. Throughout the entire play, Lady Capulet is an extension of her husband, promoting his judgments and requests. She acts as his ambassador when she informs Juliet of Paris' desires and intentions. Comparing Juliet to other girls her age already married, Lady Capulet encourages her to "love the gentleman" (1.3.81) and to "behold him at [the] feast" (1.3.82). As she talks highly of Paris, she fulfills her motherly duties by giving her tips on how to find love with a man (1.3.83-86). Lady Capulet then disappears until act three scene four, where Capulet instructs her with direct orders to go to Juliet and "prepare her" for her "wedding day" (3.4.31-32). Immediately, Lady Capulet submits to his authority and carries out the order. When Juliet claims she is not well, Lady Capulet scolds her for lamenting too long over Tybalt's death. She tells her that a reasonable amount of grieving is a sign of love, but too much is foolish. Lady Capulet remains conservative in the advice she gives to her daughter, no doubt with her husband's wishes in mind. She chooses not see her daughter's pain in deference to her husband's wishes.

Love has already overcome him and controls all of his thoughts and actions. This love prevents Mercutio from saving Romeo and keeping peace between the families. In Act 3, scene 1, Mercutio fights Tybalt on behalf of Romeo and his relationship with Romeo. Romeo attempts to break up the fight, but Tybalt stabs Mercutio. As he is dying, Mercutio says, "A plague o' both your houses!

Mercutio, while in neither of the houses, dislikes Tybalt. While it may have something to do with the fact that Romeo dislikes Tybalt as well, Mercutio—without reason to—still stands faithfully by Romeo’s side and closer to the house of Montague. From his first entrance, and his last exit, Mercutio stays a stable character by being a constant right hand man to Romeo.

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“And but one word with one of us? couple it with something, make it a word and a blow.” [III, i, 37-38] Tybalt was not willing to fight mercutio if mercutio had not escalated tybalt's anger. Moreover, Mercutio could have avoided this situation if he had showed respect in return.This comes to show how mercutio had made impulsive decisions instead of making rational decisions. As a result, we can see Mercutio's death occurs due to his rash and impulsive decisions. Mercutio’s impulsive acts result in his own passing. When Romeo refuses to participate in a duel with Tybalt, Mercutio challenges Tybalt himself. Using words which are highly intimidating and threatening, Mercutio gives Tybalt no choice but to engage in a duel. The following violent words are exchanged between the two characters.

In contrast, Mercutio attempts to stop Tybalt’s thirst for vengeance when he tries to duel Romeo but ultimately gets killed in the process of trying to save his good friend from being killed by Tybalt which causes Romeo to take vengeance upon Tybalt by killing him.

This results in Romeo’s fate to be darkened. Second, Mercutio shows how Romeo is constantly dreaming. Mercutio’s realism contrasts Romeo’s head in the clouds. This is revealed when Mercutio says “True, I talk of dreams, which [is] the [child] of an [inactive] brain,” (1.4, 96-97). This quote exemplifies that dreaming cannot be a portent, and that it can change just like the wind. This also shows that Mercutio has a flamboyant imagination, while demonstrating his mocking side. This quote also acts as foreshadowing in which shows that if Romeo keeps his head in the clouds he will make mistakes in life, such as him quickly marring Juliet. Moreover, this quote reveals that Mercutio is an important foil character because his view on love contrasts that of Romeo. Mercutio’s view on love is that it is futile, however Romeo thinks of it as a key component to life. Mercutio’s mocking of the hopeless love, makes Romeo’s view look stronger and more passionate. Third, Mercutio shows how serious Romeo is. Mercutio always talks in a witting and light-hearted way, in which contrasts to Romeo’s seriousness. Mercutio always uses clever wordplay and puns to mock people and bring comic relief into the play. This is emphasized when Mercutio says “And but one word with one of us? ... Make it a word and a blow,” (3.1, 40-41). This quote illustrates the comedy that Mercutio brings. At the edgy moment when Tybalt was about to fight, Mercutio still made a mockery of him.

The traditional play starts with Mercutio accusing Benvolio of being hot headed which is ironic after his Queen Map rant. The film adaptation begins with Mercutio firing a gun into the water which not only shows his anger but also displays a masculine side to Mercutio contradicting his camp side and developing the idea that he has a split personality similar to the metal Mercury.He also continues his disrespect towards the Capulets with the quote “By my heel, I care not.”which is disrespectful because it is the lowest part of the body, this is clarified for a 90’s teenage audience by Mercutio putting his feet on the table, using a patronising tone of voice and pretending not to notice that the Capulets have arrived as though they are insignificant. The turning point of the scene was when Tybalt insults Mercutio’s honour by suggesting that he “consorts” with Romeo. This is what fuels Mercutio’s anger which is shown with the use of short sentences and an exclamation mark. As Mercutio and Tybalt begin to taunt each other in the film, Mercutio naturally plays up for he crowd which highlights his love for attention, the music speeding up and rapidly changing camera angles are used to build tension. He also uses body language such as beating his chest which could be considered masculine for a 90’s audience. Romeo the turns down the duel against Tybalt. In Elizabethan times honour was extremely important and after it had been knocked the only way to regain it was with a duel. Therefore an Elizabethan audience would have seen Romeo backing down as weak and the play sounds as though Mercutio’s line “O calm, dishonourable, vile submission” is aimed at Romeo for his cowardice and that protecting Romeo’s honour is the reason for the fight. However Mercutio normally disagrees with social conventions so perhaps his real reason to fight is to save Romeo due to his love for him. This differs

He goes into a very long speech about ‘Queen Mab’, how she gives them dreams about love and how her chariot is a hazelnut shell. The whole speech is filled with funny sentences and anecdotes. It gives Romeo and all of his friends a lighter mood before they attend the supper. Mercutio is important to this story because he has the ability to make everybody laugh no matter how dire the situation is. The numerous depressing events are lightened by his humor. Mercutio is also significant because of his amazing loyalty to Romeo. He is not related to Romeo in any way, but he acts like a big brother. He is quick to defend him when Tybalt (a Capulet) talks about Romeo in a negative way and calls him a villain in front of him. “O calm dishonourable, vile submission! Alla stoccata carries it away. (draws his sword) Tybalt, you ratcatcher, will you walk?”(Shakespeare 3.1.72-75). Tybalt says one word about Romeo and Mercutio is enraged, with his sword, ready to fight. He argues back at Tybalt, saying his words are vile, which he feels very strongly about because he ready to kill him. He realizes that Romeo keeps protesting and doesn't want

One of the most popular Shakespearean plays, Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, focuses on the progeny of two families brimmed with abomination for each other. After failing to generate a relationship with Rosaline, Romeo, the impulsive and capricious son of the Montagues, finds himself lost in the eyes of Juliet Capulet. A hasty marriage assembles between the two star-crossed lovers without the endorsement from their kinsmen, and these results prove to be a destructive and fatal mistake. Caught up in this impulsive love affair, Romeo displays many spontaneous personality traits that affect his relationship with Juliet, his friendship with Mercutio, and his actions toward Tybalt.

Thanks to Romeo’s appearance, the immediate fight between Mercutio and Tybalt was stopped. However, Tybalt began to make slanderous claims against Romeo. Romeo, who had no interest in fighting spoke to Tybalt politely,

The Prince of Verona hears about the deaths of Romeo and Juliet and has a small speech-like ceremony for the two families. What he says introduces the theme because of the feuding between the Montagues and Capulets. With the Montague’s son

Mercutio is a relative of the prince and friend to Romeo. He is an eloquent man and becomes the center of attention whenever he appears in the play. It seems like he dominates Romeo with his teasing and irony. He mocks Romeo as he thinks he is too sentimental and tells him how foolish he is; he turns all of Romeo’s thought about love into sexual metaphors.