Role of Gender in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

I shall endeavour to explore and analyse how women are presented in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Duffy’s “Human Interest”.

“And therefore women, being weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall; therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall and thrust his maids to the wall” are the words spoken by a Capulet servant at the beginning of the play (I.i.14-17). He illustrated right off the bat that the women characters had a completely different place in society than men did and were thought to be weaker compared to them. Although there are only three main female characters in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, it’s easy to interpret what the roles of women were in Verona during the Renaissance time period. Based on the female characters in Romeo and Juliet, it seems they matured more quickly than women do today, portrayed a subservient role in society, and were seen as an object to possess.

In “Romeo and Juliet,” a play written by William Shakespeare, women were portrayed as ranking below men and always expected to act poised and subdued. If they attempted to possess any more power than what was given to them by men, others would view them as stepping out of their place and misbehaving. In most scenarios, when a man is talking to a women, the words and phrases that they use have a connotation of being very dominant and controlling.

The play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is written by a man named William Shakespeare, famous for his poetry, play writing and known for shaping the English Language. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is based on a tragedy of characters Romeo and Juliet who die reuniting their families after many years of hatred. In this essay I am going to be exploring how the writer uses religious imagery in Act 1 Scene 5, love shown in Act 2 Scene 2, love seen to be deathly Act 5 Scene 3 and an analysis of two poems with comparisons to Romeo and Juliet and each other.

Romeo and Juliet has different roles for different genders. During the Shakespearean period, when Shakespeare writes, most women had to marry when they were teen, when they were in adolescence or even before. However, the men who they were marrying were in their early to late twenties. In the household that the women lived in, the men basically owned them. The women always followed men’s word, which says that the male was the dominant gender of the society. Romeo and Juliet reflects this in a number of ways. Juliet was forced to marry Paris, by the word of her father, who said that if she did not marry Paris, she would go to the streets(Shakespeare, 3.5.154-62). Women were thought to be weaker and less important than men in Romeo and Juliet because men are trying to be the strongest out of everyone, women have a lower social status, and men think they owned women in Romeo and Juliet.

Baz Luhrmman’s modernised Romeo and Juliet has helped to understand hierarchy and social status through language, costume and film techniques. Though the way women of Verona are portrayed is similar in both circumstances, they are weaker, inferior and have very little influence on society. On the other hand, violence is the first option for the people of Verona and is the means of solving an ongoing feud between the Capulets and Montagues. Context is the key to understanding ideas and language in both William Shakespeare’s play and in Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo +

It portrays societal morals and ideals where a man is supposed to objectify women and enjoy fighting and women are supposed to be docile and obedient to someone else’s command. Though these ideals are displayed and made clear, Shakespeare has his characters challenge society’s morals in their actions and personalities. Though Juliet had proven herself to be more impressive because she was more “masculine” than Romeo, Romeo’s more “feminine” nature was also admirable. Seeing Juliet as a powerful protagonist was inspiring, but Romeo’s ability to love her so much despite his friend’s and what society tells him is almost equally as

Shakespearean Gender Roles Term Paper William Shakespeare is well known for being a poet, playwright, and actor. Shakespeare's work appears to be very sexist in gender roles. He uses gender roles in his 'Romeo & Juliet' play. Juliet being the main and most important female role in this play; is supposed to be noble and respectful, but instead she goes against her father’s wishes and acts more educated than she really is. Romeo being the main male role in this play is supposed to be focused and noble, but instead he is passionate in love and isn't very wise with decisions but in comparison to Paris, who is very masculine, focused and noble shows a real renaissance male.

In Act 3 Scene 1, Romeo experiences a range of losses-one of which is the death of his best friend Mercutio, at the hand of his rival Tybalt. In contrast to the aggressive tendencies of Romeo’s bloodline, his initial reaction was that of a man who is ashamed and feeling a loss of masculinity. Blaming his new found love for making him “effeminate” suggests to the audience that the guilt (which is obvious through the feeble attempt he makes at excusing his actions) is also making him question his virility. The fact that “effeminate” is said in a demeaning manner exhibits the sexism which is too a common theme throughout. In contrast to this original action, Romeo quickly turns vengeful- perhaps in an attempt to restore the masculinity he felt he lacked- letting “fire eyed fury” be his “conduct.” The alliterative phrase “fire eyed fury” can be interpreted by the audience as a vicious rage, “fire eyed” suggesting that when commencing upon this range Romeo wasn’t acting like his true self.

In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a quintessential pair of teens fall in love, but their fate ends in misfortune. The pair falls in love in a time where women are seen as unimportant and insignificant. In spite of this, Romeo breaks the boundaries of male dominance and shows a more feminine side. Throughout the play, there is an interesting depiction of gender roles that is contrary to the society of the time period.