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.
Two fathers together, for the first time, wept for the deaths of their children as their grief-stricken faces shone in the dusty light inside the tomb. Pain seared equally through all hearts of the Capulets and Montagues, both distraught by the unexpected death of their beloved children. The star-crossed lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, recklessly fall in love despite their families’ raging feud. The couple’s newlywed lustful attitudes get them both, and many others, wistfully killed in William Shakespeare's incredible 16th century play, Romeo and Juliet. Due to the brilliant script of the play many question who is truly to blame for these abominable deaths.
During this school year, the question “Does society shape the individual or do the individual shape their society?” was explored in our reading. In book that we and I had read like Romeo & Juliet, Night, and My Life Next Door there has been times that society has altered their life or have they altered the way society is viewed. For starters I chose specific books to help me answer this question. I selected two books my class read and one book I read on my own because they all kind of connect. All of these books have in common are the themes.
In times of tragedy, people look for answers and someone to blame. This is the case in William Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet. The character, Friar Lawrence who was a trusted man of the cloth, allowed the two young protagonists Romeo and Juliet from opposing families to get married. Then later in the novel, he created a plan with the hope of the two lovers being together after they were separated by a tragic event, but ended with the two killing themselves. Being so, Friar Lawrence is the cause of the tragic ending in Romeo and Juliet, as he agreed to marry the two lovers without their parents permission, and devised a plan that ended with the lovers suicide.
"Are you a man?" - Untraditional Gender Roles in Shakespeare 's Tragedies "Are you a man?" (3.4.58) Lady Macbeth asks her husband as he exhibits signs of unstableness when confronted with Banquo 's ghost. A simple question that seems unsubstantial, rhetorical, as she obviously knows her husband 's sex. However, it is worth closer investigation: Why is Lady Macbeth questioning her husband 's masculinity? Smith states: "[M]asculinity, in cultures all over the world is not a natural given, something that comes with possession of male sexual organs, but an achievement, something that must be worked toward and maintained" (131).
The play Romeo and Juliet is about two star-crossed lovers that would die for each other. It might seem romantic, but it is an example of an unhealthy relationship because it shows sex discrimination, violence, and codependency. Sexism shows up multiple times in the play Romeo and Juliet. The stereotype of women being weaker than men is portrayed throughout the play.
Romeo and Juliet Essay “Shakespeare and Misogyny” A world where men dominate women. This idea was the basis of many Renaissance era dramas. Writers always used to perceive certain genders as having distinctive qualities and traits. Men were held up to a higher respect and given more violent roles than women.
Throughout Romeo and Juliet misogyny is perpetuated as audiences are exposed to sexual objectification of women, ridicule of women, and the use of dehumanizing possessive language. In Romeo and Juliet it is perpetuated that a woman's worth is based solely on
"And but one word with one of us? Couple it with something. Make it a word and a blow" (3.1. 42-43). In Act 3 of Romeo and Juliet Mercutio is discussing with Benvolio about dueling Tybalt for Romeo. Since, Tybalt is the best at dueling, Romeo has no chance to go up against Tybalt.
Women became less strong and didn’t find the courage to act on their own or solve problems on their own. Juliet may have ended her own life because she truly loved Romeo, or she didn’t want to face the tragedy on her own. In conclusion, women’s rights played a huge role in the play Romeo and Juliet and could be one of the deeper meanings within the
Victims. Time and time again women have been victims of misogyny, commodification, and social obligation. Women are forced to squeeze into an idealistic mold and confrom to society’s standards. They have been stripped of their right to have a say in what is being done to them, and are sold off as property to their husbands who treat them as inferior. These husbands seem to have no regard for the opinion of their wives; as if being male brings superiority.
William Shakespeare wrote the play of Romeo and Juliet in the early stages of his career. At the time England was reigned by Queen Elizabeth I. Despite the dominion of the queen, female British women were discriminated against. Women were seen as the weaker gender, both physically and mentally (Wojtczak). However, the story of Romeo and Juliet is set in the Italian city Verona.
In today’s world, gender expectations and roles of men and women are a highly debated topic. However, the reconsidering of these expectations is not a new phenomenon. Set in Verona, Italy, the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare explores the reversal and fluidity of characteristics usually assigned to a specific gender. In this play, two young people fall in love and end up tragically taking their lives as a result of their forbidden love. Shakespeare suggests that men are not necessarily masculine, women are not necessarily feminine, and that when people are forced by society to act the way their gender is “supposed” to, problems will arise.
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.
Do only as you’re told. Marry not who you want to, but who others want you to. Make sure to always have a man escort you down the street because you don’t want others to think of you as juvenile or disgraceful and never argue against what you’re given. These were just a few of the societal expectations for women back in the 15th century, where the play Romeo and Juliet took place. In that time, women were treated more like objects than actual people, although in the play there were quite a few female characters who rebelled against these unjust expectations and showed much more progressive mindsets for that time.
In the play “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare incorporates his social commentary of the world around him. He incorporated his opinion of society in little bits and pieces of the play. Shakespeare also mentions about how love was back in the day, how sexist society was then, and even mentions the black plague swirling around them. Shakespeare happened to secretly write about how society was around him when it came to love. He goes into detail about how shallow guys were when it came to love,“So soon forsaken?