How Does Shakespeare Present Gender In Romeo And Juliet

Men have had a more dramatic impact on the audience than women in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ crafts a nuanced commentary on the rigid societal expectations and perceptions of masculinity and femininity set in a deeply patriarchal society. Through the juxtaposition of Romeo and Juliet and the rest of the characters, we gain an insight into the ideas surrounding masculinity and femininity in this time. By the time Romeo and Juliet were written, the blatant divide between the expectations of men and women was such a prominent part of society. Femininity was defined by submission, modesty and subservience, something all women were expected to exemplify. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare both adheres to and challenges these norms through his portrayal of Juliet’s defiance to society’s expectations.

Mercutio’s death being the first in the plays significant role for the development of the play. Nonetheless, how different would the destiny for Romeo and Juliet and the houses of Montague and Capulet be if Mercutio did not die? Would Romeo and Juliet be dead or alive, together or separated? Would the animosity between the houses remain or be dissolved? As such, we would two arguments(refer to Appendix A) to explore the possibility of the development, the first argument has Mercutio triumph over Tybalt in the combat, and the second argument has Mercutio taking a passive role in the heated

Many of the men in the play are portrayed as violent and hostile because they seem to be constantly picking fights with one another, while the women in the play are the exact opposite and prefer the fighting to stop. Throughout the story, Romeo’s masculinity is constantly questioned. For example, Romeo fears that loving Juliet has made effeminized him, and he says “Thy beauty hath made me effeminate, And in my temper soft’ned valor’s steel!”(ROM 3.1.116-117). The historical context of this period is much more sexist and had strict gender roles. Reading this play can show ninth graders how things have

Shakespeare often reflected his beliefs in his plays. Gender roles are the main examples of this. In his play, “Romeo and Juliet” the men make a more dramatic impact. Shakespeare believed that they should be strong fighters and have pride. The men of the play were often the ones that caused the most issues because of Shakespeare's beliefs, most of the conflicts being between men, and the way the men thought of themselves as a god complex.

In the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare both Romeo and Juliet fit into gender expectations in some ways. Gender roles are stereotypes that males and females fulfill and each of the same gender is supposed to follow by a courtesy code. Most gender roles are not being followed anymore as shown by the fact that women like sports as much as men; men can now stay at home and have the females in the family work. Although Juliet conforms to gender expectations by making irrational decisions, being childish and depending on others, but in some circumstances, she also defies them by not listening to her father. To start with, Juliet is easily swayed into rash decisions without thinking them through.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was set in a time that gender was very important to society, which ultimately leads to the tragic demise of Romeo and Juliet. While the audience is shown that the society's expectations of gender create a strong community, it is undeniable the tragedy is partly due society giving women no influence over their own fates and being seen as objects, who are hidden from the world therefore naive to society. However we cannot ignore the expectations of being brave and proud placed on the male gender that end in the demise of the lovers. The fact that women of the time are powerless and unable to contribute to the decisions made about their lives leads to the tragedy.

Shakespeare shows both genders’ cliche roles of that time period. As the play goes on, you can see as the roles change from time to time. The Tragedy of Macbeth shows how gender roles get switched from male to female and female to male when it comes to certain circumstances. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth isn’t really portrayed as the person she is.

To get us started, how do the roles and identities of women in this play compare to that of the male figures?

Shakespeare uses the motif of what it means to be a man/women to deliver this theme. He plays off of the idea that men are supposed to be strong, violent, and powerful while their female counterparts are supposed to be gentle, calming, and submissive. Throughout this play, gender roles remain a focus. It begins with Lady Macbeth pressuring her husband to murder King Duncan.

During the time in which the play took place society frowned upon women asserting themselves.  Women were supposed to play a role in which they supported their husbands, took care of their children,

In the the play Macbeth written by Shakespeare, gender roles make a significant impact on all the events that occur throughout the play. However, gender roles in this story are different from what is prevalent in others. The gender roles in the play contradict what is common for the time setting. Ironically, the female characters possess masculine traits and vise versa for the male characters. These ironic characteristics cause many of the events in Macbeth, to spiral out of control.

Even despite the downright unforgivable actions that men have committed towards women throughout the play, the ramifications that they face for mistakes and disrespect are rather miniscule and insignificant as opposed to those that women have to deal with. Because of the idolisation of the military in Elizabethan times and the over possessive nature of men regarding women, any mistake made by women could make their name fall “into a pit of ink” due to the

Throughout Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, there is an overlaying presence of the typical roles that men and women were supposed to play. During Elizabethan times there was a major difference between the way men and women were supposed to act. Men typically were supposed to be masculine and powerful, and defend the honor. Women, on the other hand, were supposed to be subservient to their men in their lives and do as ever they wished. In Romeo and Juliet the typical gender roles that men and women were supposed to play had an influence on the fate of their lives.

    When one considers Shakespeare’s female characters, one has to remember that the plays were written in a time when women were considered weak-minded creatures who were apt to make bad choices if given the freedom.  Shakespeare, for the most