Romeo & Juliet
In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the author presents 16th century English society in a way that challenges some of its' ideals. The Renaissance, which itself means re-birth, was the setting in which Shakespeare wrote, so many of these ideas were being thought about and written about. Among those ideals that are challenged in the play, are the "real-life" gender norms for men and women. Shakespeare introduces the idea of reversing the gender norms in the play, and in doing so makes the play into a physical representation of these Renaissance ideas. The presence of these reversed gender roles in the play, act as a representation of the re-birth, or even re-thinking of 16th century English society. In the play itself, Shakespeare introduces the reversed roles of men and women in a more subtle way. He doesn't devote an entire book on it, but places these different male/female characteristics in two specific characters. The characters of Romeo and Juliet, are essentially, the only two that exhibit these differences in gender norms. The reason, of course, is because Romeo and Juliet are portrayed as the only two characters that rebel against the society they are living in. Thus, introducing the notion of rebellion.
In this scene, Juliet is also transformed into an example against the female norms, although not quite as observable. She retains the feminine characteristics, such as emotions, and obedience, but also adds being outspoken about her feelings and desires. Shakespeare, in doing so, is quite possibly raising the intellectual capability of women, something that was in those times, considered sub-dominant to men. To cover his ground though, and not to create too much of a scandal for the times, Shakespeare cleverly has Juliet a few lines later, giving in to her "feminine norms" and says, "And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay," (2.2, 157). The idea is introduced, of a woman having the upper hand in choosing her mate, but is quickly retracted to prevent scandal. The play, once again, becomes a physical representation of expressing ideas through fantasy, and in this case, with subtlety. "I have no joy of this contract to-night: It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden,"(2.2, 115). She speaks with the confidence and manner of what would be commonly expected in a man. This line is important because it shows Romeo as the irrational, hasty one. "The Pauline commitment to the husband as the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, represents the standard viewpoint." (McDonald, p.253).
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 895
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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