Essay Question: In what way do Romeo and Juliet break gender conventions? How do these roles fluctuate throughout the play?
In the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare uses characters Romeo and Juliet to break gender conventions. During the Elizabethan period, men were expected to defend their honour while women were expected to be loyal to their family and were believed to be incapable of logical thinking. Romeo is obsessed with love and this weakens his masculinity, turning to love while Juliet was willing to abandon her family and die for love making her an unconventional woman.
In the beginning of the play Romeo is not interested in having his dominance or physical power in the play due to his obsession with love. This is evident through Romeo’s soliloquy. Romeo is lovesick as Romeo loves Rosaline whilst she does not love him. “Here’s much to do with hate but more with love. Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate, O heavy lightness, serious vanity”. This clearly demonstrates Romeo who is strongly under the love which highlight Romeo’s irrationality. His lack of masculinity is involved when Tybalt challenges to a fight. However, Romeo refuses to fight and Mercutio calls Romeo a “calm dishonourable” and a “vile submission”. Romeo tries to prevent the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, but this involves in the death of Mercutio. Romeo reinstates his male gender integrity, where he avenges Mercutio, killing Tybalt. Romeo proceeds to kill Paris when he comes to the churchyard. Paris believes that Juliet dies of grief over the death of her Tybalt. Paris attempts to kill Romeo. Romeo later defe...
