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Gender roles in Romeo and Juliet
Gender roles in Romeo and Juliet
Influences of Shakespeare in modern culture
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Shakespeare takes the societal concept of marriage and completely re-examines the entire paradigm by using his changing characters, gender roles, and reasoning of why his characters married to cause a large paradigm shift.
Early on in the book Bianca, Kate’s younger sister is seen as a tamed and lovely woman. On the other hand, Kate, is deemed to be untamable, ruthless, and just simply undesirable. All of the men want to marry Bianca. Most individuals would prefer to marry someone similar to Bianca. Marriage is supposed to be a lifetime of happiness and love for another person. Nobody wanted to marry Kate. As the play progressed a shift is seen in these two sisters. Kate turned out to be not what she seemed and was able to be tamed. Bianca
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turns out to be very unpleasant and disrespectful which is how Kate was in the beginning. The characters in the play caused the paradigm shift based on their actions. The societal concept of marriage portrayed by Shakespeare is examined that people would rather marry someone who is pleasant but the play showed us that people change. Furthermore, gender roles in the book play a significant part in Shakespeare’s societal concept of marriage that help re-examine the paradigm. The play promotes the idea of the husband (man) to basically have all power and control; whereas women seem to be better suited with protection from the man. During Kate’s speech at the end, she scolds the other women about being loyal to their husbands. She claims they owe them their respect and obedience because of all the work they do for them. Shakespeare’s societal concept of marriage shifts the paradigm using gender roles because Petrucio is a man who tames Kate. He accomplishes this by showing that he has power and authority over her. The other men who got denied by their wives are propounded by the fact that Kate listened to her husband but they were not listened to. The authority Petrucio showed over Kate influenced her future behavior. It narrowed down to the science of gender roles: Where do women fit into society and how do they respond to men (and vice versa) ? In addition to the other ways Shakespeare takes the societal concept of marriage and re-examines the paradigm, he also uses the reasoning on why his male characters got married.
This factor was crucial because it showed the outcome of the paradigm shift and how the change in Kate made her the best wife of all. Hortensio had his heart set on marrying Bianca. After being denied, he married a very rich widow. His sole purpose on marriage was that he was in it for the money. This way of life for him ends up backfiring because the widow isn’t obedient when he asks her to come. Lutencio marries Bianca for looks. He doesn’t take a second look at Kate because Bianca is supposedly the most gorgeous woman he has ever witnessed. Once again, this reasoning of marriage backfires because she also does not come to her husband when he calls. Petruchio's reasoning for marrying Kate was to tame her. He was determined to do this. After he finished she obeyed when asked to come forth. Thus made her the best wife even though none of the others would have imagined it. The reasoning on why the male characters married who they married benefitted Shakespeare’s societal concept of marriage because without it the paradigm shift would not have been as nearly relevant to the
play. In conclusion, the paradigm shift was vastly influenced with the use of the changing characters, gender roles, and the purpose of his characters marriage. These allowed Shakespeare to re-examine the societal concept of marriage. Kate changing into a tamed individual and Bianca changing into an untamed individual showed the type of person most people want to be with. People change and so do their perspectives. Bianca changed resulting in a pretty unhealthy relationship between her and Lucentio. Gender roles were a significant part of the societal concept of marriage and the paradigm shift. Shakespeare views men as being the leader role in a marriage. The shift in Kate’s personality was influenced by a man. This shows the authority a man should have over a woman in marriage. The reasoning of why the male characters got married completed the book. Hortensio married for money, Lucentio married for looks, and Petruchio was supposedly marrying the worst woman of all but he married to tame her, resulting in a healthy marriage fitting the roles in society Shakespeare viewed women in. Thus, Shakespeare shifted the paradigm and re-examined the societal concept of marriage using a change in characters, gender roles, and marriage purpose.
The marriage of Romeo and Juliet was not meant to be, but it was made by Friar Lawrence. The marriage led to some of the turning points in the rest of the story. The three are responsible for their death because of their marriage and the plans they made to avoid having to get remarried. The families are also responsible for the death of the two because they did not let the two be together and forced them to marry others.
Did you know that Romeo and Juliet was one of the biggest love story of all time. Romeo and Juliet is a story of two star-crossed lovers from two families the Capulets and the Montagues. The Capulets and the Montague had a big fight that made the families very angry at each other. Romeo and Juliet decide to get married. The two couple marry and run away. In the process both of them will die. When it comes to Romeo and Juliet who are the top three people that caused the two to die. The two people that are chosen are Friar Lawrence and Lady Capulet. Friar was chosen because he is the one that married Romeo and Juliet. Lady Capulet was chosen because she is forcing Juliet to marry Paris which is making Juliet want Romeo even more. The third thing
The actions that good husbands take to show their love toward a family member is different than a bad husband. The men Romeo and Capulet show many difference, but have one similarity. They both are terrible husband’s.
Kate and The Taming of the Shrew describes the progression of the outspoken and headstrong Kate, wife of Petruchio, as she gradually transitions into an almost perfect example of an archetypal loyal wife. This classic female archetype can be expressed through blind and ignorant support of their husband without any personal opinion or any priorities and objectives other than to satisfy the needs and desires of their husbands. While Kate begins possessing traits that oppose the loyal wife archetype due to her strong willed personality, her shift to obedience. However she continues to think with cunning strategy throughout the entire play, regardless of her weakened mental state caused by Petruchio limiting her food and sleep.
Centuries ago in Elizabethan England there were many traditions about marriage and the treatment of women. One strong tradition of these times was the practice of marriage between races. Interracial marriages were considered extremely taboo. (High Beam). In this era marriages were arranged by the parents with strong help from the local church. The individuals had little choice as to who they would marry. (Elizabethan England Life). Yet another example of these traditions was the respectable treatment of women. While the husband was in charge of his wife, as was the father, the husband were expected to treat the women right (Elizbethi). In spurning all of these traditions, Shakespeare demonstrates a view of marriage far different from that of Elizabethan England, in doing this he is trying to plant new ideas in the people who read or view the play.
Her personality is strong and she is independent, unlike most women. This makes her unattractive to most suitors and gains her the label of shrew. She demonstrates her personality in the beginning of the play: "I pray you sir, is it your will to make a stale of me amongst these mates?" (1.1 57-58). Shakespeare uses the characterization of Kate to demonstrate the defiance against traditional gender roles and how Kate almost immediately speaks out for herself, unlike her sister Bianca. In addition, Kate describes her future husband as a "mate," unlike how most women would describe their lovers. Moreover, Kate is educated: "I 'faith, sir, you shall never need to fear: I wis it is not half way to her heart; But if it were, doubt not her care should be to comb your noodle with a three-legg 'd stool and paint your face and use you like a fool." (1.1 61-65). Shakespeare uses the characterization of Kate to demonstrate how she defies traditional gender roles by being the only person to speak in iambic pentameter. This demonstrates her intelligence unlike many women. In addition, Kate doesn 't enjoy receiving orders from others. When her father leaves with Bianca and tells Kate she may stay, she gets angry. "Why, and I trust I may go too, may I not? What, shall I be appointed hours; as though, belike, I knew not what to take and what to leave, ha? (1.1 103-105). Shakespeare uses the characterization of Kate to
Throughout the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, various types of love are portrayed. According to some of the students of Shakespeare, Shakespeare himself had accumulated wisdom beyond his years in matters pertaining to love (Bloom 89). Undoubtedly, he draws upon this wealth of experience in allowing the audience to see various types of love personified. Shakespeare argues that there are several different types of love, the interchangeable love, the painful love and the love based on appearances, but only true love is worth having.
...st play, it is not sexist and demeaning towards women. Petruchio, Hortensio, and Lucentio may have bet on their wives compliance in some eyes, but after further analysis, they were actually betting on the trust between the couple. The reader must also take into account the time period the play was written in which was the 16th century, where women were usually not even allowed to go to school to be educated, and Bianca was having private tutors for her education. Kate was changed by Petruchio’s “taming” from the beginning to the end of the play, but at the end of the novel when Kate was called upon and made her speech, she was the happiest she had been in the entire story. There are however some sexist elements in the story, but just because there are certain characteristics of sexism in a play does not mean the play in itself is sexist and demeaning towards women.
In Act II, Kate comes in, dragging Bianca with her tied up. When first reading this, the thought of one sister tying up the other and dragging her is pretty funny. But when you stop to think about why Kate is doing this to her sister, you start feeling sorry for her. We see the immaturity of Kate and that she does not know how to deal with her feelin...
A Study of Teenage Infatuation in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Love and infatuation are both strong emotions that most will encounter within their lifetime. The two feelings are often misunderstood, but are differentiated through their outcomes and stability. True love does not only rely on physical attraction, but also on one’s personality. When one is truly in love, they accept their partner’s flaws and perfections.
In The Taming of the Shrew, Katharina, or Kate, transforms from a shrewish woman to an obedient wife to Petruchio while still maintaining her aggressive attitude. Katharina was undesirable to many men due to her abusive and obnoxious actions. At this time, most women were submissive and did not have the same temperament that Katharina did. Along with this, men often took more interest in her younger sister, Bianca, as she was much more attractive and was a submissive woman like many other women at this time. Although this is true, Petruchio still finds a way to look past this and find a wife in Katharina as he is a bachelor and she has wealth. Kate’s transformation can be credited to the love of Petruchio and the observation of his shrew like attitude towards others. In a sense
First and foremost, the married couples in As You Like It all have similar social statuses in the society. Shepherd Silvius married shepherdess Phebe, nobleman Orlando married mistress Rosalind, and Touchstone the clown married goatherd Audery. Not only did all the couples share the same social status, but their ideology and actions in the play conformed to the social convention as well. Right after Rosalind met Orlando, Celia asks Rosalind about why she had been silent for so long. Rosalind responded Celia with “Some of it is for my child’s father” (1634: 09-10). Then Celia asks why Rosalind suddenly fell in love with Orlando, to which Rosalind replies “The Duke my father loved his father dearly” (1634: 24). It is clear that Rosalind’s affection towards Orlando stems from his father’s affection to Orlando’s father. It was a convention for parents to arrange their children’s marriages, especially for aristocracy. Therefore, Rosalind knew that she was to marry Orlando and that became the rationale for her further affection towards Orlando. Another example of a character in the play conforming to social convention is Phebe. As a native of the forest of Arden, Phebe was straightforward and somewhat arrogant. She was very clear about her feelings to Ganymede and Silvius. However, in the ending scene, when she realizes that the man of her dream was actually a noble woman, and that she was set up into the marriage with Silvius, Phebe conforms to the arrangement and marries Silvius. With a comedy one might expect Shakespeare to make happen something unconventional. However, the marriage part seems to be very conventional as everything was socially expected. But the title of the play somehow conveys an ironic
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance period marriage and love were idealized, divine and celebrated. Weddings were large events that included the entire families of both the groom and the bride. Reality was different; women were viewed as being fickle, inferior to men and a possession of men. Women had very little, if any, choice in who they would marry. Marriages were arranged so that both families would benefit in gaining wealth or power. Even though the ruler of England for over 4 decades was female, women were still not respected. Women were kept at home and not allowed to take place in public events. In Shakespeare’s Richard III, male and female relationships are displayed as deeply cynical and are based on lies, lust and political gain.
Everyone is to blame for the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo, Juliet, Friar Laurence, and Romeo and Juliet’s parents all played their own role in causing the four deaths of Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, and Paris. It is not just one of them to blame, every one of them did something to cause the tragedy. Some of them played a bigger role than others, but everyone contributed. Fate had nothing to do with it and it was all the different characters faults. Romeo, Juliet, and Friar Lawrence’s rash decisions where the main cause of the tragedy.
As You Like It is remarkable among Shakespeare's plays for ending with four marriages, something of a record even among comedies. Love is a central theme of the play, although in some of its variations it cannot quite be said to be romantic! The love relationships may, at first glance, appear to be stock types: Rosalind and Orlando representing romantic hero-heroine love, Silvius and Phebe combining love in the lower classes with unrequited love, Audrey and Touchstone a darker attempt to seduce, and Celia and Oliver simple tying up of loose ends. However, Shakespeare makes the theme interesting not just through the sheer variety of relationships that he explores, but also through the unusual elements he brings to each.