Gender roles

• Introduction

  Gender is an important role within Romeo and Juliet as it contributes to the characters and development, as the play is set within a typical Elizabethan patriarchal society, that is oppressive to women and creates duties for men to carry out. This means gender roles create something for the characters to conform to, and when the characters do not adhere to the roles they are meant to fulfil, it creates conflict and violence, furthering the plot of the play.
• Masculinity and violence

  From the beginning of the play masculinity and violence are presented to have a close correlation, as masculinity dictates how the men treat one another and the female characters. This is seen through the opening scene where the servants fight; Shakespeare positions this at the start of the play as a structural tactic to convey to the audience how male conflict and violence pervades the play. It also presents to the audience the calibre of the feud and the lengths men will go to to defend their pride. This is shown through the quotation 'Draw if you be men': the conditional 'if' suggests the men will be emasculated if they do not adhere to the attributes of machismo and fight one another.

  This foreshadows how this male pride and determination to fight will result in the bansihment of Romeo and therefore the couples tragic fate.
• Hegemonic masculinity

  In the opening scene the character of Sampson is used by Shakespeare to present to the audience the traditional beliefs of masculinity and the idea that male dominance is established through the submission of women as well as the excursion of aggression. Sampson argues 'women, being the weaker vessels are ever thrust to the wall' and he will 'thrust his [Montagues] maids to the wall'. This belief encapsulates the beliefs of the typical Elizabethan male, language filled with sexual imagery as well as violence and aggression.
• Hegemonic masculinity (pt 2)

  This has biblical connotations telling men to 'honor their wives' because they are the 'weaker vessels'. However Shakespeare uses this ironically and shows the idea of toxic masculinity and how it dominates the patriarchal society by expressing the idea of women being the weaker gender. This can be juxtaposed to the true, pure love experienced by Romeo and Juliet, showing when the rules of the patriarchal society are bent and two are treated as equal people can experience true love.
• The role of women

  While the male characters struggle to navigate what it is to be a man within the confines of Elizabethan's societal expectations surrounding masculinity the women are also restricted by their role as women in society.
• the role of women: Marriage

  'my will to her consent is but a part'

  the pronouns 'my' and 'her' show Capulet rejecting the traditional patriarchal role of men in deciding who their daughter marries.

  'have you delivered our decree'

  once Capulet has lost his heir he commands Juliet to marry Tybalt

  noun 'decree' connotes royalty and law - reflecting Capulets status in the house

  this shows how the patriarchal role of the man of the house furthers the plot of the play as it results in Juliet taking the vial to prevent from having to marry Paris