William Shakespeare’s infamous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, is set in 15th century Verona; a town torn between the anger, violence, quarrel and rivalry of two prestigious families, the house of Montague and the house of Capulet. Despite this, the play is also able to tell the story of two star crossed lovers who find themselves caught between the strife. However this is not the only key relationship which Shakespeare shows us throughout the play; a view on the relationship between men and women can also be looked at during the dialogue between Romeo and his cousin in Act One Scene One. Romeo’s initial love for Rosaline is a situation that leads to the audience being able to infer much about how Shakespeare wishes to portray the relationship between men and women. The situation is one that shows the woman being completely absent from a situation that surrounds her; her name is not even mention, surely hinting on the lack of any importance or respect from the Montague men to the opposite sex. Despite the fact that she is the subject, Rosaline has no say whatsoever and the audience never does see nor hear from her.
Furthermore, the factor that she is becoming a nun, and therefore chaste adds to the passiveness of Rosaline’s overall character and thereafter the view of women; it clashes with the more powerful and dominant image of men that is then being portrayed by the characters of Romeo and Benvolio as they are solely the ones that discuss the love, and more importantly what action should be taken, rather than Romeo and Rosaline. This may show that Shakespeare is implying that the woman is undermined by the man, his wishes and thoughts are the only ones that we hear, meaning that they are what Shakespeare considers to be important for the audience to hear and consider; ultimately that the male is the primary figure and superior to the female, a stereotype that was very existent at the time. It makes one think that, had the situation had been reversed, we would not have even heard of Rosaline’s love for Romeo, her having been irrelevant for simply being a her.
The Essay on Romeo And Juliet Love Rosaline Tybalt
At the beginning of "Romeo and Juliet", Romeo is a love-sick boy, but by end, he is a man. Romeo's language and actions emphasize his attitude and behaviour throughout the play. At the start of the play, Act 1 Scene 1, Romeo is a love-sick boy. He talks of his love for Rosaline constantly. "Alas that Love, whose view is muffled still, Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will!" His language ...
Due to the choice of language techniques that Shakespeare used when scribing Romeo’s thoughts, we are also able to infer another point about the impression that he intended to make regarding the relationship between men and women. It is obvious to the audience that Shakespeare wishes to show Romeo as melancholy, troubled and ultimately heart-broken at his misfortune with Rosaline through the emotional language that he chooses for Romeo to say; rather than simply having Romeo admit to Benvolio about what has been troubling him, he dances around the dilemma and as he does so, uses some powerful language that expresses the confusion and suffering at the heart of him; he speaks of how “not having that, which, having, makes them {day} short.” , as well as the imagery that comes to mind with lines such as “…a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes.”
This use of language ensures that we believe that Romeo is very much depressed. However, it does begin to hint on ludicrous as the emotion that Shakespeare’s language portrays is almost certainly too powerful for the situation that it is being paired with. “Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!” are powerful oxymorons, that are intended to hit you right in the heart and stir the emotions inside you that the character was feeling, and they do; yet, the fact that Romeo has never even met Rosaline and does not know anything about her makes the situation rather unrealistic as he is being so very emotional about, basically, a stranger. This aspect means that when we do hear this ornate and flamboyant language from Romeo, it gives the impression that he is just being over-the-top and melodramatic. It hints on the idea of Shakespeare taking the mickey out of his own character. In turn, this could then lead one to think that he is showing his distaste in a male whom is weak or broken, and therefore suggesting that he is in preference of the more stronger, independent an domineering male stereotype; hence him over dramatizing Romeo’s woe, for example with the use of a chiasmus – “This love feel I, that feel no love in this.”, using clever word play, which emphasises the key in it all, love.
The Term Paper on Romeo and Juliet True Love
Many things throughout each novel are important to the plot of the story. Many details and actions in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare are significant to the plot of the play. One action that is significant to the plot is when Romeo kills Paris. Romeo returns to Verona to see his wife Juliet dead. He was un-aware of the plan for the two of them to run away, so Romeo was under the impression ...
Nonetheless, the ultimate effect of this is somewhat lost by the fact that it is not necessarily love that Romeo is feeling, rather a lust for something he has merely seen; he is more convincingly in love with the idea of love, than Rosaline. On the other hand, the way I which Shakespeare has portrayed Rome can be viewed in rather a diverse light upon closer inspection. It may seem like it is pointless, Romeo simply chasing a lost cause however, the situation does demonstrate a male quality that Shakespeare could be intending to portray. As mentioned, the difference between the sexes is highlighted, as one being inferior and one more dominant and this can also be translated into the situation of a predator and its prey. When an animal finds its prey, that’s all it can focus on and it will not stop until it has what it wants. The fact that Romeo refuses to forget about Rosaline once he has set his sights on her supports this; she is his prey and regardless of how little chance he will get her, he will continue to hunt his prey.
Therefore, within the upset, melodramatic performance, there is the clothed deeper meaning which shows the once again, powerful and in control side of the male that Shakespeare wishes to put across; that, within a female and male relationship, it is the male chasing and preying upon the female prey, which, as in Rosaline’s case, fails to have any say. Overall, the dialogue between Romeo and his close cousin Benvolio in Act One Scene One displays a huge variety of both powerful and contrasting views and suggestions concerning the relationships between men and women. William Shakespeare is cleverly able to both portray the weaknesses as well as potential weapons which both the sexes have and with this, the relationship between the two that he intends to show.
It is clear from his specific language choices and setting out of the scene that Shakespeare wants to, early on in the play, show the strong distance between males and females, the divide between the strong and empowering males who hold the power and run the show, and the image of the silent and somewhat weaker female that is to be governed by the men. All in all, the impression is one that suggests the men are in control, that the men are playing up to their stereotype of domineering and all-powerful males, with the females just a silent and absent necessity. It is a rather interesting impression to impose at the beginning of a play, in which a women breaks away from what is expected of her and shows equal outgoingness and independence as the man. Nevertheless, having this suggestion posed at the beginning does allow the point of Juliet’s power to be more obvious in the play later on.
The Term Paper on Androgyny And The Will Of Shakespeares Female Characters A Feminist Perspective
Throughout Mans history, women have always been at a disadvantage socially, economically, and politically. Shakespeare realized this and sought to bring the controversy that comes with Androgynous issuesto life. Through strong female characters and the implications of disguises, Shakespeare exposes gender issues. Many critics believe Shakespeare poorly represents women in his plays through ...
