Boyd


 * David Boyd **

//Paste the appropriate portion of your essay in the spaces below. Note: we may not have enough time to post every part of your essay even though there are sections for each.//  David Boyd Romeo Is Girly: The Lack of Masculinity in Shakespeare’s Famous Character  __Romeo and Juliet __ is one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies. A tragedy unfolds because of someone’s flaws. Romeo causes the tragedy to unfold because of his lack of masculinity. Masculinity is not the fact that someone is male, but acts like a man. Acts of masculinity includes standing up to opposition, being the man in a relationship, and following traditions that represent men. Shakespeare uses Romeo as an example of what happens when one does not have masculinity. Shakespeare is saying that masculinity keeps one away from unnecessary danger and death.  Romeo is not masculine from the first scene in the play. The first scene is a giant brawl between the Capulets and the Montagues. After the fight is over, Lord and Lady Montague discuss why Romeo was not at the fight. Lord Montague reveals that Romeo spends his time in his room moping and only coming out at night (1.1 122-133). Romeo has given up fighting and is locking himself in his room. He is not fighting because he is sad, that the woman he has never seen before is not returning his love. He is shutting down, something a manly man would not do. This obsession he has over the woman is taking over him not allowing him to fill one of his masculine duties, which is to stand up to any opposition. In Act 3, scene 1 Romeo again tries to get away from a fight. “Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee Doth much exuse the appertaining rage To such greeting. Villain am I none; Therefore farewell, I see thou knowest me not.”(3.1.55-58). He is trying to get out of danger by talking about love, then tries to escape. When Romeo does not fight Tybalt, Merctutio fights him, but Tybalt then kills Mercutio. When Romeo does not fight, and is not masculine, Mercutio dies. If Romeo had stepped up and fought, Mercutio might not have died. If Mercutio had not dies, who knows? The story could have been completely different. This goes to show that when someone is not manly, people get unnecessarily hurt.  Romeo is not only a wuss when fighting, but is a girl when it comes to his love with Juliet. He literally plays the traditional girls role in a relationship. He returns to Juliet at her request and says that he would give up his name for her. Even today the woman traditionally gives up her name. On the balcony after they first meet, Romeo says, “Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized. Henceforth I will never be Romeo (2.2 50-51)” Real men would never give up their name for the women’s. Romeo has fallen so head over heels for Juliet that he has fallen flat on his face. That is very dangerous because he has taken his mind off of everything but Juliet. He is in the middle of a feud that had just heated up, but he can only think about love. The quote itself is also interesting. Shakespeare uses the word baptism to describe Romeo giving up his name. Not only does baptism have to do with names, but it ties into the theme of love as a religion. While Romeo is still on the balcony with Juliet, there is another reference to Romeo not being masculine. Juliet says to Romeo, “…O for a falc’ner’s voice, to lure this tassel-gentle back again (2.2 158-159).” Juliet has Romeo under her control. She has the power to call him back again. This is not masculine because Romeo is focused on following Juliet’s orders. Romeo decided to be girly at the wrong time. The quote also ties into the theme of birds. Shakespeare uses falconry to compare the submissiveness of Romeo to a falcon and the handler. When Romeo and Juliet are together, Romeo is less of a man than without her. At the end of the play, Romeo again does not play the traditional man role. After he learns of Juliet’s “death”, he is so traumatized that he decides that he must die. He goes to an apothecary and purchases a poison to kill himself with, then goes to Juliet’s grave (5.1 80-86). In Shakespeare’s times, poisoning was a death for women. Once again, Romeo is in the women’s role. After not giving the action much thought, he goes and purchases the poison. He does not go and get a dagger, which would be very manly. Romeo once again is not doing the manly thing. Another example of him not being masculine is when he goes to Juliet’s tomb (5.3 85-88). A man would not go to his wife’s tomb to kill himself. It is just not manly for Romeo to go the tomb. His going to the tomb seals the deal for both his death, Paris’s death, and Juliet’s death. His going to the tomb and killing himself go to show how the lack of masculinity causes unnecessary death and danger.  Romeo is not masculine throughout the play. He is wimpy when is challenged to fights, he plays the women’s role in his relationship with Juliet, and he does not follow the traditional guy “rules”, like killing yourself with a manly weapon. Even when he died, he was not manly. Shakespeare used Romeo as an example of what could happen if you do not act your gender. And as he shows, it is not pretty.

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