Hoffman


 * Zack Hoffman **

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Through Romeo’s feminine actions and his resulting death, Shakespeare is clearly trying to say that a man needs to be masculine to find success in the world.
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__Comments:__ You need to explain the definition better. -CB I agree with Connor, explain the definition of masculinity.-Tommypastor you need to make your own viewpoint on ideal masculinity more clear - Jonesy


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Throughout the play, Romeo constantly ignores and even rejects traditional values. One example is found at the beginning of the first Act when Romeo is weeping after Rosaline has rejected him. He cries, “O heavy lightness, serious vanity, misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms, feather of lead…This love feel I, that feel no love in this” (Act 1 Scene 1 Lines 169-174.) This quote is showing how much of a woman he is acting like while moping and sobbing after Rosaline won’t marry him. Romeo’s excessive display of emotion is not manly. Another example of Romeo rejecting his masculinity can be found when Romeo says “Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo” (Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 50-51.) A man’s worth is normally seen through his name and his family ties, but Romeo is acting like he’s the woman of this relationship. He is offering to change his name for a girl that he’s known for less than a day, when usually the girl takes the boy’s name. No man would EVER offer to change his name for marriage, and Shakespeare is again indicating Romeo is NOT a man. __Comments:__ Good quotes and arguments, with good explaining. Watch the capitilization, other than that its pretty good and professional.-CB don't all-caps words in essays, its not professional - Jonesy

Even when Romeo does something manly, he ends up regretting it. For example, when Romeo says “O, I am fortune’s fool” (Act 3 Scene 1 Line 127.) When Romeo finally shows some masculinity by avenging the death of his friend Mercutio by killing Tybalt, Romeo regrets ever doing it and wishes he were not so unlucky. Regretting one’s own actions and not supporting his decision is the opposite of a man’s actions. That’s completely feminine. Another instance of this is when Romeo says, “O give me thy hand, one writ with me in sour misfortune’s book! I’ll bury thee in a triumphant grave” (Act 5 Scene 3 Lines 81-83.) This is significant because this is when Romeo kills Paris, a very masculine action, but then he offers to bury the man he just killed! He then must kill himself because he can’t stand being so manly and regrets his masculine actions. No man would kill another man and then offer to bury him. A real man would stem on him or spit on him after he killed a man.
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__Comments:__ Good quotes, but you might want to watch the three worded sentence, "That's completely feminine."-CB

Romeo is feminine because he makes the decision to take his own life is the easy way out and against his nature as a male (Men confront things, but women give in to things.) An example of this is when Romeo says “and fall upon the ground as I do now, taking the measure of an unmade grave” (Act 3 Scene 3 Lines 69-70.) This is important because this is Romeo being difficult and saying he wants to kill himself. He feels that since he is banished from Verona he must kill himself and take the easy way out. Taking the easy way out is very weak and unmanly. “Come bitter conduct, come unsavoury guide! Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on the dashing rocks thy seasick weary bark! Here’s to my love! [Drinks.] O true apothecary!” (Act 5 Scene 3 Lines 116-119.) What kind of man would kill himself by drinking poison> A real man would do something manly like shooting himself in the mouth, anything but poison. Even Juliet stabs herself which is a lot manlier then drinking poison. And not only that, he’s carrying on like a girl as he’s killing himself.
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__Comments:__ try to eliminate the parentheses; think of a different way to say it - Jonesy

According to the dictionary, masculinity is having qualities traditionally ascribed to as strength or boldness. In the story of __Romeo and Juliet__, Romeo does not show these qualities of masculinity. In fact, Romeo even rejects traditional values, such as keeping the male family name. As the play continues, Romeo begins to despise his masculine actions, and ultimately, his own suicide goes against his male nature.
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__Comments:__ Good, you stuck to the intro through out the essay.- CB make your own definition of masculinity - Jonesy

As you can see from my essay, Shakespeare clearly shows that effeminate men don’t succeed in life and only the real manly men do well. Romeo rejects traditional masculine values, despises his own masculine actions, and takes the easy way out by killing himself (thus proving Shakespeare’s point about masculinity.) In the middle of the book Friar Lawrence questions Romeo, “And thou changed? Woman may fall, when there’s no strength in men,” (Act 2 Scene 3 lines 79-80) thus foretelling that when Juliet dies, it is because Romeo had no strength and therefore no masculinity
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__Comments:__ Good conclusion, you explained yourself well.-CB don't say "as you can see from my essay", it's not professional. Just eliminate everything before "Shakespeare" - Jonesy

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