In the play Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare explores the topic of femininity. The tragedy takes place during the fourteenth century in Verona, Italy. Society in Verona has clear beliefs and expectations for both males and females. Women are often regarded as inferior and weak whilst the men focus on violence and sexual domination, always expected to be prodigious and valiant. These stereotypical gender roles relate to main characters Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers who are pressured into acting the way their gender is depicted throughout the play. In this text, Shakespeare asserts that acting feminine is seen as weak. Feminine characteristics are depicted in such a way because the Capulet servants talk about their …show more content…
When Romeo learns that he is exiled from Verona, meaning he is not able to contact Juliet easily, he becomes inundated. Acting out of sadness, Romeo grabs a dagger and offers to stab himself before the Nurse snatches it away. Friar Laurence notices Romeo's weeping and says to him, "Art thou a man? Thy form cries out thou art/ Thy tears are womanish, thy wild acts denote/ The unreasonable fury of a beast/ Unseemly woman in a seeming man!" (803). Friar Laurence chides Romeo for crying about his banishment, which forces him to be distant from his love, Juliet. Also, he refers to Romeo's actions and sensitivity as "womanish." The fact that Romeo is strongly rebuked for acting sensitively suggests feminine qualities are frowned upon within the play. In the article "Romeo and Juliet, Media Repackaging West Side Story, and Bruce Springsteen," Stephen M. Buhler compares gender stereotypes within pop culture and the tragic play Romeo and Juliet. He claims that "Certainly critical views that stress the 'purity' and 'innocence' of Shakespeare's protagonists and their love participate in similarly morning processes" (85). This quote further proves how the parallelism between pop culture and Romeo and Juliet are evident. Standards of society, such as being beautiful or thin, put stress on young people. This is similar to how Romeo and Juliet are pressured into acknowledging their stereotypes in Verona, Italy. Young people are heavily influenced by the culture in which they are surrounded