juliet

Question 1

julliet and femenitinity thesis

Answer 1

julliet outwardly opposes elizabethan patriarchal values of women being submissive and meek through her relationship wth romeo where she takes a more decisive and arguably dominent position in their relations

Question 2

julliet and femininity structure

Answer 2

• The interesting hierachal shift between the two is expressed through a semnatic field of religion that deems julliet to be a divine power, ‘holy shrine’, ‘pilgrim’ and ‘winged messanger of heaven’ all paint imagery of julliet emodiying a divine figure wilst romeo a mortal, her setting is physically above him on the balcony. Romeo continues this motif by claiming with her hell be ‘new baptised’- he plans on adopting her name something completely unheard of. The two also are seen as. A positive light as they look to comply to Christian ideals, julliette urgency to marry shows her passion but also her need to be wed before confirmation
• the extended metaphor of pilgrims shows how romeo vies juiiet as something incredibly holy and magical, he wants to persue her deparately- she is the holy land.
• he laterclaims that her ‘beauty hath made me effeminate’ here romeo is showing how heavy the effects of human love are as he is now showing accentuated traits of femeninity that he does not repel
• julliet equally subverts ideas of femeninity as her husband seems more emotionally driven she is hevaily engaged in logic and dominence
• she uses controlling instrcutive verbs whilst speaking to romeo of which he abides with ‘send me word’ and ‘have my lips’ show how she has taken control of the situation rather than being passive or even letting herself be courted as he would chose to
• upon meeting symbolically the two share a sonnet which is both a clear indication of love but also a showing of the equality in the relationship as there is no dictator

Question 3

initial portrayal of julliete

Answer 3

• she completely abides to how a young upper class girl would be excepted to conform by, shes preserved and diedicated as her paretns first born child but willing to partake in a shallow trasactional love if called upon
• this would accentuate the shock of jullieetes shift in character, shakespeare is showing the depths that one can go for passion over logical reason
• both her nurse and her mother are her materanl figures at the beginning of the play-with her relationship with her mother being much more cordial and awkward than wth her confidante in her wet nurse. howeevr both are alike in their stressing that she must get married and have children in the transactional manner in order to further the capulet name and prosper, her nurse makes bawdy jokes on how she fell back as a baby and how she will ‘fall back’ again when she marries, sexual innuendo. whilst her mother reminds her of how she herself was married and pregnant by the age of julliette
• her father and mother value their daughter as their only living child and so do not want her to grow too fast, ratjer they try and delay her marriage though stressing its importance
• juliet is very willing at this, though she does not give marriage ehavy thought she says she will love and wed paris for soceital beenfits if ‘looking liking move’ she is not bothered and simply complacenet in her autonomy, a juxtaposition to her industrive and logical tone when meeting romeo