Some men are from Venus and
some women are from Mars
The play Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous plays mankind knows. William Shakespeare
wrote the story at the end of the sixteenth century. It is about two people who love each other, but
cannot be with each other. How hard they try to be together, in the end they both die, because of
the love for each other. Remarkably people still find the play relevant until this day. During the
reading one thing stands out, which is the relationship of power between Romeo and Juliet. It is
different than what you would usually see in the setting of the story. So, it is remarkable for the time
being in the setting of the play that the relationship of power in the relationship of Romeo and Juliet
is different than usual. This essay will show how Romeo acts towards society and Juliet and the other
way around for Juliet. Including how they both end their life.
In the relation between Romeo and Juliet the childish one is Romeo and he puts himself
below Juliet. This is significant, because he is a man from Verona and older then Juliet. In the
following quote his childishness is best seen:
“Hold thy desperate hand.
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,
And ill-beseeming beast in seeming both!
Thou has amazed me. By my holder order,
I thought thy disposition better tempered.” (Shakespeare, 2003, III, iii, 108-115)
With this example the point becomes clear. The quote is said by Friar Lawrence when Romeo founds
out that Juliet is devastated with his banishment. Romeo falls on the ground and cries like a little
baby. Friar Lawrence is surprised about his behavior and says that Romeo needs to man-up. With the
next quotes more prove is given:
“Romance and longing fuel his daily thoughts, giving him the most fulfillment and
satisfaction. Romeo is in love with the idea of love, and his way of thinking is teased
mercilessly by both his friends and enemies. When paired with Juliet in scenes, his male role
is increasingly diminished. He puts himself below her both literally and figuratively in a
gesture of submission.” (Lúthien, 2003, third paragraph)
This quotes gives more clarification that Romeo is not the man from Verona he should be. A man as
Romeo is the face of the family Montague. As the imagery of a family from Verona you would expect
a ‘real’ man, who is determined upon violence, sexual domination, and conquest. Romeo does not
seem to fulfill any of these, he rather be a sad child who loves a woman so much that he, as a man
from Verona, puts himself below her.
Juliet on the other hand is the more dominant one in the relationship. Which is unusual,
because she is the younger one and a woman from Verona. With the next quotes that becomes clear:
“Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract tonight.
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden,
some women are from Mars
The play Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous plays mankind knows. William Shakespeare
wrote the story at the end of the sixteenth century. It is about two people who love each other, but
cannot be with each other. How hard they try to be together, in the end they both die, because of
the love for each other. Remarkably people still find the play relevant until this day. During the
reading one thing stands out, which is the relationship of power between Romeo and Juliet. It is
different than what you would usually see in the setting of the story. So, it is remarkable for the time
being in the setting of the play that the relationship of power in the relationship of Romeo and Juliet
is different than usual. This essay will show how Romeo acts towards society and Juliet and the other
way around for Juliet. Including how they both end their life.
In the relation between Romeo and Juliet the childish one is Romeo and he puts himself
below Juliet. This is significant, because he is a man from Verona and older then Juliet. In the
following quote his childishness is best seen:
“Hold thy desperate hand.
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,
And ill-beseeming beast in seeming both!
Thou has amazed me. By my holder order,
I thought thy disposition better tempered.” (Shakespeare, 2003, III, iii, 108-115)
With this example the point becomes clear. The quote is said by Friar Lawrence when Romeo founds
out that Juliet is devastated with his banishment. Romeo falls on the ground and cries like a little
baby. Friar Lawrence is surprised about his behavior and says that Romeo needs to man-up. With the
next quotes more prove is given:
“Romance and longing fuel his daily thoughts, giving him the most fulfillment and
satisfaction. Romeo is in love with the idea of love, and his way of thinking is teased
mercilessly by both his friends and enemies. When paired with Juliet in scenes, his male role
is increasingly diminished. He puts himself below her both literally and figuratively in a
gesture of submission.” (Lúthien, 2003, third paragraph)
This quotes gives more clarification that Romeo is not the man from Verona he should be. A man as
Romeo is the face of the family Montague. As the imagery of a family from Verona you would expect
a ‘real’ man, who is determined upon violence, sexual domination, and conquest. Romeo does not
seem to fulfill any of these, he rather be a sad child who loves a woman so much that he, as a man
from Verona, puts himself below her.
Juliet on the other hand is the more dominant one in the relationship. Which is unusual,
because she is the younger one and a woman from Verona. With the next quotes that becomes clear:
“Well, do not swear. Although I joy in thee,
I have no joy of this contract tonight.
It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden,
