Switched Up: A Shakespearean Gender Evolution

Switched Up: A Shakespearean Gender Evolution

In the play Romeo and Juliet written by the English playwright William Shakespeare,  the two protagonists Romeo and Juliet undergo strong character changes that ultimately make their genders seem inverse. As the play was first published in 1597 there are certain ways that men and women are portrayed. However Shakespeare deviates from using those specific characteristics all throughout the play, and instead reverses them as the characters of Romeo and Juliet evolve. In order to explore our analysis my group decided to first stage the famous Balcony scene, Act II Scene II in which both characters portray the gender characteristic appropriate to their actual gender. To show the contrast between that and their final personalities we did Act III Scene III in which Romeo shows womanish characteristics, and Act IV Scene I and III in which Juliet’s actions make her seem manly. While in the beginning of the play, Romeo and Juliet are the man and woman one would expect them to be, throughout the play the roles in their relationship reverse. In our performance we showed this gender characteristic switch by changing the actual gender of the actors along with using specific costuming and contrasting character portrayals.

In the beginning of the play, where he takes on the man part in the relationship between him and Juliet, Romeo is a rather typical young man from the late 1500s. He takes the first step between them by sneaking into the Capulet's garden to see her, proving himself a straightforward and bold character. In Contrast to that Juliet is calm, quiet and reserved in the beginning of the play. She is shy well behaved and listens to her parents When Romeo sneaks into the Capulet's garden she is startled; “What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, So stumblest on my counsel?...If they [her family] do see thee, they will murder thee.” (II, II, 56-57,75) She asks him who he is, who late in night sneaks into her garden. Juliet is shocked, almost indignant when she sees Romeo. She is worried about what might happen when he gets caught showing her reserved and cautious. These traits prove Juliet to be a more female figure in this particular scene, whereas Romeo’s boldness and indiscret entrance are gender characteristics common for a man in the late 1500s.

Overall in this scene Romeo is bold, confident and straightforward whereas Juliet is more cautious, reserved and shy. We portrayed these traits in our casting decisions. The actor who played Romeo in this scene was tall and muscular, naturally giving him a bigger stage presence than mine (I played Juliet), as I am a small and skinny person. To underline that, the actor who played Romeo moved around, and gestured when talking, which he did loud and confident, representing Romeo’s manly characteristics of confidence and boldness. In contrast I stayed mostly in one spot, standing unsteadily with my feet close together, taking up as little room as possible, to represent Juliet's shyness and lack of self confidence. In addition to that I talked quietly, to show Juliet’s constant fear someone might catch her together with Romeo. When Romeo wants to swear his love to Juliet and she interrupts him. I held up my hand to stop him from talking and said how our relationship was to “unadvised” and “sudden” (II, II, 125). When I tried to leave the actor playing Romeo held me back by grabbing my hand This physical contact symbolized Romeo’s boldness as it was a taboo in the late 1500s. He asks: “O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?” (II, II, 132) I pulled away my hand quickly and asked what he meant by that, immediately suspicious about his intentions. In this scene Romeo is a manly character, which we showed by portraying him as confident and straightforward, whereas I showed Juliet as reserved, careful and shy. Her hesitance to her relationship with Romeo, proving her a more female character.

In Act III Scene III, Romeo shows womanish characteristics of weakness and helplessness when he finds out from Friar Lawrence, that he is banished from Verona for killing Juliet’s cousin Tybalt. He is devastated and relates his banishment to death saying: “Calling death “banishèd Thou cutt’st my head off with a golden ax And smilest upon the stroke that murders me” (III, III, 22-24). Romeo argues that banishing him from Verona and therefore separating him from Juliet is as if someone was killing him as he is ripped from all that he knew and loved. The banishment frightens Romeo as it makes him feel weak and out of control. The sense of fear, weakness, and lack of control are typically female characteristics for that time. By assigning them to Romeo, he appears as a female character. Romeo is so devastated that he is ready to take his live, however Friar Lawrence stops him: “pass to Mantua, Where thou shalt live till we can find a time To blaze your marriage, reconcile your friends, Beg pardon of the Prince, and call thee back” (III, III, 159-162) Instead of making his own decisions, Romeo lets Friar Lawrence make them for him and he does just as Friar Lawrence says. This shows Romeo’s dependency on Friar Lawrence along with his inability to think clearly and make his own decisions. Both of these were female gender norms.  

To demonstrate Romeo’s femininity, and his gender switch with Juliet, in this scene, I played Romeo rather than the other male actor from our group who played him in Act II Scene II. This way I could not only act him as female, but actually be a female acting as him, by that, even stronger symbolizing his femininity. Along with that my physical appearances underlined the contrast to the ‘previous Romeo’. As I was smaller it looked as if Romeo had shrunk. The actor playing Romeo in the other scene was not only taller but also more muscular than me. My skinniness symbolized Romeo’s fragility in this scene, in contrast to his more muscular, strong previous self. In this scene I showed Romeo’s feminine character traits by portraying him in a childish and weak way. On the line: “fall upon the ground...Taking the measure of an unmade grave.” (III, III, 73,74) I fell to my knees in a devastated and hopeless manner. When Friar Lawrence tried to pull me back up I resisted like a huffish child. It wasn’t until the nurse entered and pulled me up on my feet that I stood myself. Romeo’s helplessness and dependency are other examples of his womanish traits in this scene. In entered hastily, eyes wide open and talking fast to express Romeo’s distress. I asked Friar Lawrence if there are any news in a begging way, showing Romeo’s need for Friar Lawrence's advice and comfort. In the end of the Scene Friar Lawrence, who acted a lot more calmly and confident that me, thereby underlining my panic, presented me with a solution. My face immediately lit up, demonstrating the hope Romeo feels. I noded and told Friar Lawrence that I would do just as I was told. As I was smaller than the other actor I looked up to him, thus making it seem more as if I was talking to a parent, I increased this by standing slightly crouched. This was to show Romeo’s dependency on Friar Lawrence to find a solution and his inability to do that himself, in addition the childish way in which I was acting Romeo made him seem pathetic in a comedic way, not at like the man one would imagine Romeo to be.

In Act IV scene I, III Juliet shows confidence, bravery and determination, traits that were seen manly, when she makes a decision that is the only option for her to be with Romeo even though that decision  could kill her. Her parents assume Juliet’s mourning, a result of Romeo’s banishment, is a result of Tybalt’s death. They decide to marry her to Paris quickly to eliminate the thoughts of Tybalt’s death. In her despair Juliet urges Friar Lawrence to help her, determined not to accept no as an answer. He gives her a strong sleeping potion that will make her seem dead. Before drinking the potion Juliet has doubts: “What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married then tomorrow morning?..What if it be a poison which the Friar Subtly hath ministered to have me dead, Lest in this marriage he should be dishonored Because he married me before to Romeo?” (IV, III, 22-23, 25-28) Juliet wonders if the potion that Friar Lawrence has given her will work. She even fears that he tries to poison her as he is dishonored for marrying her to Romeo. Despite her fear and doubt Juliet drinks the potion as it is the only option she and Romeo have to life together. This shows Juliet as strong and brave, and the important decision that she makes here rather than Romeo is a result of their gender switch.

In this scene Juliet was played by the actor who was Romeo in the beginning of the play. Like before she was not only acted in a manly way, she was actually acted by a man. The way her physical appearances evolved were the opposite from those of Romeo. Juliet went from small, skinny fragile me, to the taller and more muscular actor. Thought in the beginning of the scene, Juliet is upset, she is still controlled and calm. His face and voice portrayed Juliet’s distress, however the actor still entered confident, walking with purpose and standing up straight. He asked Friar Lawrence for help in an urgent and determined tone that showed giving up was not an option. Before drinking the potion he acted doubtful, however throughout Juliet’s monologue he grew more and more confident and determined. The confidence, determination and strong decisions that Juliet makes in this Scene are a proof on how her character evolves in a manly way.

    To further prove our point my group did certain costume choices along with the idea of having Romeo and Juliet’s manly side played by a male actor and their womanish side played by an actress. We had two costumes, one for the role of Romeo and one for the role of Juliet. As each of the two actors played one side in Romeo and one in Juliet, they both had to wear each of the costumes. The actors different sizes resulted that one of the costumes would never fit both actors. We decided to have a dress in the size of the actress playing the female side (me) for Juliet, and a costume for Romeo in the size of the actor playing the man side. The male Juliet didn’t quite fit into the Juliet costume and the female Romeo didn’t quite fit in the Romeo costume, thus underlining the abnormality of Juliet maleness and Romeo femaleness.

 

       In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the protagonists Romeo and Juliet undergo character changes that ultimately cause them to portray characteristics against the gender norm in 1597 when the play was written. Thought at first Romeo and Juliet feature the characteristics appropriate to their genders, by the end of the play, their personalities have inversed in a way that makes their genders seem inverse. I found this interesting as the way Romeo and Juliet are portrayed in the play is very unusual for the time in which Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet. The way Juliet was shown to evolve in a strong character in the play made her seem sympathetic. After doing this analysis I believe Juliet to be a stronger and deeper character than Romeo. The way she was portrayed made me like the play more as the, for the time unusual feminist aspects made the play interesting.