In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the author presents 16th century English society in a way that challenges some of its’ ideals. The Renaissance, which itself means re-birth, was the setting in which Shakespeare wrote, so many of these ideas were being thought about and written about. Among those ideals that are challenged in the play, are the “real-life” gender norms for men and women. Shakespeare introduces the idea of reversing the gender norms …showed first 75 words of 899 total…

…showed last 75 words of 899 total…Shakespeare, but more of a response to the “re-birth” of English society. Romeo and Juliet are symbols for what we might consider now to exhibit normal gender roles, but for the 16th century, was against the rules of a Patriarchal society. It can be concluded then that the importance of this play is to present a physical representation of the kinds of challenges against gender norms that were happening in the English Renaissance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**