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Throughout Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, there is an overlaying presence of the typical roles that men and women were supposed to play. During Elizabethan times there was a major difference between the way men and women were supposed to act. Men typically were supposed to be masculine and powerful, and defend the honor. Women, on the other hand, were supposed to be subservient to their men in their lives and do as ever they wished. In Romeo and Juliet the typical gender roles that men and women were supposed to play had an influence on the fate of their lives.
The beginning of Act one opens with a brawl in the street between the servants of the Capulets and the Montagues. The origin of the fight introduces the important theme of masculine honor. Sampson, one of Capulets servants, shows this masculinity by saying, "Draw, if you be men." (I.i.64). Later on in the play in Act II, scene i. the display of honor and masculinity comes up again during the fight between......

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Approximate Word Count: 866
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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