How is masculinity depicted in Romeo and Juliet?

In the play Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents masculinity as a dichotomy between more aggressive
characters conforming strongly to the notion of Elizabethan masculinity, and the protagonist Romeo who
seems to act against the norm, displaying more effeminate traits which may have been looked down upon by
society at the time. Shakespeare may have presented masculinity in this manner to criticise this normalised
negative outlook towards women and highlight the dangers of excessive masculine pride.
Shakespeare depicts masculinity as corrupting and fundamentally degrading through the theme of misogyny in
the play. The Capulet servants Sampson and Gregory exemplify this through their discourse regarding the
female Montague Servants. Sampson denotes the action of ‘push[ing] [Montague’s] men from the wall and
thrust[ing] his maids to the wall’, boasting about his both physically and sexually violent intentions. In
Elizabethan times, excrement was disposed of by throwing it out on the streets due to a lack of toilets, and this
waste generally fell on the middle of the street; this makes the already disturbing act of violence seem more
gruesome. The powerful verbs ‘push’ and ‘thrust’ emphasise the brutality of the acts, inapposite when
juxtaposed against the jovial tone the statement was made in. This contrast could suggest the normality of
such language and behaviour in Elizabethan times, even making it sound like something worth boasting about.
Furthermore, the fact that the two people having this conversation are servants in relatively low positions of
power suggests that this behaviour is ubiquitous in all levels of society, bolstered by Tybalt’s similarly violent
behaviour later in the scene. Perhaps Shakespeare has presented masculinity to criticise these negative traits
and their connection to masculinity. The theme of physical and sexual violence is progressed with their
conversation, with Sampson later stating that he ‘will cut off their heads. / …the heads of the maids, or their
maidenheads; take it in what sense thou wilt’, thus stating that he will either kill or rape the Montague maids.
Sampson saying ‘take it in what sense thou wilt’ implies that it was a joke, and the fact that word play was
employed through ‘heads of the maids’ and ‘maidenheads’ shows the liberty they take when using such
pertinent misogynistic language, a product of their shallow or even non-existent respect for women. Sampson
expressing this intent in a casual manner also shows his confidence in being able to carry such acts out,
revealing his view of women as powerless and unable to stand up against his violent acts. The fact that he has
so clearly laid out two options, either to kill the women or take their virginity also shows that Sampson views
women as one-dimensional, useless for anything other than sex, only worth living to have sex with. This
extremely misogynistic view could also represent the views, albeit to a lesser extent, of wider Elizabethan
society, something that Shakespeare again could be trying to criticise. Masculinity is depicted as corrupting and
degrading not only through Sampson and Gregory, but also through the misogynistic and objectifying views of
Romeo. While many aspects of their personality may differ, like their violent tendencies, misogyny is
something they share in common, thus demonstrating its pervasive nature in men. Romeo’s lack of respect for
women is demonstrated through his negative interpretation of something that would be respected in modern
society, lamenting over her being ‘[well arm’d] in proof of chastity’. Rather than gradually building a
relationship, Romeo is shown to be fixated on sleeping with his unrequited love Rosaline, complaining about
the fact that she is reluctant to sleep with him. This shows his lack of respect for Rosaline, assuming that she
would sleep with him and being more focused on sex rather than their actual relationship; this could show that
Romeo may have confused love with lust, being more inclined to the latter due to his possibly misogynistic
views. Romeo talks about his attempts to woo her, his ‘siege of loving terms’ and ‘assailing eyes’, however this
could be interpreted as harassment due to his persistence even after her clear rejection – this further
highlights his lack of respect for Rosaline. The militaristic semantic field created with words like ‘assailing’,
‘bow’ and ‘siege’ all has strongly violent connotations, which could refer to Romeo’s own violent tendencies
which he could manifest in a different manner compared to characters like Sampson and Gregory. The use of
the noun ‘siege’ implies Romeo’s likening of Rosaline to a castle, simply an object to be conquered – this shows
his objectification of Rosaline. His shallow view of Rosaline is again shown when Romeo says ‘ope her lap to
saint-seducing gold’. Romeo again reveals his desire to have sex with Rosaline, not mentioning her character in
a lovable manner even once – this is another example of his objectifying and disrespectful view of Rosaline.
The noun phrase ‘saint-seducing gold’ could carry two meanings, one a euphemism for Romeo’s sex organs,
and the other Romeo’s wealth – both have misogynistic implications. Romeo’s assumption that Rosaline would
sleep with him due to his wealth is presumptuous and has similarities to prostitution. Cumulatively, Romeo’s
speech is ripe with violent and presumptuous language which demonstrates his misogynistic views, similar to
Sampson’s disturbing discourse with Gregory at the beginning of the play. The underlying theme of misogyny
used by Shakespeare therefore shows that masculinity is degrading and corrupting, and perhaps could be a
criticism towards the normalised misogynistic behaviour in Elizabethan England.