Focusing on Romeo and Juliet to what extent do the main characters succeed in self-fashioning?
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet depicts the struggle of two young lovers undertaking a process of self-fashioning in an attempt to escape the identities imposed upon them in the restrictive society of the 16th Century. According to Stephan Greenblatt, Romeo and Juliet came about in an era where there was an “increased self-consciousness about the fashioning of human identity as a manipulable, artful process” (2). The development of the play reflects this, as characters strive to exist as individuals in a repressive social order, attempting to manipulate their identities and the perceptions of who they are. Romeo and Juliet both grapple with the tight restrictions of love, youth, family, and gender in this strictly hierarchical society, and ultimately find these constraints to be inescapable. In fact, it is only in death that these characters can emerge from their preordained roles and achieve some level of rank as individuals.
Whilst there arose a “heightened awareness” surrounding self-fashioning and identity, Greenblatt suggests there was equally a “dedication to the imposition of control” over modes of self-fashioning and essentially the “destruction of alternatives” (2). As such, Juliet’s desire for …show more content…
The ‘star-crossed lovers’ may try to fight it, but ultimately they are actors in a tragedy governed by ‘fate’ (1.1.6). Constantly the two are alluding to their own demise. On seeing Juliet dance, Romeo states ‘beauty too rich for use, for Earth too dear’ (1.4.160). Juliet compares Romeo to a pet bird whom she should ‘kill’ with ‘much cherishing’ (2.1.229). Seemingly unbeknownst to the lovers, they foreshadow their own future, demonstrating their inescapable ‘fate’. The two are unable to fashion themselves in any way enough to escape
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet depicts the struggle of two young lovers undertaking a process of self-fashioning in an attempt to escape the identities imposed upon them in the restrictive society of the 16th Century. According to Stephan Greenblatt, Romeo and Juliet came about in an era where there was an “increased self-consciousness about the fashioning of human identity as a manipulable, artful process” (2). The development of the play reflects this, as characters strive to exist as individuals in a repressive social order, attempting to manipulate their identities and the perceptions of who they are. Romeo and Juliet both grapple with the tight restrictions of love, youth, family, and gender in this strictly hierarchical society, and ultimately find these constraints to be inescapable. In fact, it is only in death that these characters can emerge from their preordained roles and achieve some level of rank as individuals.
Whilst there arose a “heightened awareness” surrounding self-fashioning and identity, Greenblatt suggests there was equally a “dedication to the imposition of control” over modes of self-fashioning and essentially the “destruction of alternatives” (2). As such, Juliet’s desire for …show more content…
The ‘star-crossed lovers’ may try to fight it, but ultimately they are actors in a tragedy governed by ‘fate’ (1.1.6). Constantly the two are alluding to their own demise. On seeing Juliet dance, Romeo states ‘beauty too rich for use, for Earth too dear’ (1.4.160). Juliet compares Romeo to a pet bird whom she should ‘kill’ with ‘much cherishing’ (2.1.229). Seemingly unbeknownst to the lovers, they foreshadow their own future, demonstrating their inescapable ‘fate’. The two are unable to fashion themselves in any way enough to escape