William Shakespeare as one of the greatest writers in English Language addresses many different problems which have only been exposed as major societal problems since the emergence of sociology. Sociological problems such as sexism and anti-Semitism are evident, common topics through Shakespeare’s plays. With specific reference to ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’, it is clear that Shakespeare, to an extent, is critical of these topics through the choice of setting, characters and language used. The plays were both written and published in the 16th century. This has a big impact on the way Shakespeare would have confronted these problems due to the norms and values society held influencing the way these subjects were written and spoken about. For example, the topic of sexism was not as big as it is in today’s contemporary society,
“Women were literally expected to be weaker than men”(https://www.reference.com/world-view/were-gender-roles-elizabethan-era-aaf4ab9a2b06f21b). Women had no platform to raise awareness of any form of sexism so the topic of sexism has not been bought to attention till equality developed.
However the topic of anti-Semitism was not a major crime but, was a major issue. The mistreatment of Jews was committed by the majority who held the same Christian values so was not deemed valuable of punishment. Anti-Semitism in the sixteenth century was a major issue in comparison to sexism, as they had no freedom to practise their religion freely.
“Jews in 16th century England practised their religion secretly” (James Shapiro https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/how-were-the-jews-regarded-in-16th-century-england)
Within both the plays however, there are several common themes such as alienation and sexism which will be explored throughout.
Romeo and Juliet’s love tragedy is Shakespeare’s opportunity to use the topic of sexism in a discreet manner attempting to be critical of the gender roles. This is done by presenting characters as transgressive towards the expectations of them as a male or female. Romeo and Juliet are both blinded by love and become disinterested of what their families expect of them, unknowingly falling out of their assigned gender roles. For example, Juliet’s choice to marry without her families consent is her biggest sign of disobedience, ignoring the patriarchal figure; her father, who attempts the arrangement of marriage with Paris. Juliet breaks free from the patriarchy she was endorsed with and chooses love with Romeo, who although is not a dominant character, she remains under a form of masculine power. She breaks from the unequal choice to marry whom she wishes, blindly ignoring what is expected of her as a young lady.
The lack of women’s rights in the 16th century is also represented through the way the play is written. An example of this is that Juliet’s mother is never addressed by her name, rather ‘Capulets wife’. Suggesting that women in the Elizabethan era, once married were the property of their husband. Shakespeare is presented as critical of this through Juliet’s reactions in her own relationship. She rejects societal expectations of how her relationship should be and almost expects to be equal with Romeo in all that they do. As Peter J Smith puts it,
“in her refusal to allow Romeo the comfort of masculine protestation, Juliet, Like Mercutio, refuses the sexual dichotomies of gendered relationships.”
The idea that Romeo and Juliet are characters who are presented outside of their gender roles is further supported when the Nurse says to Romeo,
“Stand up, stand up, stand an you be a man.
For Juliet’s sake, for her sake, rise and stand!
Why should you fall into so deep an O?”
Not only, does this imply the nurse encouraging Romeo to fulfil his dominant Masculine role to Juliet, yet also has indications of the nurse pushing Romeo to have intercourse as a form of comfort for Juliet and take the masculine role expected of him. This is interpreted from the word ‘Stand’ which as stated by Rene Weis is equal to have intercourse which is further implied by ‘o’ ‘the universal sound of lamentation as well as a quibble on o=vagina.
The discreet level of Sexism presented in Romeo and Juliet can also be found as a similar topic in The Merchant of Venice. However Shakespeare exposes the issue of sexism here in a way that almost mocks the idea of women acting outside of their gender roles and taking a more masculine approach in their actions. This is shown through Portia’s actions as a wife to Bassanio
The way sexism however is presented is in a similar approach to the way it’s presented in Romeo and Juliet. For example, Portia is also presented to act outside of her assigned gender roles yet in a manner that empowers her as a female and show qualities which may often be associated with the masculine gender. The ring she gifts to her husband Bassanio is symbolic of her power as she states that the loss of the ring is a sign of the ruin of their marriage.
“I give them with them this ring,
Which when you part from, lose or give away,
Let it presage the ruin of your love
And be my vantage to exclaim on you”
The fact that she has the ability to gain that power from the ring suggests Shakespeare is aiming to present her as a dominant female, as oppose to a submissive wife. The female characters in The Merchant of Venice rebel in one way against a higher male authority, yet Portia does not have to rebel as she is already gifted with qualities which higher her status and gives her the ability to be on this level with her husband. As Mrs Anna Jameson states in the critical edition of the merchant of Venice,
“She is individualized by qualities peculiar to herself; by her high mental powers, her enthusiasm of temperament, her decision of purpose, and her buoyancy of spirit.”
The original plays both have similar levels to the amount of sexism presented in them. However the movies have both been adapted to different societies so the issue of sexism presented varies. For example Baz Luhrmann’s direction of Romeo and Juliet almost removes the problem of sexism as Mercutio is a character who holds feminine qualities, being flamboyant and cross dressing. Juliet’s mother and Romeo’s mother both have a more significant part in comparison to the original play where they have very little input. Whilst Luhrmann’s adaptation is set in modern America, Michael Radford’s direction of the Merchant of Venice, exposes almost the same level of sexism as presented in the play as they are both set in the same era.
Anti-Semitism is one of the main themes presented in The Merchant of Venice and is shown through the strong characters such as Antonio and Shylock as well as the setting away from Elizabethan England. The setting of Venice to address anti-Semitism can perhaps be Shakespeare’s way of being critical of the subject. This is because as Graham Holderness puts it
“Venice, a city of strangers’ was absolutely the right place in which to locate stories about aliens, foreigners, those who in race, religion, ethnicity, colour are different from ‘us’ and yet occupy an important place in ‘our’ economy, ‘our’ society, ‘our’ lives.”
By setting it in a place where it would be deemed as acceptable due to the religious diversity, potentially highlights for the anti-Semitic societies how absurd it was to treat Jews like so in the English Elizabethan society.
Shakespeare uses Shylock as a voice for the Jewish community and becomes a significant character when the power is constantly passed between him and Antonio because of their agreement. Antonio begins with the power when he spits in Shylocks face, which is the readers first encounter of racism, yet Shylock remains with power until the end where Portia saves the life of Antonio. Shakespeare uses Shylock to be critical of anti-Semitism by emphasising that Jews are human and commit good and bad as do Christians and does so through Shylocks powerful ‘Hath not a Jew eyes’ speech where Shylock is most vulnerable and mistreated and expresses his hurt. This speech is one of the most powerful parts as Shakespeare gives the Jewish community a platform to speak out about their mistreatment through a character. Shylock, however is eventually won over and is forced to become Christian which is very powerful in reflecting the views of society in the Elizabethan era.
One major similarity between Romeo & Juliet and The Merchant of Venice is the concept of alienation. It can be argued that Romeo and Juliet are in fact alienated by their gender roles and are so blinded in love by each other that they mindlessly ignore all that is around them. In a similar context, it can be argued that in the merchant of Venice, society is alienated and blinded by their racist stereotypical norms that when anti-Semitic acts are committed society see no wrong in their actions as the reasons for committing the act is a belief held by society as a whole and comes under the societal consensus.
In summary many of Shakespeare’s characters rebel against some sort of societal power and do so in different ways, the idea of societal power may also be enthused into a masculine figure or a more powerful figure dominating and impacting society.
Therefore, it can be argued that Shakespeare is critical of sexism and anti-Semitism to an extent where he aims to challenge society’s sociological problems through his characters and from the point of view of an observer of human life.
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