Starting with this extract, explore how Shakespeare presents aggressive male behaviour in Romeo and Juliet.
Extract
SAMPSON.
My naked weapon is out: quarrel, I will back thee.
GREGORY.
How? Turn thy back and run?
SAMPSON.
Fear me not.
GREGORY.
No, marry; I fear thee!
SAMPSON.
Let us take the law of our sides; let them begin.
GREGORY.
I will frown as I pass by, and let them take it as they list.
SAMPSON.
Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them, which is disgrace to them if they bear it.
ABRAM.
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
SAMPSON.
I do bite my thumb, sir.
ABRAM.
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
SAMPSON.
Is the law of our side if I say ay?
GREGORY.
No.
SAMPSON.
No sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir; but I bite my thumb, sir.
Throughout the tragic play of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare presents aggressive male behaviour as a form of false bravado and a desire to dominate. He explores this dynamic through the stereotypical male characters who are chauvinistic and epitomise male aggression.
This is a three part thesis, setting out the essay plan. It says ‘I will show that the men exhibit false bravado, a desire to dominate, and sexism’. All that is missing is the ‘why’ – is Shakespeare critical or supportive?
This can be seen from the outset in act one, scene one when Sampson states “my naked weapon is out . Quarrel I will back thee”. Here, “naked weapon” may portray the extent of men’s excessive machismo in order to convey an aggressive tone. While “weapon” may literally depict a sword, “naked” may depict Sampson’s weapon as an allusion to the male genitalia. This phallic imagery may suggest that in the face of conflict, men allude to sex to reinforce their sense of dominance, invoking the dominance of their gender in the Elizabethan era. Their ‘naked weapons’ therefore reflect their subjugation of women.
AO2 scores highly here, by interpreting the implication of single words. It scores even higher because these quotations are linked.
As usual, the inclusion of tentative language, here ‘may’, shows that the answer is exploratory and critical in Level 6.
Subject terminology is not about parts of speech, but words which are necessary to writing about interpretations. These include portray, convey, depict, allusion, suggest, invoking, reflect. See if you ca spot examples of other words in each paragraph.
This tone implies the control they possess over others. Shakespeare may be commenting on men’s ability to only solve conflict through aggressive means such as battles and fights. Furthermore, Sampson playfully builds on the sexual allusion of his “naked weapon” , claiming that “[he] will be civil with the maids.[He] will cut off their heads”. This crude innuendo clarifies the themes of sex and aggression to go hand in hand specifically for the male characters.
AO2 is really impressive here, as the earlier quotations are linked to further quotations. These are both linked to interpretation. Even better if we know, rather than assume, that Shakespeare is critical of men, rather than more neutrally ‘commenting’.
AO1 References are awarded marks with the more moments or quotations you build into your essay. You can see this skill of linking in AO2 automatically gives you a high AO1 mark too.
Alternatively, a sword during the Elizabethan era was seen as a status symbol. So Sampson, being only a Capulet servant, may be hesitant to ‘quarrel’ with other men, and thus instructs Gregory to begin the argument, promising to ‘back thee’. Ultimately , Shakespeare may employ this sexual imagery from the first scene to set the expectation of the aggression to follow.
AO3 Interpreting a play’s structure counts as an analysis of context. This is also linked to quotation again to keep the essay scoring highly for AO2 and AO1 references.
Later in the extract, Abram asks “do you bite your thumb at us sir?” Sampson replies, “I do not bite my thumb at you sir, but I bite my thumb, sir.” Here, Shakespeare may use “bite my thumb” to refer to an offensive symbolic gesture in the Elizabethan era. This rather immature tone may depict the men as hungry for conflict as Shakespeare comments on the act of biting. The immaturity also suggests their cowardly nature, thus revealing the false bravado of these foolish young men. The verb ‘bite’ may represent the power they believe they hold over their rivals, juxtaposing their true weakness.
AO2 Level 6. In practice the examiner only needs one Level 6 example for each of the Assessment Objectives in order to put grade the essay in the top band. Here you can see how there are several interpretations of “bite”. These are all linked together and, most importantly, they are linked to Shakespeare’s purpose, to criticise male aggression. This continues in the next paragraph.
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