Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most famous love story of all time, featuring two ‘star crossed lovers’ whose brief but intense affair ends in tragedy. It is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, and the protagonists have become archetypal young lovers, representing certain notions of masculine and feminine identity.

How and why do writers construct such notions of gender identity? One way is through characterisation – the process of representing a fictional character in a text. We will use Romeo and Juliet to examine this concept before moving on to more modern popular magazine articles and media representations of masculinity and femininity. We will also learn how gender roles have changed across time and place.

Key & Related Concepts

IDENTITY - Audience Imperatives, Character