Why is Romeo Sad and Upset about Rosaline?

Struggles with Society’s Expectations

A man feels trapped and unimportant. He is out of place because he doesn’t fit in with society: he is homosexual. He tries to fit in, but he fails. He simply tries to exist, but society forces its beliefs down his throat, especially in his professional life. This is exactly how Shakespeare felt. He was not accepted by those around him, and he felt as though he didn’t belong. Since he was not able to express his emotions publicly, he expressed his homosexuality through Romeo’s relationships while still trying to keep it secret.

Shakespeare was angry that he couldn’t show who he was, so he hid it in the plays and poems that he wrote as a way of releasing them. Many external factors forced Shakespeare to suppress his homosexuality because it was not widely accepted during his time, leading to him projecting his feelings through Romeo and Juliet.

Romeo’s Hidden Emotions: “Romeo Sad”

Romeo, similarly to Shakespeare, hid his emotions from others and was treated poorly compared to other people. In act one, scene three of Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse’s husband says: “… You’ll fall backward when you grow smarter. Won’t you, Jule…” (Shakespeare). This proves that a woman’s intelligence was frowned upon as it took away from their attractiveness. If that is how women were treated, homosexuals were treated much worse. It was a crime at the time to be homosexual. In act one, scene three of Romeo and Juliet, Lady Capulet says: “…Here in Verona there are girls younger than you… who have already become mothers…” (Shakespeare). From the beginning, a man is taught to marry a woman, get a stable job, and have children, despite their happiness. A homosexual relationship would go against everything a man is taught. Shakespeare did exactly that: he married a woman, got a stable job, and had children. He did what society expected of him, but he was too scared to go against that. He wasn’t happy with his lifestyle and the fact that he had to hide his homosexuality, which he represented through Romeo and Juliet.

Homosexuality in “Romeo and Juliet”: “Romeo Upset about Rosaline”

Shakespeare’s homosexuality is expressed through many of his plays; Romeo and Juliet is a big representative. The Prologue of Romeo and Juliet says: “Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean… a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life…” (Shakespeare). The violence between the two families represents Shakespeare’s internal strife between his wife and his homosexuality. Romeo and Juliet, just like a homosexual relationship, aren’t supposed to be together, according to the people of the time. Romeo and Mercutio’s relationship was briefly touched on, even though they were best friends. Mercutio was constantly making fun of Romeo for his actions of love and expressed his own opinions on them (Bacchiocchi). Shakespeare did not share anything about his homosexuality in plain sight to the public, but he tried to represent it through Romeo and Mercutio. Shakespeare had to hide his affair due to having a wife, just like how Romeo had to hide his relationship with Mercutio from Juliet. Romeo loved and cared about Mercutio and was heavily impacted when he lost him.

Complex Emotions: Anger, Love, and Guilt

Anger is shown through conflicts and fights between the Montagues and Capulets. “He is alive and victorious, and Mercutio’s dead?… It’s time for rage to guide my actions. Now, Tybalt, you can call me ‘villain’ the way you did before…” (Shakespeare). After Mercutio was killed, Romeo was infuriated. The death of Mercutio meant that Romeo couldn’t be with someone that he loved. Shakespeare was also in this situation; he was angry that he could not love who he wanted to love due to the expectations and difficulties of his time. During the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio, Mercutio shows anger by insulting Tybalt and purposely ignoring Romeo, telling him to put his sword down. Even as Romeo tries to stop him and protect him, he refuses so that Romeo wouldn’t be put in harm’s way. Shakespeare hides his emotions through anger to protect both himself and the man he is in love with. Shakespeare and Romeo are juggling two relationships at once, and they are upset that it must be that way.

Along with anger, Shakespeare and Romeo feel the emotion of love in the complicated situations they are in. It is shown both through Shakespeare’s relationships and through Romeo’s relationships. In act two, scene six, Romeo says: “…love-destroying death can do whatever it pleases…” (Shakespeare). This shows how Romeo would die for love; he puts his life in the hands of love and gives up his control. Since Shakespeare was juggling two relationships at once, just like Romeo, he wanted to get a divorce from his wife. During his time, it was incredibly difficult to get a divorce; once you were married, you were stuck (David Bevington). After Lady Capulet informs Juliet that she will marry Paris, Juliet says: “…when I do marry, I swear, it will be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris…” (Shakespeare). Juliet loves Romeo even though they are not supposed to be together. Romeo loves Juliet, but he also loves Mercutio, and they are not supposed to be together either. Shakespeare loves a man while still in a relationship with his wife. Due to expectations, he is not supposed to be with him, but this makes him love him even more. Their anger and love create a sense of guilt, which could have heavy consequences.

Once Being in a relationship that is not supposed to exist cause people to feel guilty and possibly cause harm to themselves, Romeo figures out that Juliet is “dead.” He bought poison and said: “… I’ll take this mixture, which is a medicine, not a poison, to Juliet’s grave. That’s where I must use it” (Shakespeare). Romeo felt guilty that he was not with Juliet and was upset that he had lost another person he loved. He was ready to kill himself out of guilt. Shakespeare put himself in harm’s way when he moved away from his family because he felt guilty for the illegal affair he had. Before Juliet stabs herself with Romeo’s dagger, she says: “…Rust inside my body and let me die” (Shakespeare). Juliet felt bad that Romeo was not informed of the plan Friar Lawrence created and killed herself without a second thought. Shakespeare’s wife had no clue what he was doing or where exactly he was, even though they were married until the day Shakespeare died (David Bevington). Shakespeare knew this and felt guilty for what he was doing without his wife knowing. He was hiding his sexuality from his wife. Some people believe that Shakespeare did not show his sexuality through Romeo and Juliet, even with all the evidence that has been shown.

Shakespeare might have been homosexual, but he did not represent that through Romeo and Juliet. “Though many perceive an undertone of homoeroticism between Mercutio and Romeo, the tradition of male friendship in the Renaissance provides the framework for interpreting their relationship to be platonic” (Bacchiocchi). This shows that Romeo and Mercutio did not have any kind of homosexual relationship and that they had a completely platonic relationship with each other. Shakespeare did not represent his homosexuality through Romeo and Juliet but was homosexual and represented it in other ways, possibly through other writings. “…Many of Mercutio’s overly sexual acts do not label him as in love with his best friend but rather show confidence in his own heterosexuality” (Bacchiocchi). Mercutio shows signs of slight flirting with Romeo, but he is not in love with him. He is comfortable with his sexuality and does not mind acting as if he is in love with Romeo. Shakespeare created a character that loves being the center of attention and has a huge personality (Shmoop). It is possible that he did this to make people ponder over his sexuality since Mercutio is a very “out there” character. Shakespeare, even though some disagree, represented his sexuality through Romeo and Juliet.

References:

1. Shakespeare, William. “Romeo and Juliet.” Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine, Folger Shakespeare Library, 2003.

2. Bacchiocchi, Emily C. “Romeo and Mercutio’s Relationship: Is It Homoerotic or Platonic?” The Oswald Review: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Criticism in the Discipline of English, vol. 13, 2011, pp. 29-39.

3. David Bevington. “Shakespeare’s Marriage.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 4, 1997, pp. 401-423.

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