Thinking about Romeo killing himself through poison (more passive, “woman’s weapon) Vs Juliet having to kill herself with a knife (more active, images of falling on your sword, typically masculine concepts)
It does mean something! Shakespeare turns the “normal” gender roles on its head with the portrayal of Romeo and Juliet. For the most part, Juliet is level-headed and logical while Romeo is impulsive and driven by emotion. Juliet mostly monologues her thoughts whereas Romeo laments his feelings. Take the scene where Juliet is about to drink the Friar’s potion! She talks out her fears, mulling over possible outcomes. Now consider the scene where Romeo has killed Tybalt and is waiting to hear the Prince’s verdict. He’s hysterical and becomes even more inconsolable when he learns he’s been banished. He even takes out his dagger and threatens to take his life right then and there in front of Friar Lawrence. He’s crying so much that Friar Lawrence berates him and tells him to knock it off, be a man!
There’s even been a period of time where productions of Romeo and Juliet forced them into stereotypical gender roles, taking out how emotional Romeo was written to be. The podcast Shakespeare Unlimited by the Folger Shakespeare Library did a great episode on this topic!
“Romeo and Juliet Through the Ages”
YES! And the links between this and the idea of masculinity harboured by the people of Verona, which is defined by violence!
there’s also a really great essay on this by Marlena Tronicke from her book Shakespeare’s Suicides: Dead Bodies That Matter—here’s the link to the R&J chapter
additional fun fact: romeo and horatio are the only male shakespeare characters to attempt suicide by poison, which has some Interesting Implications