Analysis Of Shakespeare 's ' The Winter 's Tale '

Although men were generally portrayed as independent and strong, towards the end of the play, 2 dominant male characters went from being the controlling ones to the submissive ones offering their apologies for their stupidity. “What should I say, sweet lady? I was enforced to send it after him; I was beset with shame and courtesy” (5.1, 213-14). This this scene, once again the women were portrayed as strong and dependent while the men were weak and submissive. To conclude, although the stereotypical role of a women in Shakespeare’s era was to be submissive, Shakespeare challenged this and portrayed woman such as Jessica to be strong and independent. On the other hand, men were portrayed as the opposite of women as they were begging for

Shakespeare uses language to explore the controversial gender roles. His use of two distinctively opposing female

Gender stereotypes are not a modern notion and as such expectations and limitations have always existed for both men and women. Fortunately women, who have formerly beared great burdens of discrimination, now have very liberated roles in society as a result of slowly shifting attitudes and values. Shakespeare was integral in challenging the subservient role expected of women in the 16th century. Throughout the play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, women are expressed as powerful characters who behave, speak and live in a way that breaks away from the conformist role of females during the 16th century. Therefore, the submissive stereotype expected of women in Shakespearean time is confronted and defied through

In the words of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, “Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are”. Even though in this day and age, this is a concept almost every women can agree on, in the age of Shakespeare, it was a belief women would not dare support. Today, there are still several misogynistic issues that all women struggle with, and it is very evident that the misogyny present in Denmark during the Middle Ages was much more suppressive and aggressive. In Hamlet, Shakespeare explores the idea of male chauvinism in the 17th century and how it forcefully and severely distorts the lives of the female characters in Hamlet in different ways. Specifically, he depicts how the actions, views, and criticism

The theme of gender is evidently explored in the Shakespearean play ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ through the relationship of Petruchio and Katherine. Gender solely determines power in the Elizabethan times. Women were expected to be obedient and submissive, they were not to have an opinion or voice. “If I be waspish,

Throughout history, a system of patriarchy and sexism has over time replicated itself across the world. From this system of male-superiority, emerged misogyny. Referring to the hatred or dislike of women, misogyny has taken many different forms throughout William Shakespeare’s published works. In specific, Shakespeare’s play Hamlet features various examples of misogyny, portrayed by the tragic hero Hamlet and his relationships with the women in his life. This underlying theme of misogyny heavily influences his course of action, and contributes nothing but conflict between his female counterparts and himself.

The works of William Shakespeare have long been used as a sources for areas of gender studies. Gender and sexuality are two notable themes in Shakespeare’s plays that are generally either used as tools of manipulation, forms of propaganda, and sometimes a mixture of both, depending on the genre of the play. These plays tend to reflect the social situation of the women who live through the Elizabethan Age. During the Renaissance, social construct of gender and sexuality norms are a part of society just as they are today. The assignment of gender roles in society reflects a gender hierarchy. While his works explore and often support the social constructs of femininity, “he is also a writer who questions, challenges, and modifies those representations” (Gerlach, et al).

Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, reflects some of the societal issues that had plagued his time, most notably the imbalance of the standards between men and women. Hamlet’s attitude and actions towards women reveal the effects of a patriarchal society. In addition, it highlights the inward struggle Hamlet faces in finding the balance between his femininity and abiding to the standards of their society. Hamlet’s poor treatment of women helps pave the way for awareness of the social injustice, dysfunctional relationships and miscommunications that contribute toward the tragic ending.

When observing gender in our society, women and men are stereotyped with specific roles. Men have always been seen as the family’s main source of income whereas the women take care of their home and children. However, Shakespeare challenges these gender roles in his play with the three female characters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. While all three are independent, powerful women and even lead their armies into battle, the men seem to be foolish and weak such as King Lear and Albany. Furthermore, Mira cel Batran makes a point in her essay, “Feminist Reading of William Shakespeare’s King Lear”, that although women are regarded as dependent on men, Shakespeare explains that it can be the exact opposite. The men seem to depend on the women such as King Lear depending on Cordelia and Albany depending on Goneril. Shakespeare, in his play, King Lear, portrays women who are strong and intelligent and men who are weak or overpowered by female characters, challenging the societal belief that women are inherently less than or dependent on men.

In The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare reveals the flaws in gender and class roles by pointing out the flaws in when women always listen to men. For everyone that has strict parents or been in a relationship you understand these examples, the man(dad) is the boss, the women obey the man, and class roles are determined by society. Shakespeare challenges through many situations, the class and gender roles that are determined by society.

Shakespeare and Webster represent the female characters in ‘Hamlet’ and ‘The duchess of Malfi’ by using general themes such as the patriarchy and the social control, the female identity and its independence, this institution of marriage, the expressions of sexuality and finally women shown to be either conformist or transgressive. Men were firmly in control in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era, and the expectations for women were to stay home, cook, clean and raise a family. Women’s status and roles were subject to the Tyranny of patriarchy, they were given strict disciplinary rules to follow whether by law or unspoken norms to prevent from rebellion. Women’s rights were restricted, legally, socially and economically, unlike today were women are more powerful and independent. Today women and men are seen to be equal and women can do pretty much everything a man can do (voting, working, becoming president) although there are many people still today who disagree with women having these rights.

    Without a doubt, Shakespeare’s Elizabethan era was a time where women suffered greatly from misogyny, especially that which was told by the Church. An example of the

The age of Shakespeare was characterized by an overwhelming tendency for women to be looked down upon as the inferior gender. Women of the time were expected to be submissive, dutiful, obedient, and predominantly silent. The idea of an independent, out-spoken woman would have challenged all of the societal values of the time. Shakespeare, however, challenged the traditional patriarchal values of his time by introducing powerful and highly influential female characters in some of his most memorable plays.

Shakespeare’s plays often share some of the same themes: greed, guilt, good and evil, unrequited or forbidden love. Perhaps the most overlooked theme is the plight of women in the time of Shakespeare. In a notoriously patriarchal part of history, the role of women was taboo subject matter; however, Shakespeare had no qualms about commenting on the female condition in his works. In his play Richard III, Shakespeare very clearly details the ways in which women suffer and their options for handling it. The women in the play are some of the few characters left after power-hungry Richard slaughters everyone in his path to the crown, and Shakespeare ingeniously incorporates the powerlessness of women into this complicated power struggle. In his play Richard III, Shakespeare uses his female characters to convey Richard’s talent for manipulation, foreshadow the hardships of other characters, and, after they cultivate their desire for vengeance, uses them to ultimately strip Richard of the same abilities he possessed earlier in the play.

In Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale”, we see a jealous king convinced he is search of the truth. He will expose his wife and her alleged philandering, but his determination to prove this actually changes this search from one for truth to one for myths—creations, false truths. In essence. Leontes runs into the conflict of defining art versus nature, where art is the view of the world he constructs to prove his paranoia true. Nature itself can exist without art, but the art here is the mangled perception through which Leontes will seek to define Nature. In summation, “The Winter’s Tale” investigates the conflict between art and nature—creation versus enhancement—and seeks to find out if