Shakespeare Vs Chaste

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's world was different than the modern world by the way women were treated. In the article "Elizabeth's England", by Utah Shakespeare Society, it says "women were still relatively powerless under the law". This is very different than today's world. Women then couldn't perform theater or do many things. They were just supposed to take care of the house. Today women have a lot more freedom. Women can get an education, and get a career that they want. Women are able to participate in government and vote. In the modern world, women are able to perform on stage.

These double standards are as illogical as any other is. They, and the practices that led to them, have luckily fallen to the wayside. Shakespeare’s capture of these double standards in his work allows modern humanity to look at them, and see how little sense they make. Humanity should apply this understanding to the double standards which plague it

Women did not always live the life of the underlying sex. Some women were just as equal as the men. For example, Randloph Almasy treated his daughter with the same respect as he would want to be treated. He gave her tender, love and care. He taught her the good and the bad in the world and showed her what being a real man was. There are many men out there, during the Elizabethan Era that knew that women were just human too. There was no need to be rude and cause them so much pain. About one in every thousand men, knew that women are to be loved and cared

In Shakespeare’s era, women were treated and viewed a lot differently than they are today. In most cases, they were viewed as property, and treated as such. For example, think back to act one scene one, when Egeus is reporting Hermia to Theseus for not obeying him. He says “Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me, To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke, Be it so she; will not here before your grace Consent to marry with Demetrius, I beg the ancient privilege of Athens, As she is mine, I may dispose of her: Which shall be either to this gentleman Or to her death, according to our law Immediately provided in that case.” There are many themes of sexism in this play, which include, but are not limited to, women being asked to be treated

Shakespeare begins by placing men over women through the use of marriage. In this society, marriage was used strictly for money, wealth, and social standings. Women were not allowed to choose who they married, their father’s chose, so not only do the men only marry

Finally becoming more accepted and commonplace around the world, homosexuality and heteronormativity in history and literature are still taboo topics. Without a blatant confession, people are wont to assume the heterosexuality of beloved authors and historical figures, ignoring the fact that any homosexuality in these figures had to have been done in secret to avoid punishment as severe as death. This bias towards heteronormativity can even distort obvious expressions of homosexual tendencies in authors even as prolific as Shakespeare. Shakespeare, who is suspected of lusting after another man named Henry Wriothesley, writes numerous poems dedicated to the golden young man in Sonnets. In “Sonnet 135,” Shakespeare writes a poem dedicated to

According to the article called "Elizabeth's England," by the Utah Shakespeare Company, "... marraige, was often arranged to bring wealth or prestige to the family, with little regards to the weds feelings." Conversely, nowadays we have freedom and we can marry whom ever we want. In shakespeares world women were nothing compared to men women were not allowed to be in a play or act. So men played all female parts. In the modern world we have had a female run for president, women have the right to vote and they can be apart of any job and

Cold, hard facts from pre-feminism history have shown us that women were always considered meek, subservient and secondary to men in society. In a patriarchal society such as the Elizabethan era, where most of Shakespeare’s works were written, the objectification and degradation of women are evident through the treatment of the female characters in the plays Othello and The Tempest. Desdemona, the tragic heroine of Othello, embodies what others would call the ‘perfect woman’. She fulfills all the expectations and ideals of an Elizabethan woman : loyal, innocent, submissive and not to mention, extraordinarily beautiful. From the beginning of the play before she even makes an appearance, she is introduced and treated as a possession.

Shakespeare wrote a lot of self-suffient and intelligent female characters. According to (bartleby.com)some critics and other readers of Shakespeare’s plays argue that he treat the women with zero respect. But, he really treats them with a huge amount of respect. They think this for a few reasons. The women in his plays usually die in a tragic death. The play Julius Caesar Portia ( Julius Caesar ) wide kills herself by swallowing hot coals. Portia was respected in

The first thing one should consider while analyzing Shakespeare’s writing is the social norms of his time. As any writer most likely is Shakespeare’s plays and other writings including the work The Merchant of Venice are influenced by the world he lives in. This is a time where patriarchal views were the only ones heard. Although the female characters in the play may have more agency Shakespeare writes these witty and willed women to be submissive to these men. To give historical context the essay Women According to Men: The World of Tudor-Stuart Women by Suzanne W. Hull put very well the existence of women in the Renaissance era. “When England was ruled for half a century by Queens but women had almost no legal power; When marriage, a woman's main vocation, cost them their personal property rights; when the ideal woman was rarely seen and never heard in public; when the clothes a women wore were legally dictated by her social class; when almost all school teachers were men; when medicine was prepared and purified at home; when corsets were constructed of wood and cosmetics made of bacon and eggs; when only half of all babies survived to adulthood?" (Hull 15). As this passage illustrates the role of women was a very scarce role. They were supposed to only be seen and never heard. Women were expected to always be prim and proper. Upper-class women were able to speak their minds but their ideas and thoughts were shaped by men. A woman could not do or think much without input given by men. A woman was controlled by her father from the day she is born until the day she is married, from which she would then be handed directly to a husband to control her in that role. Women legally belonged to their husbands during the Renaissance. Women were always expected to be to be devoted ‘housewives.' These ideas, although it may

Gender and sexuality are both prominent themes in Shakespeare’s plays. Depending on the the play, a character might use their gender as a tool to manipulation of the those around them, a form of sexist propaganda or both. During the Elizabethan era, when Shakespeare was alive and writing plays, there was a social construct of “normal” for both gender and sexuality just as there is today. There was a hierarchy of sexes. There was male and female because it was the 14th and 15th centuries and the idea of someones gender not matching their biological sex was absurd and both had their own role in society. Men were masculine, strong and hard working, the leaders and figureheads of society even though the monarch at the time was a Queen. Women, however, were meant for the home, they were practically owned by the men in their lived and ruled by their emotions. By creating confusion around sex and gender in his plays, Shakespeare disregards what would be considered “normal” in the society he lived in and changed the way women are portrayed in theatre and other forms of media today. Men can play the role of women or be effeminate, and did in his time when it was illegal and undignified for a woman to be on stage, and women can play male/masculine roles both without compromising their biological sex.  Richard III, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and As You Like It all show how Shakespeare uses sexuality and gender to affect the plots of his plays

The women in the play are positive, optimistic, clever and brave, especially Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. They seem to be such “merry” but actually they are faithful to their family and love. At that time, the society put women at a very low status, and they had to obey their parents and husbands and had no rights to speak. The new female image that Shakespeare had built up is the biggest strike to the feudal thought. In the play, they also fight against men which he was looking forward to a bright society. This kind of new female image is a representation of

Many males think it was okay to mistreat their wives, sisters, daughters, and even mothers. And during the 16th century this was seen as a way of life, something normal and acceptable to do. Not many people at this time would stand up for the rights of female, as it was seen as rude and just not right to stand up for a woman's life. During this time, books and plays were a great source for us to understand the mindset of many people, and if they supported or pushed an equal society. When reading Othello, By William Shakespeare, In the play the reader can see that he was not a sexist: the main three females in the play were seen as important and contributed tremendously towards the plot of the play. The readers see Shakespeare pushing the ideology of men and women being equal with the slow occurrence of many plots towards the play, and how it all unravels itself. These were proven in the play by when; women's voices and opinions being suppressed, men being able to hold females as property, the double standard of males and females. With these three the reader is able to see shakespeare bringing to light many issues that females dealt in the 16th century. He tries to wake the people of the 16th century, with messages in his plays for people to learn and understand the other side of the story.

In this Critical Review, I will talk about the taboo of “Virginity” which regulated female sexuality in the age of Shakespeare. Tracing the developments in the Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare, I will discuss the various allusions which Shakespeare employed to describe virginity in his plays. I will conclude by presenting the contemporary view of feminist criticism ofShakespeare.