Stereotypes Of William Shakespeare In The 21st Century

Referred to worldwide as the poet who transformed the literary world, William Shakespeare lived at the peak of the English culture. (“poets.org” n. pag.) While he was loved around the world, Shakespeare started out as a commoner and worked his way up to fame and prosperity. After he died in 1616,Shakespeare managed to stay in the spotlight, because of his plays. “The prophecy of his great contemporary, the poet Ben Jonson, that Shakespeare ‘was not of an age, but for all time’” (Kuiper 1). William Shakespeare, the English national poet of the 15th century, transformed the literary world into what it is today with his memorable comedies (Kuiper 1).

Each sex has its’ specialty, both sexes must be equal; people in general must be equal. By studying Shakespeare and by going deeper through analyzing and getting preoccupied with, we learn how to “brainstorm” the people, the culture and the ethics of that era and create opinions and thoughts about those centuries. In my opinion, Shakespeare is a modern, a contemporary artist and writer of his era who “sends” and passes messages through his plays. Each one of us, the readers and learners of Shakespeare, creates a special, unique opinion about Shakespeare and literature in general. We do not all think in the same way, people are unique. In my opinion Shakespeare is a great writer, revolutionist for his era, not being afraid to write and express his thoughts, maybe because he had the “advantage” of being a man. We do not know what we would learn today if Shakespeare was a woman. Maybe somebody else would be the Shakespeare of that era, or just somebody of that

“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman,” Virginia Woolf once boldly stated. Though she was from a privileged background and was well educated, Woolf still felt she was faced with the oppression that women have been treated with for as far as history goes back. Her education allowed her to explore the works of the most celebrated authors, but one who she had a long and complicated relationship with was the Bard of Avon himself, William Shakespeare. As one of the most highly regarded and well studied authors of all time, Shakespeare has been elevated from mere playwright to a pillar of the British Empire, instrumental to the institutions that boasted British superiority. It is evident throughout Woolf’s writing that Shakespeare’s works were highly influential. Her novels frequently allude to his plays, most notably Orlando, Mrs. Dalloway, and also in her famous essay, A Room of One’s Own. Though Woolf admires Shakespeare’s androgyny (specifically in A Room of One’s Own), she also makes the case that his treatment of female characters does not allow for the women to be three-dimensional, therefore leaving them flat and lacking in depth. Even though for the most part Woolf’s assertion is correct, there are several examples in Shakespeare’s plays that suggest otherwise, namely in the play Othello. Additionally, in a similar vain, one could explore Shakespeare’s treatment of other minority groups in his works, such as Jews and anyone who is not English. Though it is easy to

Shakespeare writes about themes that are still relevant because his theme of gender is still seen in modern societies. In Macbeth gender is explored when Lady Macbeth questions her husband’s manhood in order to persuade him to kill Duncan. She says that if he can kill in war, he can kill now. Lady Macbeth also wishes that she could be unsexed. In modern societies we see that many people question their own gender and wish that they too could be of

William Shakespeare constantly filled his plays with cultural and mythological references that engulfed viewers in the story. He was well educated and progressive for his time; however he still had a few downfalls. His main one was that he often portrayed women as objects. Take Othello, for example; Desdemona is rarely seen as a person and often referred to as an object. Thus Shakespeare portrays women as mere possessions and deprives them of their humanity.

Shakespeare is one of the most famous dramatist and poet in England. His literature works have been translated into more than 80 languages. He is the England's pride, and the world's treasure because he not only helped to shape the English we use today, introducing up to 300 words and dozens of well-known phrases but also wrote plays that are known around the world for their universal themes and insight into the human condition. However historians don’t know his date of birth, where he was educated or how he spent seven years of his life and even the playwright of his play is a mystery.

Shakespeare's works have persistently influenced humanity for the past four hundred years. Quotations from his plays are used in many other works of literature and some common phrases have even become integrated into the English language. Most high schoolers have been unsuccessful in avoidance of him and college students are rarely afforded the luxury of choice when it comes to studying the bard. Many aspects of Shakespeare's works have been researched but one of the most popular topics since the 1960s has been the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies, histories and sonnets.

Many have heard of William Shakespeare, and many have seen or known his work without even knowing it was his. The playwright, poet, and actor was born April 23,1564. There has been a debate whether him and/or his plays and work are still relevant till this day. Shakespeare has a worldwide impact and his plays and their concept continue to illustrate the problems we are affected by today. Significantly, after first experiencing Shakespeare, many can already notice that he has the potential to speak out various emotions some cannot find words to express and experiences we encounter time to time.

If you were to read today’s headlines you might think that gender roles and gender identity are a modern concern. However, the part that gender and the roles assigned to the different genders play, is a topic at least as old as Shakespeare’s time. Because, the Bard himself addresses this very issue when we look deeper into his play, Macbeth. Lady Macbeth must be manlier when she feels her husband is too feminine in his manner and actions.

In order to first understand the world Shakespeare wrote from and about, I will briefly discuss the male/female dichotomy within the Renaissance. Gender distinctions can be traced throughout Western history, but it is in a new conception of the family in the sixteenth century that patriarchy gains

Imagine living 400 hundred years ago and you were thought less of a man. Man that would be hard for us 20th century girls! During the time of Shakespeare women were be seen as the weaker sex. They had little control over there destinations and always depended on males. Men on the other hand were seen as tough beings and expected to take care of everything. Shakespeare's prove these gender roles wrong throughout his writings. One of his writings is Macbeth. All through this play women were looked as fragile and insulted each other not being manly enough. Over all Shakespeare saw women as extremely powerful beings even if society neglected them. He act knowledge them throughout his work and proved they were not always scapegoats or the tools

The Word of the Day presentation of the all female Henry IV exemplifies how easily Shakespeare’s play fits into modern America, feminism, and LGBTQ rights. Henry IV is primarily concerned with masculinity, but the play includes many scenes displaying the relationship between the men and their

Subsequently, Written in the ages of containment and high standards towards women, exemplified in William Shakespeare's comedic playwright,

Shakespeare and the members of the Elizabethan era would be appalled at the freedoms women experience today.  The docility of Elizabethan women is almost a forgotten way of life. What we see throughout Shakespeare’s plays is an insight into the female character as perceived by Elizabethan culture.  Shakespeare’s female characters reflect the Elizabethan era’s image of women; they were to be virtuous and obedient and those that were not were portrayed as undesirable and even evil.