...Shakespeare's Attitude Toward Women in "Othello" A quick summary of the play can be found here. Shakespeare was always wary of women and careful to give them respect, which is obvious when reading Othello. The society of Othello is strongly dominated by men who are the political and military leaders of their homeland. These men are expected to stay loyal to their reputations and to uphold the strong sense of character that earned them their positions in the first place. Women on the other hand, are thought of as weak second-class citizens or even defective males, who are in place for nothing more than to serve their men. The captivating thing about Othello is Shakespeare’s upheaval of these expectations, demonstrating his malaise over the way gender relationships were so often represented. The monstrous actions and subsequent downfall of the men in Othello show how no one is above being corrupted and how men are not nearly as powerful as they seem. The resolve of the female characters demonstrates their capacities to do much more than simply serve. Furthermore, by the end of the play, I believe the men of Othello are not the ones who represent strength; instead, this title goes to the women. From the way the play begins, women seem like nothing more than affectionate wives and pawns in Iago’s evil scheme. Emilia claims, “I nothing, but to please his fantasy,” (Norton Ed., 2157) referring to Iago, as she snatches up Desdemona’s handkerchief in order...
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...William Shakespeare William Shakespeare is one of the most famous men who ever lived, yet much of his life is a mystery to us. When he died people knew very little about him. He never kept a diary and none of his personal work was ever found. The only things people really knew about him was his poems, business transactions, court papers, and his will. We know a little about his family and the date on which his baptism was registered, but no one knows exactly when he was born. When he died his friends and fellow writers left information in their books and letters about him, but we still to this day do not know if they are entirely true. Some people may find Shakespeare to be controversial in the aspect how he portrays women. The women do not play the traditional role that people were used to seeing in their society. The men in Elizabethan England were in charge of the social power, political power, and arranged marriages. In a lot of Shakespeare’s plays women played a powerful role and break away from the...
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...Shakespearean Women (Analysis on the treatment of women by Shakespeare) The role of women in society has changed drastically over time. The expectations and responsibilities varied depending upon the culture and area you lived. An analysis of the majority of women's roles globally around the time of Shakespeare was that similar to a slave. A woman belonged to her husband, and most times she was actually bought from her father by her newly betrothed. A woman's job was to do as her husband bid her and fill the house with children. Women had different duties depending on which class they were in, but overall women had little to no rights no matter what class they were in. Educating women on matters outside the home was a frightening idea, and...
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...Shakespeare the Sexist: A View into the Misogynistic Opinions of Shakespeare, and His Interpretation of Women You’re a woman? Well good for you, because that means you hold no value in this play. In the tragedy Hamlet, written by Shakespeare, there is a clear difference between the roles of women and men in the play. Many of these differences stand in stark contrast to what normal expectations of a female role are. Viewing the play through a feminist perspective, many of the elements regarding women contain evidence of misogynistic behavior. Shakespeare has taken no precautions in revealing the depth of his sexist views on females in the tragedy Hamlet. Through the insinuation that women are supportive characters, Shakespeare shows how...
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...gave to a college audience back in the late 1920’s. The six chapters within the essay focus on three main concepts, women, fiction, and facts. Virginia Woolf argues financial freedom, independence, and original thoughts will not only allow women to write, but to live a lifestyle of their own. In Chapter three, on page 48, Virginia Woolf says, “Be that as it may, I could not help thinking, as I looked at the works of Shakespeare on the shelf, that the bishop was right at least in this; it would have been impossible, completely and entirely, for any woman to have written the plays of Shakespeare in the age of Shakespeare. Let me imagine, since facts are so hard to come by, what would have happened had Shakespeare had a wonderfully gifted sister, called Judith, let us say”. This statement emphasizes the theme that Virginia Woolf references throughout the essay; women were treated unequally in society (during this time in age) and thus didn’t have the freedom, time, or money to compose the type of writings men were capable of. After re-reading the first part of the phrase again, “Be that as it may, I could not help thinking, as I looked at the works of Shakespeare on the shelf, that the bishop was right at least in this; it would have been impossible, completely and entirely, for any woman to have written the plays of Shakespeare in the age of Shakespeare,” it seems this part of the paragraph directly aligns with her theme of inequality. Talent, education, and time all...
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...portrays beauty as having flawless skin, long hair and exquisite tans. Women try to mirror this “ideal” image of beauty by using tanning beds, hair extensions and pounds of expensive makeup. However, in the Elizabethan era, being beautiful was declared as having distinct pale skin, bright eyes, colorful lips and cheeks and hair in a mesmeric up do. Having a colorless tint of the skin was said to show nobility and power. The more pale a person’s skin was, the more accepted they were in the Elizabethan society. Women often functioned behind the scenes of their husbands. They were urged to be obedient and virginal. Women were often accessories to the men in every aspect...
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...'Carol Ann Duffy's 'Anne Hathaway' presents a challenge to stereotypical ideas of women as the weaker sex.' How far do you agree with this statement? Carol Ann Duffy's 'Anne Hathaway' calls into question whether or not Carol Ann Duffy is challenging the stereotypical ideas of women as the weaker sex. In this essay I will be analysing Duffy's 'Anne Hathaway' and making my own assumption as to whether or not Carol Ann Duffy challenges stereotypes or not. Carol Ann Duffy uses 'Anne Hathaway' to challenge the stereotypical themes that have been picked out by female literary critics, these themes are: the immoral and dangerous seductress, the eternally dissatisfied shrew, the cute but essentially helpless woman, and the unworldly, self-sacrificing angel. In Duffy's poem, Anne Hathaway doesn't fit into any of the stereotypes of a woman. In the Elizabethan times, the husband owned all possessions, which included the wife and all possessions that she held dear to her, in other words, the husband had complete control over the wife and the household. Duffy's poem 'Anne Hathaway' doesn't challenge the stereotypical ideas of women as the weaker sex, as Shakespeare has to bequeath their marital bed to Hathaway, for her to cherish - “Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed...” The husband owning the wife's possessions and herself, is stereotypical of the male patriarchy that was around in the Elizabethan times, that with standing, the same patriarchy can be found in today's society...
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...It is often thought that Shakespeare was telling his audience that women should be “possessions” in his play, “Taming of the Shrew.” However, some argue that he is expressing the idea that man’s dominance and need for control is too extreme. In reality, Shakespeare expresses his opinion through the final words of Katherine. Many professionals can testify that Shakespeare’s time period was full of violence and malice toward women. With that in mind, it more than likely that he shared those same opinions. To ensure that we understand Shakespeare’s viewpoint on women, we must understand that his belief in women as possessions stemmed from the society and culture that he was raised and lived in. Let’s first consider Kate’s final dialogue in the play. She states in lines 164-165 “Such duty as the subject owes the prince, Even such a woman oweth to her husband.” Kate’s dialogue suggests that Shakespeare believed women were property because she...
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...have make love with beautiful women, to create more beautiful people in this world is one is expressed in Shakespeare ‘s sonnet. This famous man had a way to do it and did it in such a way; it should be considered an art form. Shakespeare’s ability to pour out emotions and his use of word play has transcended through the years. Many of his works can still be seen in modern day media. The sonnets that I have found fascinating are Sonnets 18 and Sonnet 130. What made me want to analyze these sonnets is because many people associate Shakespeare with romance. After reading these pieces of literature one can see this in these two sonnets exemplify such qualities. A major theme in sonnet 18 that can be felt is a love, lust, and endearment. These sonnets may have similar themes where a woman is central point, he is able to contrast and contradict his own work. In Sonnet 18 Shakespeare compares a woman to a summer’s day, which is full of life and enjoyment. Although this is true, it can be said that Shakespeare is writing the poem about himself. In sonnet 130 Shakespeare changes the dynamic of how sonnets are written. Usually sonnets put women on a pedestal, but in 130 he approach is different. I believe he does this as a joke and to be different from conventional sonnets. Shakespeare ability to speak the truth and portray it eloquently has allowed people to express oneself. In sonnet 18 Shakespeare compares the physical and emotional features of a women to objects in our daily lives...
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...What is the definition of being a man or a women? Women were seen as lesser beings during the time period of Shakespeare but he decided to show them as strong and influential. In William Shakespeare's play “Macbeth“, Shakespeare shows the challenges of the ideas of traditional gender roles, like power, masculinity, and leadership. In act 1 there is a quote that I believe is a good example for my thesis. Lady macbeth finishes reading the letter of the witches prophecy and then says “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/Make thick my blood“ (1.5.47-54). she is calling the "spirits" to make her into a man that she believes her husband can't be. She refuses to act how her society suggests she should. Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as ruthless and evil instead of obedient and nurturant, which is how females are usually seen as....
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...in a midsummer night's dream women are portrayed as characters that will do almost anything for love, even when they are not under a spell. the women characters in this play are shown to be very gullible, and are all greatly effected by the love spell. women are manipulated a lot in this play. friendships built upon more solid foundations crumble when attacked by the artillery of petty jealousies or when undermined by misunderstandings, which creates a complicated portrayal of women and their relationships with one another that cannot be understood in one specific way. Shakespeare wanted to convey regarding the nature of female passions and affections, not only as they affected women, but also as they impacted women’s relationships with men. The friendships and relationships of women in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare are important to the plot and even the general structure of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare. One of the most interesting representations of the friendships of women in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare can be seen in the conflict between Titania and her husband, Oberon. This is occasioned by the fact that both the wife and the husband want to retain possession of a young Indian boy who has been placed in Titania’s care. Titania does not want to give up the boy because she has, as she states in one of the important quotes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare, “never had so sweet a changeling” (II.i.23); for this reason, she...
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...gender. As seen in the 16th century play, Othello, women have lower social status than men causing them to be treated with less respect. Today, even though the world has made progress, women face similar problems to women 400 years ago, as women still suffer the wrath of being inferior to men. William Shakespeare play, Othello reveals that in in Venetian society men are superior to women guiding the interactions of characters. However, Shakespeare argues men are no different than women as he questions the legitimacy of gender inequality that guides interaction between people can be extended and applied...
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...Running head: All the world’s a stage. All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players Rasel Ahmed North south university Abstract “All the world’s a stage” William Shakespeare’s one of the famous poem (dialog from the play “as I like it”). In this poem he shown that our worlds like a drama stage and we all are just like an artiste’s here. According to him we all have entrance (birth) and existence (death). Everybody here as a versatile actor. Human Being have been doing a various sorts’ action according to their age position. In my research I will find out that person’s acting depend on their seven different age according to William Shakespeare but the same age categories’ person do different action based on their outside atmosphere. Person has a different age category but there action totally varied by their outside environment. Beside this also I will analysis couple of question like, why William Shakespeare compare this world’s a stage? And life a play? Actually behind all greatness, there is a small thought. Maybe Shakespeare was desperately related with drama, play and everything related in it and based on his life experience, Shakespeare compare the whole world as a big stage and also based on his life experience, compare our life a play. All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players “Man is mortal.” Everybody will must breathe his last breath (Quran. Sura ankabut, 2nd para). Each & Every natures born...
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...Domestic, submissive, and passive─these are the qualities associated with women during seventeenth century England. The roles of men and women within society remain somewhat consistent for the entirety of the seventeenth century England. Women in society play the mother role whereas men take on the warrior role; however, the dismissal of gender specific characteristics in literature often contradicts the gender roles throughout the 1600s. For example, Macbeth includes several characters that fail to possess the qualities typically associated with their gender. The subversion of gender roles in Macbeth becomes particularly evident during the planning of Duncan’s murder and then in the overthrow of Macbeth. These two events highlight the sharp...
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...The twentieth century saw a number of diverse and rich readings of the play emerge as a result of the turbulent social changes of the century. A. C. Bradley saw this play as an individual coming to terms with his personality; that Lear was a great man and therefore the play is almost unfathomable. A feminist reading of the play reveals a number of Lear's misogynist remarks and has fueled the debate over whether the play's chaos occurred because power was given over to women, with order restored only when men were returned to their leadership roles. King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606, and is considered one of his greatest works. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre-Roman king. It has been widely adapted for stage and screen, with the part of Lear being played by many of the world's most accomplished actors. King Lear is one of the Shakespear’s achievement talked about a family with three daughters and the father. Father really loved his children however he loved the youngest one the most. In contrast, he got disappointed from the one whom he loved the most because she did not mention how much she loved him back. During his furiousity, he did a judgment about those three daughters. He considered the other two is better so he would love those much more and gave the heritages to those two. His decision was totally wrong because he did not get what he expected to get back. ...
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