Introduction
One of the notions frequently used by dramatist is outcast. According to Collins COBUILD Advances Learner’s English Dictionary 2006, an outcast is “someone who is not accepted by a group of people or by society.” In this world, there are various types of outcast, but some patterns are similar or slightly different. In this essay, 3 types of outcasts will be focused on: Women, Boy Heroines and Black Slaves, and all outcasts come from stage plays and literatures, which can be adapted for stage plays. So, when this text refers to audiences (stage play) or reader (literature), it will use “spectators” for both words.
This essay is divided into 2 parts. The first part will begins to represent and give some examples in 3 notions: status degradation, trapped characters in a stereotype, and caricature style, and the second part will discuss the response of spectators in many aspects.
The 3 important traits of outcasts
Trapped characters in a stereotype
The outcast are always trapped in a stereotype. According to Waters ( 2007, cited in Zither, 2009 p. 87 – 88 ), black slavery has usually presented in negative ways for a long time. In the seventeenth century in Europe, there were dramas that depict them as ‘terrific Moor’, or little better, in eighteenth, as ‘figure of sentiment.’ Moreover, in America, black slaves were solely deemed as a character of weird and joking such as an ignorant black actors or a lazy runaway slave. And in the nineteenth century, blackness was considered as “a marker of inferior intelligent and black of nobility.” ( ibid, p.87 - 88 )
On the other side; however, in Elizabethan era, the spectators of theatre is brought by cross-dresser, London magistrates would punish women who dre...
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...general people may increasingly aware these problem. Furthermore, awareness of the problem can prevent new occurrence of the outcast in the future.
Works Cited
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary 2006 ( Harpercollins Publisher 2006 )
Edward Ziter, (review book) Racism on the Victorian Stage: Representations of Slavery and the Black Character by Hazel Waters, in Nineteenth Century Theatre and Film. Manchester: Jun 2009. Vol. 36, Iss. 1; pg. 87, 2 pgs
Berry, Ralph, “Gender in Play on the Shakespearean Stage: Boy Heroines and Female Pages” by Michael Shapiro ( Book Review ), comparative Drama, 29 : 4 (1995 / 1996 : Winter) p. 521 – 523.
Thomas, Claudia Newel, “ Interpreting Ladies : Women, Wit, and Morality in the Restoration Comedy of Manners ” by Pat gill ( Book Review ), Comparative drama, 29 : 4 ( 1995 / 1996 : Winter) p. 523 - 526.
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
Detrimental stereotypes of minorities affect everyone today as they did during the antebellum period. Walker’s subject matter reminds people of this, as does her symbolic use of stark black and white. Her work shocks. It disgusts. The important part is: her work elicits a reaction from the viewer; it reminds them of a dark time in history and represents that time in the most fantastically nightmarish way possible. In her own words, Walker has said, “I didn’t want a completely passive viewer, I wanted to make work where the viewer wouldn’t walk away; he would either giggle nervously, get pulled into history, into fiction, into something totally demeaning and possibly very beautiful”. Certainly, her usage of controversial cultural signifiers serve not only to remind the viewer of the way blacks were viewed, but that they were cast in that image by people like the viewer. Thus, the viewer is implicated in the injustices within her work. In a way, the scenes she creates are a subversive display of the slim power of slave over owner, of woman over man, of viewed over
Dash, Irene G. "Wooing, Wedding, and Power: Women in Shakespeare Plays". The Critical Perspective Volume 2. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 825-833.
http://www.freehomepages.com/hamlet/other/essayson.htm#demag-ess N. pag. Pitt, Angela. “Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed.
This paper will look at the different conceptions highlighted by Bulman in his article through the use of different methods used by the actors in the play. Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare captures the different conceptions of gender identity and different sexualities within the Elizabethan period.
"Elizabethan Theatre Audiences." Elizabethan Theatre Audiences. Strayer University, 16 May 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
Howard, Jean. "Cross-dressing, The Theatre, and Gender Struggle in Early Modern Eng- land." Shakespeare Quarterly 39 (1988): 418-40.
Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.
Neely, Carol Thomas. "Shakespeare's Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations." In Holland, Norman N., Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris, eds. Shakespeare's Personality. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
Krasner, David. Resistance, Parody, and Double Consciousness in African American Theatre: 1895-1910. Basingstoke: MacMillan, 1997. Print.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello there are numerous instances of obvious sexism aimed at the three women in the drama -- Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca – and aimed at womankind generally. Let us delve into this subject in this paper.
Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing.
Seitz argues that M.Ns are happy to help their masters at any time. African-Americans are serving whites to succeed in their life and these mentors willingly serve whites. Seitz states, “Magical Negro”: a saintly African-American who acts as a mentor to a white hero… [their] relationship is that of a master and servant… one that truly lives to serve, has no life to speak beyond his service” (Seitz 357). Years after the end of slavery, blacks are still considered as servants of whites in America. Even though social reforms have ended slavery and the exclusion of blacks from society, whites still consider blacks as their slaves and this has been portrayed ambiguously in many movies. In pro-white popular culture, African-American actors and actresses have not received fair treatment to perform at the highest of their abilities. In today’s modern world, there are roots of racism; popular culture and mass media production are very important key factors in promoting the racial distinction in our society. In this modern world, media and television are a part of everyday life. People have easy access to movies and TV shows; viewers of these shows tend to believe what is being shown. Films and TV shows have played a significant role in reestablishing racism and discrimination in popular culture. Many of the mass media production industries have characterized racial stereotypes. Omi reveals racial stereotypes, “[in
Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398. Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.”