How are women presented in Romeo and Juliet ,To his Coy Mistress and The Human Intrest ?

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I shall endeavour to explore and analyse how women are presented in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Duffy’s “Human Interest”. Firstly we will commence by discovering how women are presented in Shakespeare’s play .Through-out the play women are presented as immature , impuissant characters : Lady Capulet & Juliet ,all women are regarded as possessions of men ,for them to do as they please . They are ornaments, they cannot speak their minds nor can they make their own decisions. Women are in the men’s shadows. From the start of Romeo and Juliet in Act 1.1 Sampson says the word “maidenhead” which means virginity and “thrust his maids”, the word “ thrust” is often associated with force and violence .This implies that Sampson is going to take the virginity of the women ferociously against their will, in other words he is going to rape them .Additionally the word “his” suggest that women are personal possessions that belong to a men .In this scene women are presented to be sex objects for men to use and dispose of , notice the word “maidenhead “ is reiterated varies times throughout the play. This emphasizes that women are only wanted for their long preserved virginity which shows men have presented women to be sex objects. One of the main character introduced in Act 1.1 is Lady Capulet. Lady Capulet, herself married young, she is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for practical support. She says to her husband in Act 1. 1 when he wants to go and fight the Montague's, "A crutch, a crutch! Why call you for a sword?" which Capulet reply to “My sword, I say!“ ,he uses a demanding tone with use of the exclamation mark ,it... ... middle of paper ... ...et is threatening Juliet she doesn’t answer him back and stand up for herself because she is weak .This shows Shakesphere has presented Juliet to be her father possession. Rather than reacting precipitously, Juliet, remains calm and still pleads for his patience. She begs for him to listen. "Good father I beseech you on my knees, hear me with patience but to speak a word." Juliet treats her father as a master. She is on her knees, as if she were begging like a slave. Juliet respects her father and acts like a slave. It seems as if she is being stubborn and immature, although Lord Capulet is refusing to call of her wedding with Paris she still goes on nagging him. "Good father I beseech you on my knees, hear me”. This shows us that women are presented to be weak in this play and it also shows that women are presented to be inferior to men and sometimes immature .

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