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The portrayal of women in Shakespeare's plays
Perception of women in shakespeares tragedies
Shakespeare's portrayal of women is based on the roles each portrayal in the play
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This passage from William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing comes from the beginning of the final act. In this speech, Leonato responds at length to his brother Antonio who has attempted to soothe his emotions with regards to his grief over his daughter Hero. From this passage we get insights into Leonato’s internal and external patriarchal struggle, are set up for the impending conflict which follows this passage, and overall gain more insight into the themes of male dominance and feminine allure which permeate the play. The passage begins, and ends, with instructions from Leonato; “Give not me counsel” and “Therefore give me no counsel” are the bookends to Leonato’s somewhat laboured explanation of exactly why Antonio should not give …show more content…
the land that he as a patriarch would own (11); his woe, his land, and his daughter are all merely possessions of his. In fact the words “me”, “my” or “mine” are used 10 times through the whole speech. Antonio’s immediate reaction to this is to compare Leonato to a child which reinforces the idea of emotional self-indulgence. Leonato may even childishly mock Antonio, the reference to a counsellor who “will smile and stroke his beard” possibly referring to a gesture of Antonio’s earlier in the scene (14). Certainly he has a long passage of 5 lines where, without pause, he engages in ridiculing antithesis mocking the foolery of counsel, of one who would “Patch grief with proverbs” and a satiric onomatopoeia of the “hem” of a foolish counsellor (16-7). This image of words being an unsatisfactory cure for emotions is carried on in the third section of the speech, after the pause suggested by the short line after the second occurrence of “patience” (19). His righteous anger subsides, he refers to Antonio amicably as “brother”, and he begins to explain more calmly and in lyrical, less harsh terms of why counsel is not appropriate here (20). It is characteristic of Shakespeare to make one statement several times in different forms for different strata of the audience. Here, his rhetoric is more complicated and tailored to the aristocratic, …show more content…
It is here we must imagine for what and to what level exactly he is grieving. Antonio is not listed as present at the wedding where the plan of faking Hero’s death was conceived. It may be a fair assumption that he has been informed of the plan offstage, but Leonato is incredibly non-specific within the speech when it comes to speaking of why he is grieved, instead speaking of woe and suffering in more general terms. Perhaps his word choice is carefully considered so as not to outright lie to his brother. Furthermore, the elderly Antonio gets violently worked up in the standoff with Claudio and Don Pedro which follows and needs to be verbally restrained and escorted away by, ironically, Leonato, the man who could not say “patience”. We may assume that Antonio has not yet been informed of the truth behind Hero’s (un)death, and must be informed of it after leaving the stage here in order to carry out his role in the finale. This means that Leonato is working through two layers of grief, a feigned grief for his daughter’s death, and a very real grief for her stained reputation. He is also attempting to rouse a kind of grief-fuelled anger in Antonio to assist him in confronting Claudio and Don Pedro. The concluding point of his argument is a condemnation of being “so
...ce. In the very last dream, he witnesses three deaths that occur in front of him. This shows that he is losing his innocence because the people that die in the dream were not evil but good. This makes Antonio realize that the world is unfair and unjust. In his dream, “the Golden Carp appeared and Cico struck with his spear and the water ran blood red” (176). The Golden Carp dies which signify his loss of innocence, because only the innocent who have not sin can see the Golden Carp.
... overall plot. The repetition of three furthers the plot and helps give the reader more of a focus on the little details in Antonio's life. The specific examples of the repetition of threes in this paper were all crucial to Antonio. The three death's that he witnessed made him question everything that he had known, the three prophetic dreams he has foreshadows what is going to happen to him in the rest of the novel, and finally, the three sources of understand for Antonio play crucial parts throughout the novel, even when they are destroyed in the end of the novel. In the end, Antonio decides that there is no fate but what he makes of it, and he is okay with this. He has learned through Ultima, and all of the things that have happened in his life, that you have to have evil in order to have good.
In the story, the death of Narciso and Lupito cause Antonio to doubt his religion because he cannot understand why God let them happen. Lupito’s death is significant because it is the first death that Antonio witnesses. The murder of Lupito causes Antonio to wonder about religion, sins, and death. After Lupito dies, Antonio says that “a priest could have saved Lupito” (Anaya 23). Antonio questions his religion and the power of a priest because the priest could not save Lupito. Antonio doubts if he is capable of being a priest and he is unsure of his destiny of becoming a one. When Antonio sees Lupito at the river, he believes that he should have been able to save Lupito’s soul, since he might become a priest. Because Antonio could not save Lupito, he feels regret. Antonio shows that he is feeling guilty when he asks himself, “How would I ever wash away the stain of blood?” (23). Antonio’s guilt implies that his future of being a priest might not be suitable for him because he should not feel guilt in something he is destined to do. In addition, Narciso’s death causes Antonio to lose faith in Cath...
Set in the sixteenth century, Much Ado About Nothing is revolved around the thought of love and marriage. Primarily, this is prevalent in the two main characters, Beatrice and Benedick. They have once been courted which suggests more maturity than the majority of couples in Shakespeare’s various plays. In the duration of the play, the violent language between Benedick and Beatrice is most evident through their ridicule. Both characters always speak critically regardless of whether they are talking to each other or out loud about one another. This is highlighted when Beatrice exclaims, “What should I do with him—dress him in my apparel / and make him my waiting gentlewoman? He that hath a / beard is more than / a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a/ man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a/ man, I am not for him...
Tricking her to believe that Don Pedro himself has feelings for Hero: ‘I will assume thy part in disguise, and tell fair Hero that I am Claudio, and in her bosom I’ll unclasp my heart, and take her hearing prisoner with the force and strong encounter of my amorous tale. Then after, to her father will I break: and the conclusion is, she shall be thine.’ - Don Pedro. o (Act I, Scene I: Lines 276 - 282). It is reported to Don John by Borachio that “…The Prince should woo Hero for himself, and having obtained her, give her to Count Claudio.
Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing is, on the surface, a typical romantic comedy with a love-plot that ends in reconciliation and marriage. This surface level conformity to the conventions of the genre, however, conceals a deeper difference that sets Much Ado apart. Unlike Shakespeare’s other romantic comedies, Much Ado about Nothing does not mask class divisions by incorporating them into an idealized community. Instead of concealing or obscuring the problem of social status, the play brings it up explicitly through a minor but important character, Margaret, Hero’s “waiting gentlewoman.” Shakespeare suggests that Margaret is an embodiment of the realistic nature of social class. Despite her ambition, she is unable to move up in hierarchy due to her identity as a maid. Her status, foiling Hero’s rich, protected upbringing, reveals that characters in the play, as well as global citizens, are ultimately oppressed by social relations and social norms despite any ambition to get out.
William Shakespeare said: “Women may fall when there's no strength in men” (Romeo and Juliet). Throughout history gender role have been a big, whether someone is a feminist or someone believes there is no equality between males and females; everyone has different opinions when it comes to the matter of gender roles. The same thing can be said about William Shakespeare who was a feminist (Shakespeare of Stratford). This ideology can be seen in his play Much Ado about Nothing. In this comedy Shakespeare focuses on two pairs of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are set to be married in a week but before their marriage day, they plan to conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon to trick their friends Beatrice and Benedick to admit their love for each other. Don John, the brother of Don Pedro, meanwhile plots to prevent marriage of Claudio and Hero by accusing Hero of being unfaithful. Don John initially succeeds in his plan as Hero is accused and ashamed at the marriage ceremony, but at the end Claudio and Hero are united and marry each other. Also, Beatrice and Benedick finally declare their love for each and dance at the end of the play. Shakespeare uses a lot of sources for this comedy and one of them is “Orlando Furioso” written in 1591, which gave Shakespeare the idea of Hero and Claudio’s marriage and Don John’s plot to prevent it. Another source Shakespeare used to write the play is the courtier written in 1588, which gave him the idea of the romance between Beatrice and Benedick. And also “La Prima de la Novelle” written in 1554 by Matteo Bandello gave Shakespeare the idea of putting the setting in Messina, Italy (Shakespeare in quarto). Because Shakespeare was a feminist, some of the women appear as supporting and central...
With its entangled double plots and eloquent use of words, Much Ado About Nothing is a story that has the ability to entertain the masses both young and old. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language along with situation creates such vivid imagery for which carries the drama from beginning to end. For example, when we look at Act 1 Scene 1 of the play ...
(Essay intro) In the modern day, women have the luxury of belonging to themselves but unfortunately this was not always the case. During his life, William Shakespeare created many positive female characters who defied the traditional gender roles and brought attention to the misogynistic patriarchy of Elizabethan England. One of these true feminist icons is ‘Much Ado about Nothing’s. Beatrice. The women in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ defy traditional gender roles. Beatrice represents a brave and outspoken woman who defies the oppressive, traditional gender roles for the female sex. Her cousin Hero, however, represents those women who were successfully oppressed by the patriarchy and accepted the traditional gender roles without much complaint.
In the time of William Shakespeare where courtship and romance were often overshadowed by the need to marry for social betterment and to ensure inheritance, emerges a couple from Much Ado About Nothing, Hero and Claudio, who must not only grow as a couple, who faces deception and slander, but as individuals. Out of the couple, Claudio, a brave soldier respected by some of the highest ranked men during his time, Prince Don Pedro and the Governor of Messina, Leonato, has the most growing to do. Throughout the play, Claudio’s transformation from an immature, love-struck boy who believes gossip and allows himself to easily be manipulated is seen when he blossoms into a mature young man who admits to his mistakes and actually has the capacity to love the girl he has longed for.
Antonio’s dream in Chapter 7, in which his brothers are three giants who ask for his “saving hand,” is open to many metaphorical interpretations, all of which address Antonio’s gradual entrance into adolescence. The dream could mean that Antonio is reluctant to give up his innocent, childish idea that his brothers are infallible and unchanging. It could also mean that they are dying because they have changed too much to settle seamlessly into their old lives. When they do arrive, they are restless and aimless. Finally, León and Eugene decide to build independent lives elsewhere. The dream also reveals Antonio’s awareness that the people he loves can sin despite his attempts to save them.
Scott, Mark W., ed. "Much Ado About Nothing." Shakespeare Criticism. Vol. VIII. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1989.
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare focuses on the enormous gap between the power of men and where women stand. Women were expected to be obedient and dependent on men, innocent, and were also expected to be good wives. Shakespeare wanted women to see how the roles are changing for the better. In this play, there is difference between the traditional roles of women back then, and the ones that stand out from the rest. He depicts this through two characters. In the opening scene, where characters and their personalities, and roles are established; Hero has only one line, which is seven words. Even said that, these lines are just a comment on Beatrice. Hero is the daughter and the property of her father, Leonato. Her helplessness comes from her being overprotected by her father, and the need to obey him. Beatrice, by contrast, does not have a father, she lives on her witty personality and her intelligence. Beatrice has a dream to spend her life “where the bachelors sit, and there live we, as merry as the day is long” (2.1.40-46) When Leonato tells Hero, “Daughter, remember what I told you: if the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer,” (2.1.60-63) she just stands there, silently obeying her father. Hero’s looks are her only advantage as a women, as they are what attracts Claudio. He falls in love with her at first sight in the first act, based only on her appearance.
In the final scene of Othello, the hero, with that utter lack of self-consciousness of self-criticism which is the height of human vanity, strikes a heroic attitude, makes an eloquent plea for himself, at the height of his eloquence stabs himself – and the innocent spectator feels a lump in his throat or dissolves in te...
The lines selected for analysis are Act II, Scene I, lines 277-291, when Antonio is trying to reassure Sebastian that killing his brother—the King of Naples—is a good idea and well worth the effort. As the reader knows, Antonio usurped his brother, Prospero, and became the Duke of Milan. This sets the stage for his attitude towards Sebastian’s wanting to kill his brother, King Alonso. Because of Antonio’s past actions he sees nothing wrong with getting rid of a family member for personal gain, but his reasons for doing so began at a young age and have been etched into his brain. Antonio’s psychological depth reveals that he is a man jealous of his brother’s rightful power, and stemming from that is his insecurity and lust for power wherever he may find it (in this case, having power over Sebastian). Antonio is not a good person, has few conscientious thoughts, and is now trying to convince his companion to follow his lead. If Antonio’s brother, Prospero, was to hear the selected lines, he would say that the only time Antonio thinks about performing acts that will get him power, by eliminating those who currently have it, is when it is to his advantage. He would say that Antonio devises plans to get rid of leaders when they are at a disadvantage, and he at an advantage, because he doesn’t feel that he could succeed otherwise—his insecurities kicking in. I don’t think Shakespeare agrees with Antonio, and there are two examples in the play to support that.