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Queen Elizabeth l’s Influence on Shakespeare’s Female Roles Queen Elizabeth I, also known as the “Iron Queen”, was a remarkable woman of her time, she ruled with great power and longevity. She was one of the greatest feminist of time. Coming to the throne in 1558, she took the place of her father, Henry VIII. She was given one of the most difficult jobs fit for a man or King, ruling England. At the time women were second class citizens, they could not vote nor own properties and such. Surprising England with her intelligence and fierce rulings, she changed herself to make better decisions. She proved through her rulings, to everyone that females were strong and could rule just as well as a king. She refused to marry, giving a feeling of “I don’t need a man for anything.” The Queen was responsible for giving females a voice in literature and it is shown through Shakespeare’s writings. Queen Elizabeth I ruled for much of Shakespeare’s life in England and therefore had a great impact on his work. She had a big role in the social arts and culture. Affecting many peoples’ lives in England; she especially affected those in the arts. She supported artists in their work in many different ways. Shakespeare and his theatre being one of the artists she supported. The Queen would come to the theatres to enjoy a show, and whether or not she enjoyed it would be the result of the popularity and success of that play. Shakespeare made a living out of his play writings; the Queen would come and spend many pounds to see a play. This being the reason why Shakespeare would create characters appealing to his Queen. The Queen being strong, smart and noble, Shakespeare would create characters like this, for example Juliet from Romeo and Jul... ... middle of paper ... ...These characters all show traits of wittiness, determination and strength. The traits Queen Elizabeth expressed as she ruled England, a single woman taking on a man’s job. Shakespeare included these characters in his play because he knew the Queen would enjoy seeing characters that portrayed her; it showed a sign a respect towards her. The Queen supported the theatre and Shakespeare in his work. Shakespeare thanks her by giving her females characters leads in his play with characteristics of her reflected in them. Queen Elizabeth ruled throughout Shakespeare’s life so it would influence him in his writings. She showed him through her rulings that she was a feminist. She did whatever it took to get what she wanted and to rule her country, she showed fierceness and compassion. Shakespeare took these characteristics and portrayed them in his female characters.
In conclusion, gender role in Elizabethan era is very complex with respect to women’s role. Men are the masters of the home and society; they preside over every aspect of life. They are however, expected to take care of their family and also be actively involved in politics, war, and they inherit their father’s properties. Women role varied a according to their social status. All women were raised to be subservient to men. Unlike upper class women, lower class women were denied any kind of education. And all women are expected to get married and bear children. The qualities Shakespeare gave Beatrice are very significant because it contrasts traditional Elizabethan theater. Gender role has evolved over time, especially women’s role and it will continue to evolve as long as there are women like Beatrice around.
Shakespeare was clearly ahead of his time with his view of women. He likely drew inspiration for his female characters from Elizabeth I, the English monarch at the time. Like Beatrice, Elizabeth I was a strong and very independent woman, she was the sole ruler of England during her reign as she never married. Elizabeth I was a strong ruler, defying the traditional gender roles for women, which Shakespeare would have drawn from for his characters.
Elizabeth grew up like most royal children. She had many tutors who taught her. She was very successful in English and music. Elizabeth loved music and could play the lute. Elizabeth also loved to dancing and watch plays. The arts increased in her time. This was when William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlow began their famous careers. Writers paid tribute to her through literary form (Queen Elizabeth 1).
Upon the death of her sister--in November of 1558--Elizabeth ascended to the thrown of England. Until Mary’s rule, no woman--apart from the unrecognized rule of Matilda, daughter of Henry I--had ruled England of her own right1. Much like her sister, Elizabeth began her rule widely accepted and welcomed2. There were, however, still many who felt that women were unable to rule, being that women were said to be the weaker sex. John Knox argued that, “God by the order of his creation hath spoiled women of authority and dominion, [and] also that man hath seen, proved and pronounced just causes why that it so should be.”3 Women had always been no more then property, first to their fathers and then their husbands. If a women were to be the anointed queen of a realm of her own right and then marry, whom was beholden to whom? A woman was to do as instructed by her husband in all things, yet a sovereign was to be under the command of God only.
The Elizabethan era gender roles were much different than they are today. Women were regarded as the weaker sex, and men were always dominant. These “rules” are shown prominently throughout Romeo and Juliet, and paved way for obstacles they went through in their relationship. The gender conventions for women and men were prodigiously stereotypical and unreasonable, as they made men out to be the superior gender. Women should not have been perceived as inferior to men, and these unwritten rules for masculinity and femininity were shown throughout the play. Romeo acted very feminine which contradicted his gender conventions while Juliet did not abide by rules and disobeyed her parents. Romeo and Juliet had many ways in which they followed and
Queen Elizabeth the ruler of England, surpassed the restrictions held on women. She is an exception to the rules, contradicting many of the gender roles of the sixteenth century.
when she went to watch the play. Because Queen Elizabeth was a Lancaster, Shakespeare wanted her family to look noble.
Throughout the historical literary periods, many writers underrepresented and undervalued the role of women in society, even more, they did not choose to yield the benefits of the numerous uses of the female character concerning the roles which women could accomplish as plot devices and literary tools. William Shakespeare was one playwright who found several uses for female characters in his works. Despite the fact that in Shakespeare's history play, Richard II, he did not use women in order to implement the facts regarding the historical events. Instead, he focused the use of women roles by making it clear that female characters significantly enriched the literary and theatrical facets of his work. Furthermore in Shakespeare’s history play, King Richard II, many critics have debated the role that women play, especially the queen. One of the arguments is that Shakespeare uses the queen’s role as every women’s role to show domestic life and emotion. Jo McMurtry explains the role of all women in his book, Understanding Shakespeare’s England A Companion for the American Reader, he states, “Women were seen, legally and socially, as wives. Marriage was a permanent state” (5). McMurtry argues that every woman’s role in the Elizabethan society is understood to be a legal permanent state that is socially correct as wives and mothers. Other critics believe that the role of the queen was to soften King Richard II’s personality for the nobles and commoners opinion of him. Shakespeare gives the queen only a few speaking scenes with limited lines in Acts two, four, and five through-out the play. Also, she is mentioned only a few times by several other of the characters of the play and is in multiple scenes wit...
In the Elizabethan society, it was expected for women to be obedient and to be in her place.
She was one of the most important people in England. Elizabeth was well liked and respected by her subjects. The young queen was wise beyond her years and knew how to compromise with her people. She referred to herself as “Supreme Governor” over spiritual matter rather than “Supreme Head” of the church. This minor change between Elizabeth I and Henry VIII made a huge difference in how her subjects saw her. She worked hard to unify her country and did exactly what she set out to do.
Most notably, Shakespeare creates the character, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, a very cynical and ambitious woman. When Lady Macbeth learns in a letter that witches predicted that her husband would become Thane of Cawdor and then soon King, she became very ambitious. She believed that
Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.” Shakespeare’s Personality. Ed. Norman N. Holland, Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. 116-134.
William Shakespeare was an English writer who was regarded as one of the best writer during the Elizabethan era. Shakespeare is known for many of his poems and plays that he wrote. Historically women weren’t regarded equally as men were. The education level that was offered during that time was different for men and woman. Woman weren’t getting further education unlike men were. Woman were homeschooled while men went to schools. During the Elizabethan era witches were being prosecuted and executed. William Shakespeare was influenced by the historical and cultural events that took place during the Elizabethan era and implemented it into his play called Macbeth. Major historical events that affected how the play Macbeth was written was witchcraft,
Secondly, Elizabethan women were considered to be inferior to men. The life of Elizabethan women was certainly a tough - arranged marriages, subordination to men, short life expectancy, constant child bearing and no right to education, no voting, not political participation, etc. were crucial facts about Elizabethan women’s life. Elizabethan women were categorized class wise as: Upper Class, Royal Class, Lower Class Elizabethan women. Elizabethan women were considered subordinate to men and they were dependent on males. They were also used for alliance with powerful families through arranged marriages not only in the lower class, but also in the ...
Women in the Elizabethan era were subservient to men. They were expected to conform to the societies expectations while obeying the significant male figures in their lives. High-born women were often portrayed “possessions” to be shared between fathers and husbands. In several cases, they were socially restricted and unable to explore the world around them without chaperones. The women were mainly expected to act as loving caretakers to those in their families. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, however, the female figures in the play both promote the idea of unbridled feminine sexuality but also promote the female ideals of being loving caretakers. The dramatic technique Shakespeare uses to characterize his female figure in the play are the setting, the character’s dialogue and what the other characters say about them, especially behind their backs. The three main female characters that endorse but also contradict the archetypes of women are the tyrannical Lady Macbeth, the loving Lady Macduff and lastly the mysterious weird sisters.