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Feminism essays in shakespeare
Characterization of women in Shakespeare
Shakespeare feminist perspective
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Excellence, from the root excellent, is the achievement of something extremely good in life. These achievements can be of a literary nature, or a cosmic nature, however the excellence that pertains to the coming essay, is that which is found within the female characters of Shakespearean tragedies. Despite the patriarchal ways of life during Shakespeare's age, he constantly conveys the ladies of his plays with nothing short of "excellent ... beauty, wit, and virtue." [Doran 135] Doran's article "The Idea of Excellence In Shakespeare" is a detailed work, which engages itself in the wide scope of Shakespearean sonnets and all his theatrical work concerning excellence. Doran says very frankly that due to Shakespeare?s representation of women, through his plays, it is very clear that he prides himself with excellence in general. Although Doran brings to our attention the importance, and possible disaster, of over emphasizing glorious attributes, the act of which is known as a hyperbole [134], Shakespearean females, even when denied fancy dialect and metaphors, still are able to expose their virtues of loyalty, honestly, love, and patience in most everything they do. Doran begins his detailed account of specific females with none other than Cordelia, but due to further argument I will pass over his analysis of Lear?s daughter and continue with his depiction of Desdemona. Doran introduces Desdemona by stating, ?[her] virtues are ? independence, honesty, loyalty, and great generosity.? [147] Within a standard reading of Othello these characteristic are by no means shadowed, they are vividly portrayed in most, if not all, of her actions. Her independence is conveyed by her decision to marry Othello without the good grace of her ... ... middle of paper ... ...ults are that of a divine member, a goddess. To conclude Shakespeare presents all his ladies as self-righteous, independent, loving women who deserve to be noticed. Each woman holds her own sense of excellence with regards to her virtues. In particular, Desdemona and Cordelia, especially rise up to the occasion. Both of these women know who they are, how they got to be who they are, what they want, and how to get what they want, nothing, I repeat nothing, explains the excellence of a women better than that. Work Cited Doran, Madeleine. ?The Idea of Excellence In Shakespeare.? Shakespeare Quarterly 27.2 (1976): 133-149. Greenfield, Thomas A. ?Excellent Things In Women: The Emergence Of Cordelia.? South Alantic Bulletin 24.1 (1977): 44-52. Harding, D.W. ?Women?s Fantasy of Manhood: A Shakespearean Theme.? Shakespeare Quarterly 20.3 (1969): 245-253.
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.
In equation with the Elizabethan era, Shakespeare offers us a male dominated society in his renowned tragedy, Othello. Consequently, this definitely persuades a negative attitude and demeanor towards the women of the times. The female characters in the play: Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca; play relevant roles in contributing to one’s understanding of this exhausted Elizabethan view. In contrast to the larger portion of the play, Emilia, spouse to the scandalous Iago, takes an opinionated stand for Desdemona in relation to her wholesome gone sour relationship with the Moor of Venice, Othello. I recognize Emilia’s “Betrayal lecture” as a justified outlook in accordance with today’s period and events surrounding Desdemona’s and Othello’s fatal misunderstanding.
Dash, Irene G. "When Women Choose: All's Well That Ends Well." Women's Worlds in Shakespeare. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997.
...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.
The definition of Renaissance women is fundamentally important in William Shakespeare's play Othello. One of the major causes of Othello's tragedy is his belief that Desdemona is not chaste. According to the men of the Renaissance, chastity, silence, and obedience are three attributes that define Renaissance women. Although Othello takes place during the Renaissance, the women in the play, Bianca, Desdemona and Emilia, defy traditional norms by lacking at least one of the major attributes defining women; Bianca's lack of chastity is clearly displayed when she unlawfully sleeps with Cassio; Desdemona's lack of silence is clearly displayed when she constantly urges Othello to give Cassio's position back. However, in the last two acts, Emilia displays the strongest challenge to the definition of Renaissance women as silent, chaste, and obedient, mainly to defend Desdemona.
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.
As in his portrayal of Desdemona, here too Shakespeare has presented a woman of beauty and culture. Her demeanor is gentle and refined though not lacking in strength or determination. Her emotions are deep, pure, loyal and e...
Within Shakespeare’s Othello there is an analysis into the context of the female. Brabantio’s rhyming couplet “Look to her, Moor, If thou hast eyes to see/ She has deceived her father, and may thee,” demonstrates his domineering and patronising attitude, as the Elizabethan era was a patriarchal society and the role of the female was to be ‘obedient’ to their father or husband. Brabantio also endeavours into placing a seed of doubt in Othello’s mind as a result of his jealousy. Consequentially Brabantio objectifies Desdemona when he states, “Where has thou stow’d my daughter?” exemplifying how he deems her as a possession, which can be stolen like any other. Othello prolongs this objectification through asserting that he “won his daughter” portraying Desdemona as a prize to be won, and a possession to be owned and argued over by husband and father. Desdemona is depicted early on in the play as the “angel” wi...
The basis of Shakespeare’s plays appears to focus mainly around the dominant male character and his conflicts, which tend to deal with a woman. There are only three women in the play Othello; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca. The way in which these women behave and present themselves strongly reflects the ideological expectations of women within Shakespeare’s imagined Venetian society as well as the Elizabethan society in which he lived. This patriarchal Venetian society presented in the play depicts women as possessions of men who should remain submissive and meek at all times. The women are expected to unselfishly and unreservedly devote their lives to serve their fathers until they are of age to do so, their husbands. All three women love their respective partners; however, all three are also rejected by them because they each devote more to their men than their men are capable of returning. Desdemona and Emilia display genuine emotions toward each other that are not reflected in any of the male to male associations.
Statement of intent: The role of women in William Shakespeare’s play Othello is portrayed through the behaviors and actions of Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. William Shakespeare integrates his Elizabethan society to create the patriarchal Venetian society in the play. Women in his society were seen as inferior to the men. The three women play a significant role in different social stratification. How are women submissive, possessions, bold, and degraded to sex objects and whores? How have they displayed unconventional acts and boldness?
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the male characters perceive women as adulterous and property, treating them as inferior that need to be submissive and obey. Iago creates a false perception of his wife thinking she is promiscuous. Also, Othello sees his wife as promiscuous, an impression created by his jealousy and one he has convinced himself of it. Furthermore, Iago and Othello perceive their wives as inferior, and by his words, the reader can see that they are both their wife and subordinate. At last, the male characters refer to Desdemona’s marriage as a “steal” and “purchase” of property, then, Iago and Othello end their wives’ lives because they see them as possessions of no good.
The play Othello is presented as a male-dominated society where women are only recognized as property; objects to own and to bear children. Women in the Elizabethan society and in Shakespeare society were not seen as equal to men and were expected to be loyal to their husbands, be respectful, and to not go against their husbands judgements or actions. Shakespeare presents Desdemona, Emilia , and Bianca as women in the Elizabethan time where they were judged based on their class, mortality, and intelligence. Shakespeare makes his female characters act the way they would be expected to act in an Elizabethan society. The role of these women in Othello is crucial because they show how women were treated and how unhealthy their relationships between men really were in both Elizabethan and Shakespeare's society.
...ps their characters to function with adjusted roles in culture. In his novel Othello, William Shakespeare reveals Desdemona and Emilia’s courage through situations involving conflict to portray the ability for women to stand up for themselves as he exhibits his idea of feminism through their actions. The courageous attitudes of these women and their passionate voice grew stronger throughout the play as they eventually died staying true to their beliefs. This transformation parallels the rights of women over history, as the female population progressed very slowly towards a more equal position in society. With Shakespeare being an advocate for women’s unheard voices during the Elizabethan period of time, he is able to use Desdemona and Emilia’s characteristics to contrast what the world was like during that era, and how he viewed and wished the world would function.
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.
As Shakespeare wrote Hamlet, the fiction was set in the Renaissance era and therefore the persona of women was reflective of that period. The natural stereotype of that time viewed women as weak, fickle, and dependent of the men in their society and subject to the decisions that men make for them. It was an exceedingly common depiction and very rarely was it proven wrong to the men of that time. Women’s rights were nonexistent in this time period so it wasn’t unusual for the portrayal of women to be so negative and offensive. Given that women of that age had known nothing else they attempted to fit the stereotype to please the ‘natural order’.