The Elizabethan Era is considered to be golden age in English poetry, music, and literature. William Shakespeare uses the theater as a place to display the latest styles in clothing, poetry and music. Clothing plays an important part in Shakespeare’s plays. Clothing helped the audience understand the character and components of clothing are mentioned literally and metaphorically in several of his plays, often used as a plot device, and used in appearance versus reality. Queen Elizabeth I did not change the fashion right away; she waited until she had been queen for a while. The first changes she made were the enlargement of the corsage, farthingale, and the ruff (Covington, Sarah) Then as people became richer, their clothes became fancier: “With silken coats and caps and golden rings, with ruffs and cuffs and farthingales and things; with scarfs and fans and double change of bravery.” (Tam. Sh. IV. iii. 55-7) The tailor arrives with elegant and expensive clothes for Kate, since they are about to go to Baptista’s house in Padua. (SparkNotes: The Taming of the Shrew: Act IV, scenes iii-v) This part of the play alludes to the time when Queen Elizabeth made changes of style and wanted everyone to dress as if they were on a portrait. Everyone had to follow what the Queen Elizabeth I said, because the citizens wanted to impress the Queen with their clothes. Today cross-dressing is still used as a form of entertainment. In Twelfth Night Shakespeare uses a theatrical tradition of transvestitism in which the actor’s and character’s real identity is covered by clothes, voice, and gesture of the opposite sex, although sometimes the character remained the same gender. (“Clothing.” Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern Worl... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Covington, Sarah. "Clothing." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Ed. Jonathan Dewald. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 545-549. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Macquoid, Percy. "Clothing in Shakespeare's Time." EXPLORING Shakespeare. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. "Clothing in Macbeth." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 May 2014. "Clothing in Much Ado About Nothing." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 May 2014. "Hamlet's Costume Changes in Hamlet." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 May 2014. “SparkNote on The Taming of the Shrew.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. “SparkNote on Twelfth Night.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Shakespeare, William, and Ken Roy. "2.1.69-70." The Taming of the Shrew. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2003. N. pag. Print.
The play Twelfth Night, or What You Will by William Shakespeare is a 1601 comedy that has proven to be the source of experimentation in gender casting in the early twenty-first century due to its portrayal of gender in love and identity. The play centrally revolves around the love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola. However, Olivia and Orsino both believe Viola is a boy named Cesario. Ironically, only male actors were on the stage in Shakespeare’s time. This means that Olivia, Viola, and other female characters were played by young boys who still had voices at higher pitches than older males.
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.
The concept of fashion has shaken societies foundation from the moment humans began wearing clothes. Today’s generation laughs at the style that came before them, and the previous generation is appalled by the clothing of today. With every new fashion cycle, and every new runway show, there is always one item that manages to stir up some controversy; the swimsuit. The swimsuit has seen some drastic changes throughout the years and has evolved from a simple cover up, to a intense fashion statement when hitting the beach. To study the history of this garment we must reach far back into our ancient ancestors past.
Have you ever wondered what people in the Elizabethan Era wore? Fashion was just as important in those days as it is to some people today. What people were wearing mattered to others, and even the government. During the Elizabethan Era clothing, accessories, and cosmetics were all a part of daily life.
The Taming of the Shrew, Notes, Salibelle Royster, Coles Publishing Company Limited, 1964. The Taming of the Shrew, Brodie's Notes, T.W. Smith, Pan Books Ltd, 1986.
Information about fashion of the Middle Ages was obtained from an article written by Linda Alchin entitled Middle Ages Clothing and Fashion this article was dated July 16th 2006.
Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare. Edited Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997.
In the 19th century play, FASHION, Anna Mowatt develops the character plot as a contrast and comparison between being “natural” and “artificial in a world becoming preoccupied with fashion, and being fashionable. In the head notes, it was stated that Daniel Havens said FASHION is “the ugly image of the American Dream gone sour.” (Watt and Richardson) Fashion has a complex definition. The word ‘fashion’ can mean anything from the type of clothes you wear, how you communicate with others, the place you live, how you present yourself, or who you associate yourself with. In FASHION, Mowatt took a comical yet sober look at the definitions of “fashion,” applied it to real life in 1845, and through her characters, provides a mirror with which an audience/reader can evaluate themselves. I do not believe updating this play would be difficult because America has continued down the fast and destructive path in an effort to keep up with the “fashions” of the day.
...r, Shirley Nelson. "The Taming of the Shrew: Inside or Outside of the Joke?" In "Bad" Shakespeare: Revaluations of the Shakespeare Canon. Ed. Maurice Charney. London: Associated UP, 1988. 105-19.
Murphy, Joe . "The Taming of the Shrew: tragedy, comedy or farce?." Times Higher Education 25 July 2013: n. pag. Print.
Lawson, David "History Of Renaissance Clothing - How Today's Fashion Is Affected." 6 Jul. 2011 EzineArticles.com. 16 Nov. 2011
Wade, Charles, "William Shakespeare" on The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespearean Literary Criticism Vol. IX, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1983. Webster, Margaret, "William Shakespeare" on The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespearean Literary Criticism Vol. IX, Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1983.
middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.
Clothing has been around for thousands of years; almost as long as the modern human has. At first, it served the practical purpose of protection from the elements; but, as life for early humans stopped being a constant struggle to survive, they started noticing how they looked and the concept of fashion began to take shape. These first few garments were typically dyed draped cloth that was pinned at the shoulder and/or waist. This was seen in many ancient civilizations around the world, Greek and Roman the most notable. Over time, clothing began to get more and more complex and formed to the body’s shape, eventually leading up to the tailored style we now have today. However, the sophisticated world of Haute Couture; or high fashion, can distinctly trace its roots to Paris during the mid-19th century. Clothing from there was thought to be superior to those from anywhere else, and women began to come from all over Europe just to buy dresses. This was probably due in part to one notable dressm...