Shakespeare has another example of illusion or disguise present in his induction. The Lord has his page dress as a woman, and his job is to play Sly’s wife, which we see in the induction when the Lord says, “go you to Barthol’mew my page / And see him dressed in all suits like a lady” (Induction 2.103-4). Bartholomew’s playing of a woman depicts an illusion because his appearance is meant to deceive Sly and the audience, specifically the playgoers. When reading the play he reader is aware that Sly’s wife is the Lord’s page dressed as a man, and “…we are comically aware that the “wife” is an imposter, a young page in disguise” (Bevington 2). However, we need to keep in perspective that when The Taming of the Shrew was performed in 1592, all
the actors were men. Bevington also expressed that this example is depicting a counterfeiting of roles, which playgoers would see if they were watching the play live because the parts of Bianca and Katherina were played by boy-actors (2). On the contrary, when the audience watches the play they are not going to detect the role reversals because they were used to seeing men or boys play women’s roles. Whereas, a person reading the play is going to find this role reversal more astonishing because they do not have the visual representation of the play. Thus, the medium the reader uses whether it is visual or textual, it can create some confusion. In the end, Bartholomew’s role is facilitating the development of the central themes of the play. Therefore, this helps the reader prepare for the role reversals in the inner play. Many of the characters pretend to be people they are not, and this is one reason why it is imperative for the reader to read the stage directions and identify these changes.
...he king and hide their intentions and guilt from others in order to appear innocent. The witches use their appearances to trick Macbeth by telling him prophecies that appear good, but actually lead to his downfall. Lastly, the Thane of Cawdor, Malcolm and Donaldbain’s appearances hide the truth from others, including Macduff and Duncan. The witches’ statement, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” best describes the idea that appearances can be deceiving (1.1.12). Each character tricks others for different reasons, whether they purposely mislead them or not. Through different characters in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, including Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, the witches and the Scottish Thanes; it clearly shows that appearances can be deceiving.
A long time ago, a drunken man fell asleep outside an alehouse. This man, Christopher Sly, was discovered by a mischievous lord who took him into his home. The witty lord then convinced Sly that he was a lord, as well. The lord then put on a play for him. The play, The Taming of the Shrew, was about the two young daughters of Baptista. The youngest daughter, Bianca, wished to wed but her father, Baptista, would not allow this until his eldest daughter, Katherina, was married. Under normal circumstances, it would be easy to find a husband for Katherina with all her beauty, but all her beauty was covered by her shrewd personality. By this time Bianca's suitors were growing very impatient, so they decide to team up and find a husband for Katherina. In jest they mentioned their plan to a friend, Petruchio, who surprisingly agreed to marry Katherina. All her beauty and wealth were enough for him. Katherina reluctantly was wed to Petruchio and she was taken to his home to be tamed. With Katherina out of the way, Bianca was now allowed to marry Lucentio, who offered her father the highest dowry for her. In the final scenes of the play, Katherina proves that she is tamed by winning an obedience contest at a dinner party. Katherina is now even more in accordance with her wifely duties than Bianca. A fare is a type of comedy based on a ridiculous situation. The Taming of the Shrew, an eminent example of a farce, is the first of three farces written by Shakespeare.
"Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them." -Oscar Wilde. This quote embodies the fight over gender roles and the views of women in society. Taming of the Shrew deals with Kate and Bianca, two sisters who are at the time to he married off. However, suitors who seek Bianca as a wife have to wait for her sister to be married first. Kate is seen as a shrew because she is strong willed and unlike most women of the time. In his 1603 play The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare enforces traditional gender roles and demonstrates how little say women had in society. He accomplishes this through the strong personality of Kate, Baptista 's attitude towards his daughters as transactions, and
Sexism is an ever changing concept in today’s world. Every day the concept morphs a little bit, changing the entire definition of what is sexist and what is not. In The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, the male characters lie to and abuse their women in order to have the women marry them. Lucentio come to Padua to study, but when he sees a beautiful girl, he pretends to be a teacher in order to marry Bianca. Petruchio on the other hand forces a woman to marry him and then trains her to follow his every command. Although the The Taming of the Shrew is frequently regarded as a particularly sexist play, it is not sexist and demeaning towards women.
One of Shakespeare’s biggest accomplishments was appealing to all audiences. In a time rigidly divided by classes and gender roles, Shakespeare was able to appeal to the wealthy, the poor, men, and women. By showing both sides of the story and leaving some room for the imagination, Shakespeare was able to poke fun at the flaws in many groups of people for the amusement of the audience without offending those he joked about. In his play The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare manipulates gender roles through exaggeration in his characters and is able to comment about gender roles without turning a group of people away.
Sly, a drunk beggar, he immediately plots a practical joke to play on him. The
Another prime example of illusion is Gatsby’s parties. The guests themselves create a huge illusion, making it look like everyone loves Gatsby and that he is very popular. Many, however, don’t even know who’s house they are in. They just are there to get drunk and have a good time without a care in the world. The reality of this is that no one cared about him. Nick and his father were the only ones to show up to his funeral, while hundreds of people showed up to his parties.
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare is a play that is ahead of its time in its views toward gender roles within society. Katherine is a woman who is intelligent, and is not afraid to assert her views on any given situation. She is paired with another obstinate character in Pertuchio. The Marriage formed between the two is a match made in heaven for two reasons. First Because Katherine is strong enough to assert her views, and more importantly, she realizes when she should assert them. The second reason the bond survives is that Petruchio is strong enough to accept the fact that Katherine has a mind and, more importantly he loves her for that reason. Petruchio cleverly weaves the relationship into the framework of society without compromising the integrity of the relationship. Petruchio does this by comparing Katherine’s at attitude to repulsive clothing. Carefully and calculatingly, Petruchio forges a relationship that is envied by all who witness it.
Appearance versus reality is the difference between what seems to be, and what truly is. Society experiences this, as sometimes someone appears to be your friend, when they are actually working against you. Many people hide their true identities, keeping up an appearance different from their own. Many pieces of literature utilize this theme, and a notable example would be Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Many of the characters appear to be acting in Hamlet’s best interests, but are really plotting against him, and Hamlet himself puts on an appearance of madness, unlike his own sanity. In Hamlet, the characters of Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Hamlet are not what they appear.
William Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew, has often been accused of being a farce and farce, for those of you who don’t know is a subgenre of comedy that chooses to entertain through the use of verbal humor both low-brow and witty, as well as improbable and exaggerated situations (“Farce.”). The male lead Petruccio openly declares to the audience; “Thus have I politically begun my reign, and ‘tis my hope to end successfully. My falcon now is sharp and passing empty, and till she stoop she must not be full-gorged, for then she never looks upon her lure...” his plan to train his wife Kate, the shrew of Padua, as if she were some sort of animal (4.1. 169-72). Petruccio’s success in wooing and taming Kate through the use of ludicrous and absurd techniques such as killing Kate’s shrewdness with kindness, word play, and public embarrassment are what lead the play to be considered a farce.
Illusion vs. reality has been a major running theme in all the plays we have read in class. By interpretation, the idea of illusion is a way to build an alternate fantasy world for oneself where he/she can escape from reality. From all the characters analyzed in class, Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire would definitely be the one character who is so steadfast on illusion that she lets it shape her life as she believes it is her only way towards a happier life. As seen in the above quote, Blanche chooses to dwell in illusion, for it is her primary defense against the troubles in her life. Illusion has had a freeing enchantment that protects her from the tragedies she has had to endure. However, Blanche is not the only character with this fixation on illusion. In this paper, I will be analyzing other characters like Nora from A Doll’s House, Eliza from Pygmalion and Mrs. Hale from Trifles, who just like Blanche have also succumbed to the world of illusion as opposed to reality.
...he fails to allow his dreams to add to his identity (in his case, however, his "dream" appears to actually be his reality). Petruccio, like Neo and Quaid, appears in the play within the play to affirm that "reality" is more than just physical environment (i.e., as he denies the place of the wedding ceremony and his attire to equate his identity). Quaid and Leonard's environments are just as fabricated as Sly's noble environment is, yet even their dreams and implanted memories/mementos shape their identity. All of these texts utilize the notion of autopoiesis and emergence from systems within systems. They acknowledge the validity of implanted memories and dreams to demonstrate that though systems force their inhabitants to view them with limiting lenses, when one is able to acknowledge that they do exist in a system within a larger system, emergence can take place.
Emilia, Iago's wife, who is a good friend of Desdemona lies when she tells Desdemona that she hasn't seen her handkerchief. In Act 3 Scene 4, Desdemona asks, "Where shall I lose that handkerchief, Emilia? Emilia responds, "I know not, madam". (Shakespeare, 1937, p. 1193) Desdemona believes her because she has always appeared to be a loyal friend. This is another example of appearance vs reality.
Everyone has different views of reality and it is our nature to think the way we want. However, some people tend to distort the reality so that it fits their wants and needs. In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Shakespeare demonstrates through the characters how easily we are deluded, not simply because others put on false appearances but also because we let ourselves be blinded by our own wants and needs. Delusions caused by false outward appearances are not significant compared to delusions caused by one’s wants and needs as being fooled by false outward appearances is temporary and anyone can be easily fooled by cleverly deceptive outward appearances, demonstrated by Olivia in Twelfth Night. On the other hand, delusions caused by our wants and needs are caused by us psychologically, which is more serious as people distort the reality and believes that distorted reality. Thus, delusions caused by one’s wants and needs are much more significant compared to simply being fooled by cleverly deceptive outward appearances.
...disguise to add comic effect by encouraging humour of an audience via the ‘theories of laughter’. Comic effect is accurately demonstrated by Shakespeare’s incorporation of confusion, disorder and farce. However, it can be concluded that Shakespeare’s use of mistaken identity and disguise was for the purpose of more than just for comic effect, but to highlight the audience more serious topics and challenge social norms and values of the period. Ironically, it can be inferred that Shakespeare has masked his underlying purpose of mistaken identity and disguise with comedy.