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Shakespeare's influence on Elizabethan era
Shakespeare's influence on Elizabethan era
Shakespeare's depiction of women in his plays
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In the Shakespeare written play, Julius Caesar, the main character Caesar has a wife named Calpurnia. She is one of the two small women roles that are in the play. It is almost a noticeable theme in this play that women are portrayed somewhat inferior to men not because of the way roman times were, but because of the attitude towards women during the time that Shakespeare wrote the play; The Elizabethan Era. Calpurnia may have had no interactions with any characters besides Caesar but the interactions her and Caesar do have are important parts to the plot development. The role of Calpurnia shows the contrast between Caesar’s private life to his public political life (enotes.com, par 5) and foreshadows the climax of the play. Calpurnia appears …show more content…
It is only imaginable how this make Calpurnia feel. This inferiority of women to men and how men thought less of women back then relates back to my mention of the Elizabethan Era. The Elizabethan Era was 1558-1603; Shakespeare wrote the play, Julius Caesar, in 1599. The Elizabethan Era was an era when Queen Elizabeth was in reign. “Elizabethan Women were subservient to men.” (Elizab. Women., par 1). It shows that the time period that this was written has an effect on why Calpurnia was treated the way she was treated. Calpurnia’s character had an important role in the plot development. When we see Calpurnia, a worrisome wife who just wants her husband to stay safe, pleading to Caesar to stay home, we then see Caesar in a more domestic state willing to please his wife. We see a more private side to Caesar besides the political life he leads (enotes.com, par 6). The one and only scene with Calpurnia was also the biggest foreshadowing technique that Shakespeare used. The dream Calpurnia had was basically representing that Caesar was going to die because there were people who wanted him dead. No one wanted to believe Calpurnia though and her “foolish” beliefs. At last, when Caesar does decide to go to the Senate, he is assassinated due to repeatedly being stabbed (reference to Calpurnia’s dream of Caesar’s statue with a hundred spouts spouting blood) by Cassius and Brutus; two conspirators against Caesar. Calpurnia’s dream foreshadowed the assassination of
The play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare showcases many characters and events that go through many significant changes. One particular character that went through unique changes was Julius Caesar. The 16th century work is a lengthy tragedy about the antagonists Brutus and Cassius fighting with the protagonists Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus over the murder of Julius Caesar. Although the play’s main pushing conflict was the murder of Julius Caesar, he is considered a secondary character, but a protagonist. Throughout the theatrical work Julius Caesar’s actions, alliances, character developments, and internal and external conflicts display his diverse changes.
CAESAR: He is a dreamer. Let us leave him. Pass.” (1.2.28-29) Othsayer appears to be the fortuneteller who tries to warn Caesar of an unknown danger in this situation but Caesar quickly dismisses the idea. Caesar demonstrates his control of his own life, that the predictions are merely dreams that can never turn into reality. Under such conditions, it cannot be the fate but rather the free will of Caesar himself to blame for his death for taking risks and facing life in his own way. Another instance of fate is Casca's observations of a dreadful night. He describes the setting as if there are burning slaves, crawling lion, and ghostly women on the street of the Capitol. (1.3.25-32) These omens are usually associated with fate, as that supernatural sights hints the happening of a tragedy soon, but they don't necessarily define the tragedy itself. They can refer to a series of other events and not the assassination of Caesar. Lastly, the night before the assassination, Calphurnia convinces her husband to stay home due to a nightmare, but Caesar responds with as if it is no big matter in "CAESAR: Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace tonight. Thrice hath Calphurnia in her sleep cried out "Help, ho, they murder Caesar!" (2.2.1-3) In her dream, Calpurnia claims to see the death of her husband whose blood flows all over Rome. Her fear toward
In my essay I will be analysing two critics Jan H. Blits and Mary Hamer that discussed whether or not women did play a vital role in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
Rome during Caesar’s era were huge believer on the gods. For example. the soothsayer believing that something bad will happen to Caesar because of a vision that he had received from the god. Calphurnia mentioned how she did not believe in omens and all these myths about god giving message to the people. But when she dreamt about her husband’s death, she starts believing the god’s messages. Calphurnia begs her husband to not leave the house, therefore she rather be safe by trusting her nightmare (which could be the future) rather than scientific belief. Calphurnia convinced Caesar by saying how servants had seen the same thing she had or how all the natural cause is a message from god. Like the lighting and thunder foreshadow a bad future that may destroy either the people of Rome or Caesar.
Calpurnia’s dream predicted Caesar’s death well, after being stabbed by all of his friends and bleeding to death, the men that killed him bathed in his blood happily thinking Rome will be safe. The omen of Caesar’s ghost visiting Brutus represented Brutus’s death. Caesar said “I will see you in Philippi,” meaning he will see Brutus at the place of the battle and watch him die, which he did. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar had the ongoing theme of Fate versus Free Will, but it seemed that fate was mostly shown.
Calphurnia in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, based on Plutarch’s account of her having a nightmare where “Caesar was slain, and that she had him in her arms (“Sources” 107),” fears for her husband’s life on account of these superstitious happenings and states “O Caesar, these things are beyond all use, / And I do fear them (2.2.25-26).” Rather than being in support of these superstitions and therefore believing that fate is determined by the Gods, Calphurnia’s fear and several mentions of her physical weakness (1.2.9-11) and foolishness (2.2.110) within the play discredits the validity of such portents and omens. With these signs devalued, Shakespeare argues that it is the decisions of men alone that determines their fate and the faults of these decisions that lead to an imminent
Calpurnia attempts to scare Caesar into staying at the house instead of going to the Capitol. She begins with ethos to establish her credibility and justify her concerns. Calpurnia “never stood on ceremonies”, but now they “fright her,” juxtaposing that the omens never scared her, but are frightening enough that she now is attentive to them. Because women were not as powerful in Rome, Calpurnia further credits her argument by including the “watch.” Using selection of detail, Calpurnia Even the guards, who are men, have seen the strange events, and they are scared. Since even men are scared, it should implicate to Caesar that he should be scared as well. Calpurnia sees a lioness, an image, normally associated with strength and courage, “whelp[ing] in the streets.” The lioness is essentially crying, scared of something. Caesar is also strong, but should be scared as well. When ethos fails to impact Caesar, Calpurnia switches to using pathos to try and scare Caesar. “Fierce fiery warriors [fighting] upon the clouds,” is an image that connotes war. In war, there is death and Caesar should be afraid of death. Calpurnia uses the image of “drizzled blood upon the Capitol,” connoting death, scaring Caesar of what is to come if he chooses to go to th...
Tragedies most often refer back to the actions of men. The play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, provides a good example to how the quote is shown to be accurate." The calamities of tragedy do not simply happen, nor are they sent [by the gods]: they proceed mainly from actions, and those actions of men." This statement is profoundly proven through the past and present actions of the conspirators throughout the play. From the beginning of the play, the reader can identify who will necessarily betray and plot to murder Caesar.
Shakespeare shows Caesar to be, what you could say, a contradiction. The audience see how Caesar respects Antony's soldier-ship yet still fights him; they see how he clearly loves his sister, but uses her unscrupulously as a political device; and they are shown how he is very rational and dull, yet he surprisingly tells his soldiers, as well as some Egyptians about how he would parade the defeated Cleopatra. He wants to do this because he feels that 'her life in Rome would be eternal in our triumph.' This shows the reader how Caesar has strong emotional outcries, which contrasts his initial characteristics.
All through history, the role of women and their place in the general public has tremendously changed. William Shakespeare’s Othello was established during a time period where the role of women and their collective value were downgraded in the Venetian and Elizabethan era. During the Venetian era women were dominated by their sexual orientation. The Venetian era had a patriarchal society. In a patriarchal society, the father is the head of the household and men have authority over women and children. During the Elizabethan era the conduct toward women was vicious. Women were considered second class citizens. Males only consider women as possession, who is obligated to remain submissive and meek. Additionally, women are expected to be quiet, obedient to male figures, and chaste. Women were either considered a good wife or a whore. There are only three women in Othello; Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. Desdemona is the passive wife of Othello who has a quite idealistic take on life and marriage. Emilia is the cynical, perceptive women who seem to have a bitter take on her marriage to Iago. Bianca is portrayed as the whore of the play, and she has relations with Cassio. Although, each woman varies in roles and personality, they all had a common trait; they lived in a patriarchal society and suffered together. Each of them live in a society where it was ideal to think women were psychologically and physiologically inferior to men, however in reality each of them knew their role in society.
The first part of the play is structured so as the reader to sense the build-up of tension taking place before the death of Caesar, reaching its climax with the assassination of Caesar and, later, when the angry mob attacks Cinna the poet, in Act III Scene III. This increasing tension is deeply related with one of the main themes of the play, “Fate versus Free Will”, because, all along with the different omens that are revealed by different characters in the course of the play, it contributes to the idea that some things are sort of pre-established, like if there was a superior power deciding the destiny of the characters .The play seems to support a philosophy in which fate and freedom maintain a delicate coexistence. Portia and Calpurnia, representing Women, are an important part of this theme since, in the beginning of the play; they are the ones that are more frightened about what may happen to their husbands. Portia fears something terrible would be taking place because of the strange behaviour her husband was having at the time. Calpurnia, on the other hand, is a character in deep relation with this theme, due to the dreams she has foreseeing the death of her husband:
For thousands of years, humanity has been ruled mainly by a Patriarchal society. In this society women have often been seen as objects or inferior humans through the eyes of their male counterparts. The Elizabethan era was no exception to these beliefs, and works of literature often supported these misogynistic views. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, however, the author appears to portray the characters of Portia and Calphurnia in a positive light, ignoring the common stereotypes often associated with female characters. Although Portia and Calphurnia have minor parts in the play, their strength is discernible. Both female characters are portrayed as logical voices of reason, whose intellect and intuition are able to foreshadow Caesar's death. Their loyalty and devotion to their husbands, and their ability to manipulate the most powerful men in Rome, demonstrates that Shakespeare intended to portray Portia and Calphurnia as women of great strength and power.
The way in which women were treated in Roman times is an interesting issue which arises in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. We can look at modern society to see what similarities or differences may exist between the two.
From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two female characters in Julius Caesar, Portia and Calpurnia do not play a pivotal role in the overall plot of the story, their presence is vital in illuminating and developing the characters of their husbands, Brutus and Caesar. What they reveal about their husbands leads the reader to infer that Portia is the more admirable and redeeming character.
In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , he reveals his historical influences by incorporating aspects of Roman Society, such as the plebeians struggle against Roman hierarchy. Additionally, Shakespeare formulated the play’s main conflict around Caesar and his ambition, which can be attributed to the cause of man’s demise, and he based Caesar’s character after the actual Caesar motivations and conquests. He also reflects English society by including parallels between Queen Elizabeth I and Julius Caesar. Lastly, through the play’s conflict, he conveys his political views on civil war and expresses his concern for the fate of England’s government. Most importantly, Shakespeare demonstrates how age-old stories, such as the betrayal of Julius Caesar, can be applied to current society. By understanding Shakespeare's motivations and influences, readers are not only able to glimpse into the age of Roman Empire, but also, they are able to understand the political turmoil in England during Shakespeare's