It is a peculiar feature of Shakespeare's plays that they both participate in and
reflect the ideas of gender roles in Western society. To the extent that they reflect existing
notions about the 'proper' roles of men and women, they can be said to be a product of
their society. However, since they have been studied, performed, and taught for five
hundred years, they may be seen as formative of contemporary notions about the
relationships between males, females, and power.
Derrida was right in asserting that "there is no 'outside' to the text." His claim is that every text is
affected by every other text and every other speech act. As an instance, most of Shakespeare's
plays have traceable sources for their central plots. Representations of gender in Renaissance
drama are tied to their original presentation: "bearing the traces of their history in a theatrical
enterprise which completely excluded women, (these texts) construct gender from a
relentlessly androcentric perspective" (Helms 196). It is the ways in which these texts
reflect or distort the gender expectations of society, either Elizabethan or contemporary,
that is so important.
Comedy that centers on the relationship between conventional couples rather than
on resolution of the situation that keeps them apart is really quite difficult to find in
Shakespeare. Ferdinand and Miranda are so uninteresting as a couple that their chief
function seems to be as an excuse for Prospero to exhibit his art. The lovers in Midsummer Night’s
Dream are certainly at their most entertaining when they're in love with the wrong person. It is the
exaggerated character--Falstaff, Petruchio, Paulina, or Cleopatra--or those who step
outside th...
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Works Consulted
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Cook, Carol. "Unbodied Figures of Desire (on Troilus and Cressida)." In Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre., Sue-Ellen Case, ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990
Dollimore, Jonathan. Subjectivity, Sexuality, and Transgression: The Jacobean Connection. Renaissance Drama n.s. 17 (1986), 53-81
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Harris, Bernice. "Sexuality as a Signifier for Power Relations: Using Lavinia, of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus" Critcism 38 (1996): 383-407.
Dash, Irene G. "Wooing, Wedding, and Power: Women in Shakespeare Plays". The Critical Perspective Volume 2. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 825-833.
He named this stage of development, identity vs. role confusion. At this age children explore their individuality and independence. They develop a sense of who they are and where they belong. Those adolescents who are given proper encouragement and reinforcements at this stage of development, will develop a sturdy sense of identity and also a feeling of individuality. Those adolescents who continue to be uncertain of themselves and their wishes will feel unconfident and uncertain about themselves and their future. Adolescents who complete this stage successfully will lead to a strong dependability, which Erikson defined as being capable to live by the world standards and
...n Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1997.
Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.
Members of this society must learn what the appropriate way for them to behave is and what to expect of themselves and others. Growing up, gender roles were set on me as I played with fire trucks and cars, and my sisters played with Barbie's. The types of movies we watched were different and the types of books we read were also different. It would be thought of as bizarre for me, a male, to cry during Titanic, or to read Cinderella.
Female Sexuality in All's Well That Ends Well, Measure for Measure, and Troilus and Cressida
Ekici, Sara (2009). Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare's Plays Othello and Hamlet. Munich: GRIN Publishing.
Many psychologists have performed examinations over personality for many decades. With a vast amount of theories behind the meaning of personality, there still is no true explanation to why we are who we are. Some would argue that our personality is inherited and passed down through birth, whereas some theorist believes one’s personality is altered by life events and choices. I find it hard to grasp the idea that personality travels through the gene pool. I believe that personality changes frequently, in the sense that we adapt to our environment. Our surroundings, actions, and decisions all play a role in developing a personality. For example, a child that grew up in foster care might show signs of aggression or depression, whereas a child
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.
Adelman, Janet. 1985. 'Male Bonding in Shakespeare's Comedies.' In Shakespeare's Rough Magic: Renaissance Essays in Honor of C.L. Barber, edited by Peter Erickson and Coppélia Kahn. Cranbury and London: Associated University Presses, 73-103.
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
One of the benefits of using ABC system is product and price mix decisions; one of the
Leininger, Lorie Jerrel. “The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare’s Tempest.” The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Eds Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. 285-294
During this stage, a child is expected to learn identity versus identity confusion, producing fidelity, or "faith in one 's ideology" (Feist, Feist, Roberts 233). He or she will also begin to physically mature. This is better known as puberty. This stage was an influential time in my life. I moved to Florida, my parents got a divorce, and I endured an extremely abusive relationship. All of these things led me to feel inadequate. It wasn 't until I attended Cosmetology a few years after high school that I learned that I am, indeed, adequate and have many abilities that can be an asset. I also began to learn how to have a stronger social skills and develop relationships with strangers who would later become great friends. It took me years to learn to be confident in who I am, but none-the-less, I did succeed through this