The well known and greatly respected, William Shakespeare has written an abundant amount of controversial, thought provoking, and needless to say, captivating plays within his time. His plays were centralized around love, the idea of being in love, and the consequences that may follow. With this being said, many of his plays were easily relatable and at various times his audience saw a mirror image of themselves on stage, which made the experience interactive and psychologically stimulating. In the majority of his plays, the woman in power was never blinded by love, instead, she always seemed to have men at her feet and used them to her advantage. On the contrary, women who were foolishly in love happened to be docile and had little to no power or control of their lives. Is this pattern a coincidence? One can say that Shakespeare was nothing but a mere example of an individual whose writing was influenced by his time. In his era he witnessed the reign of Queen Elizabeth who was the head of state and the most powerful person in England during the 16th century. Along with Mary Tudor and Mary Stuart who were strong, independent, and feared by their people. Additionally, Shakespeare never failed to include women who were viewed as sexual creatures. Therefore, the concept of femininity can be debated. His readers might have wondered what exactly made a feminine woman feminine and how was Shakespeare able to determine this? Also, was Shakespeare influenced by the women in the Elizabethan Age and if so, did he foreshadow the rise of women? Shakespeare incorporated and focused on women who fit the traditional gender role in society and women who opposed their role in a patriarchal society.
Women in the Early Modern Elizabethan Age we...
... middle of paper ...
...rce: Estranging the Renaissance. Ed. Marjorie Garber. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1987. 90-121.
Dash, Irene G. Women's Worlds in Shakespeare's Plays. Newark, DE: University of Delaware, 1997. Print.
Linda Bamber, Comic Women, Tragic Men, Stanford Univ. Press., Stanford, 1982
Tennenhouse, Leonard. Power of Display: The politics of Shakespeare's genres.
Camden, Carroll. The Elizabethan Woman. Houston [Tex.: Elsevier, 1952. Print.
Howard, Judith A. "Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories, And: Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge (review)." NWSA Journal 14.2 (2002): 192-95. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
Wiesner, Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge [England: Cambridge UP, 1993. Print.
Tassi, Marguerite A. Women and Revenge in Shakespeare: Gender, Genre, and Ethics. Selinsgrove [Pa.: Susquehanna UP, 2011. Print.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
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.
Greene, Lenz, Neely, eds. The Woman's Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1980.
Smith, Rebecca. The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Champaign, IL: U of Illinois P, 1983
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.
...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.
Orgel, Stephen, and Sean Keilen. Shakespeare and Gender. New York: Garland Pub., 1999. Online text.
Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.
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