Exploring Sexuality in Taming of the Shrew

Desdemona and Emilia can be perceived as a foil to each other because of their different beliefs for women’s roles in marriage. Her obedience toward her husband causes her to steal the handkerchief and give it to Iago, so he can falsely set Cassio up with it. Without Emilia, Shakespeare could not have exposed his view on women’s roles and marriage, and the storyline for his tragic play Othello could not have been achieved. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Othello.

Throughout Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare portrayed women as objects or shrews that needed to be tamed. Kate was the daughter of a wealthy man named Baptista Minolta from Padua. She was the oldest sister and, under tradition of the time, had to be married first. Bianca, on the other hand, was the younger daughter and was courted by many. Due to Kate’s wild behavior, the suitors were afraid of her.

Ophelia, the implied lover of Prince Hamlet, and Queen Gertrude, his mother, do not appear significant, but their actions and characters allow for other events to unfold. Gertrude and Ophelia are manipulated and belittled. In their weak will, they end up betraying Hamlet. Observing their manipulation by other people, Hamlet is able to justify and go through with his actions. Despite Ophelia’s weak will, the male characters respond dramatically to her actions, proving that women indeed have a large impact in Hamlet.

The Damage caused by Gertrude Shakespeare repeatedly tackles sexuality within The Tragedy of Hamlet. Sexuality is important when establishing the reasons for Hamlet’s desires, mood swings, and his constant struggle with gender identity because sexuality is in the center of it all. For example, highlighted in act 3.4 Hamlet argues with his mother, Gertrude, over the content of the performance that Hamlet directed. Hamlet outright accuses his mother of being a whore and of being deceitful for marry her husband’s brother. However, Hamlet’s angry is much more deeply rooted because his acting out against Gertrude is not simply because of her betrayal and incest-like sexual desires, it is more or so because now he has to question himself and his

They are seemingly devoted to each other and are made uncomfortable by George and Martha’s constant attacks of each other. However, in the following acts, we find that this one is aptly titled “Fun and Games” when the truth is revealed about the two couples. In the second act, we learn that the idyllic perception of Nick and Honey’s marriage is exactly that: a fairy tale. George and Martha begin to attack Nick and Honey (as well as each other) and force them to admit the false pretenses on which their marriage is based; namely, that Nick only married Honey because he believed her to be pregnant. Also, the fact that Nick is so easily seduced by Martha makes one doubt the love in his marriage to Honey.

These days we are used to it, but it would have been a much more boring play if there was sentimental comedy involved. The basic plot of the play is about everyone being confused and tricked. Marlow is very shy and timid around women of the same and upper class to him, yet when talking to lower classes he is loud and often rude. Tony, Mrs Hardcastle... ... middle of paper ... ...a lot of elaborate clothing: “HARDCASTLE: What a quantity of superfluous silk hast thou got about thee, girl.” Kate is a bold character, unlike the sentimental heroines. The audience find it comical when her father talks to Kate about Marlow: “HARDCASTLE: And very handsome.

She is the one woman no man has been able to tame, and no man has wanted to. The town sees her as callous, sharp-tongued, and unmannerly, until Petruchio comes along to woo her. At the end of Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew it seems as though Petruchio has tamed Kate but in actuality she has simply learned to play his game and tell him what he wants to hear. After Kate's father agrees to her marriage, Petruchio sets off to find Katherine and tell her the news. Upon finding her, they argue back and forth, teasing one another with playful words.

Although his actions are innocent in their intent, it is clear that his emotions are manifested in a sexual manner for Gertrude. This sexual tension is brought to fruition through the Hamlet’s reaction to his mother’s marriage. It is argued that, he cannot stand to see Gertrude with another man because in his eyes she is undeserving of anyones love but his own. He is disgusted by this, and it is argued that when,“Hamlet knew of the marriage, his whole soul was filled with nausea at the thought of the speedy hasting to ‘incestuous sheets’” (Dolpher 343). His nausea is a physical manifestation of the jealousy for Gertrude’s relationship with Claudius.

She emphasizes that marriages can only be successful if they are founded on mutual love. Elizabeth and Darcy 's relationship is really different from all the others in the novel. Elizabeth does not care about him being super rich and he does not find her the most beautiful. At the beginning, he thinks she is “tolerable”. They do not like each other at the beginning, they argue a lot and are really sassy towards each other.

Katherine has to deal with being unwanted and “ostracized because she dares to speak her mind and defy male characters, while Bianca disguises her defiance.” (Shakespearean Criticism 97. 353). Bianca, who is wanted by nearly every man in the region, is actually more dangerous and defying than Katherine, but because she is less forward, she is viewed as less of a threat. Baptista, who clearly favors Bianca, “see[s] that he is going to be checkmated- that is, to yield up his youngest daughter, [uses] Katherine to reach a stalemate, a deadlock situation in which neither player can win the game.” (Shakespearean Criticism 97.312). What Baptista doesn’t know is that his daughter was betraying his will and sneaking off with Luciento, a man posing as a tutor trying to court her.