The Passionate Pilgrim

1394 Words3 Pages

In choosing to undergo a feminist reading of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 144 (The Passionate Pilgrim, 1599), I have found that Shakespeare not only seeks to present womankind in a dark light but also endeavours to blame woman for his own ills. The sombre tone of the poem heightens this interpretation, and his piece is littered with phrases and imagery reflecting the conflict between light and dark, good and evil, which in turn emphasises his metaphor of having angels either side of him, acting as his moral compass. The narrator of the poem, which is taken to be Shakespeare himself, explicitly dooms the female character of his sonnet within the first quatrain, labelling her a “worser spirit”, contrasting the “better angel” he names ‘man’ to be. It is only in the third and fourth lines that we discover which are claimed to be the angels of “comfort” or “despair” as this is unclear in the opening line. This is due to Shakespeare referring to both angels as “loves”, hinting at an infatuation with both the good and the bad of his own psyche. Shakespeare’s clear affection for both these parts inspires the idea that one perhaps cannot exist without the other; that the good can always be found through the bad, and the bad can be found lurking, creating shadows on the good, much like the Chinese …show more content…

Shakespeare uses constant holy and religious vocabulary to describe his male lover, naming him an “angel” in lines three, six, nine, and twelve, as well as a “saint” in line seven. This infatuation with the male is contrasted to the heterosexual norm, said to not only be natural, but the ‘holy path’ due to the Christian society of which Shakespeare was a part. However, Shakespeare’s presentation of this norm is warped by his use of “hell, my female evil”, “corrupt”, and “bad angel” to describe his relationship with the

Show More
Related

  • As the World Turns, So Do the Days of Our Lives

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    Twelfth Night, written by Shakespeare between the years of 1599 and 1601 (“Shakespeare-Online”), is easily one of his most well-known plays. A year after the assumed date of publication, on February the 2nd of 1602, Twelfth Night was performed for the first time (“William-Shakespeare)”. The location of the production is thought to have taken place in the Middle Temple, which was one of four law schools within London that were known as the Inns of Court (“Shakespeare-Online”). Though some would classify Twelfth Night as generic, it is laced with a sharp sense of humor and controversial concerns that can easily be applied to the issues of present day. Many of these issues, such as marriage, gender identity, sex, homosexuality, and social ambition, are relevant in today’s society, making them easy to relate to. The central theme of the play is romance. The characters all experience love, in one way or another, whether it be unrequited or shared between more than one person. The plot is intricately woven, sometimes confusingly so, between twists and turns throughout the multiple acts, but it never strays too far from the subject of adoration. Despite the hardships, misperception and deceit the characters experience, six individuals are brought together in the name of holy matrimony in three distinct nuptials.

    Read More

  • The Manipulation of Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Othello

    4758 Words  | 10 Pages

    Rose, Mary Beth. The Expense of Spirit: Love and Sexuality in English Renaissance Drama. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1988. Shakespeare, William. The.

    Read More

  • Discrimination Against Women in Othello

    3073 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Fathers and Sons in Hamlet

    1192 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Portrayal Of Women In Othello

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare is known to be the greatest writer in the English language, and till this day Shakespeare upholds the title of being the start of English literature. Something every reader has possibly observed is how Shakespeare portrays women. The majority of William Shakespeare’s plays objectifies women and in some ways shows his underline feelings towards women, and their roles in society. This is clearly shown through out Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’. The society of Othello is completely controlled by men who are the military and political leaders of their homeland. Furthermore women are seen as powerless second-class citizens, who are in place for nothing more than to serve their men. But the horrendous actions and intense downfall of the men in Othello show how men are not nearly as authoritative and powerful as they seem. The boldness of the female characters proves that they are much more capable of just serving. Furthermore, by the end of the play, I admit the men of Othello are not the ones who perform courage and power instead; this title is given to the women in the play.

    Read More

  • The Threat of Women During the Jacobean Era

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    Grimmett, Roxanne. “’By Heaven and Hell’: re-evaluation representations of women and the angel/ whore dichotomy in Renaissance Tragedy.” Journal of International Women’s Studies 6.3 (2005): 31+. Academic One File. Web. 18 Apr.2014.

    Read More

  • Mary, Eve, and Lilith in Shakespeare's King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth

    3148 Words  | 7 Pages

    Feminist criticism often explores the symbolic or archetypal use of the Biblical figures of Mary and Eve in literary criticism. One figure which seems appropriate to such discussions, but so far neglected it seems, is the figure of Lilith. Indeed, in the case of Shakespearean criticism, Lilith seems an appropriate model at times for such characters as Goneril, Regan, Lady Macbeth, and so forth. Accordingly, it is my intention to explore this lost archetype and relate it to three of Shakespeare's tragedies: King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth.

    Read More

  • Gender Bias in Othello

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Feminist Analysis of Othello

    1738 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Mask We Wear: An Analysis of Sonnet 138

    1763 Words  | 4 Pages

    William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 138” depicts the relationship of a couple, who many believe to be the author and his mistress, a woman referred to as the dark lady. The sonnet’s immense use of imagery causes the reader to imagine the sonnet as a play where the characters are covered by masks. Furthermore the sonnet illustrates that through lies, characters are able to hide themselves and become something they are not. By changing oneself, one gives into mediocrity, because if one puts on a mask to be like everyone else, then that individual will never be able to be themselves. Although “Sonnet 138” depicts the speakers’ willingness to settle for false love and put on a mask, Sonnet 138 depicts a relationship that its very survival is based on this deceit.

    Read More

  • Sexuality in Shakespeare's As You Like It

    2612 Words  | 6 Pages

    Brown, Steve. 'The Boyhood of Shakespeare's Heroines: Notes on Gender Ambiguity in The Sixteenth Century.' Studies In English Literature 30 (Spring 1990): 243-264.

    Read More

  • Essay on Gender in William Shakespeare's Sonnets

    1781 Words  | 4 Pages

    Much has been made (by those who have chosen to notice) of the fact that in Shakespeare's sonnets, the beloved is a young man. It is remarkable, from a historical point of view, and raises intriguing, though unanswerable, questions about the nature of Shakespeare's relationship to the young man who inspired these sonnets. Given 16th-Century England's censorious attitudes towards homosexuality, it might seem surprising that Will's beloved is male. However, in terms of the conventions of the poetry of idealized, courtly love, it makes surprisingly little difference whether Will's beloved is male or female; to put the matter more strongly, in some ways it makes more sense for the beloved to be male.

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In Hamlet

    2145 Words  | 5 Pages

    The feminism of Shakespeare’s time is still largely unrecognized. Drama from the 1590’s to the mid-1600’s is feminist in sympathy. The author

    Read More

  • The Pilgrim's Progress

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author of The Pilgrim's Progress is well described by Coleridge's remark: "His piety was baffled by his genius; and Bunyan the dreamer overcame the Bunyan of the conventicle." This remark points out the difficulty that Bunyan faces when he attempts to write a religious piece of work in the style of allegory. The Pilgrim's Progress is "pious" because it is a piece written in dedication to God. It contains important religious teachings -- what a good Christian should do and what he should not do. What Coleridge means by Bunyan's "genius" is basically the story itself. The story is so well written that people become so interested in the story and forget the whole spiritual truth behind and this worry Bunyan. Coleridge also indicates in his remarks, the tension between "piety" and "dreaming". "Dreaming", as we know is unreal, and it can hardly be connected with "piety". But Bunyan, through his "genius", not only managed to bring these two things together, but in way that would be satisfiable to all.

    Read More

  • Comparing Female Chastity In Hamlet And Othello

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis/Topic of Paper: Rooted in strict Renaissance Christian ethics, the plays “Hamlet” and “Othello” by William Shakespeare both clearly exhibit an obsession with female chastity. In both tragedies, the male protagonists continuously doubt, with seldom evidence, the trustworthiness and loyalty of their lovers-- believing that uncontrolled feminine sexuality cannot result in anything but chaos, and ultimately projecting this belief until their paranoia results in emotional and physical abuse that leads to their lover’s demise. Only in the wake of their deaths do the men redeem their beloved as morally and sexually innocent, illustrating how female sexuality during the 16th-century was condemned in life, while fetishized in death due to masculine feelings of anxiety

    Read More

More about The Passionate Pilgrim

Open Document