Shakespearean comedies, like “The Taming of the Shrew”, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” and “The Merchant of Venice”, typically end with a happy ending usually involving a marriage between a couple that was courting throughout the play. The ill-matched couples courting throughout the play often encounter obstacles and experience an uncanny style of courting. Shakespeare focuses on the hectic courting of the poorly matched individuals married at the end of the play rather than the future lives of these newlyweds is not given much thought in order to give the play a light ending. Rather than Shakespeare describing love as a natural human state, necessary for true happiness, Shakespeare’s plays are doubtful about marriage’s ability to provide contentment. Shakespeare’s portrayal of marriage emphasizes its social function rather than the two individuals involved having a mutual love and respect from one another. In Shakespearean comedies, the father uses his power to decide who his daughter marries in order to maintain social, economic and political power. The three comedies begin with the conflict between daughter and father when it comes to a father’s influence on the daughter’s marriage. The father in the play, sees the marrying of his daughter as important because of the financial, political aspects rather than his daughter’s happiness. In Shakespeare’s comedies like “The Taming of the Shrew”, “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” and “The Merchant of Vencice”, Shakespeare portrays marriage as a social function, rather than a route to personal happiness.
Shakespeare lived in an age devoted to the maintenance of order through hierarchy, an age in which the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib was both historical fact and article of faith. (2). S...
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...tista accepting Petruchio and Lucentio as a potential suitor for his daughters shows that Baptista has no concern for Kate’s or Bianca’s happiness.
The play tends to explore romantic relationships from a social perspective, addressing the institutions of courtship and marriage rather than the inner passions of lovers. 2. Women were expected to please her husband, listening to any request he may have. Women are expected to act a certain way to become a perfect wife for her husband. The third way Shakespeare portrays marriage by showing that women give into the power of men. It is the women’s moral and social responsibility to give into the power of her husband. Women easily given in to the men’s superiority displaying the female weakness. The author discusses how Shakespeare uses “The Taming of the Shrew” to reflect the real life relationships between men and women.
The idea of marriage and romance was demonstrated in The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare where that it was the father's right to marry his daughters off to the male who bided the "sufficient dower" and asserted the greatest masculinity.
“The Taming Of The Shrew” by William Shakespeare is a work of satire created to criticize the misogynistic outlooks of the 16th century. With this play, Shakespeare is trying to say that the idea and role of women in his society is deeply flawed and should be fixed, as well as to make other social commentaries, such as on the treatment of servants. Through exaggeration and parody, Shakespeare makes society look silly.
In the beginning of “The Taming of the Shrew”, some say Shakespeare portrays Katherina as a very shrewish figure. Others may argue that she is not shrewish but just a very strong willed person. At the end of the play some people say she is transformed into a very kind and gentle person, while again others will argue that she is not “tamed” but just putting on an act to “show up” her younger sister Bianca, whom has always been more beautiful and charming. Kate is “like a wasp, like a foal, like foal that kicks from his halter; pert, quick and determined, but full of good heart.” 1. This statement made by one author, shows clearly that he does not see her as shrew-like, even at the beginning of the play. The same author states that at the end of the play she has not really transformed, rather she has just fallen in love with Petruchio, in essence she is free from torment because she is no longer seen as the shrew.
Love is a powerful emotion, capable of turning reasonable people into fools. Out of love, ridiculous emotions arise, like jealousy and desperation. Love can shield us from the truth, narrowing a perspective to solely what the lover wants to see. Though beautiful and inspiring when requited, a love unreturned can be devastating and maddening. In his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare comically explores the flaws and suffering of lovers. Four young Athenians: Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia, and Helena, are confronted by love’s challenge, one that becomes increasingly difficult with the interference of the fairy world. Through specific word choice and word order, a struggle between lovers is revealed throughout the play. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare uses descriptive diction to emphasize the impact love has on reality and one’s own rationality, and how society’s desperate pursuit to find love can turn even strong individuals into fools.
During the Shakespearean era, obeying husbands and fathers was looked at so highly that it matched obeying the King of England; the uppermost pedestal was reserved for the Shakespearean man. Gender roles lead to the development of self-individualism which divided the men from the women by establishing a deep distrust of women into the men along with an authoritative dominance, and in hand locked women into a permanent submissive position. One of the most oppressed groups throughout history has been women, which were socially, economically, educationally and religiously oppressed during the time period of Shakespearean society. Social normality and political views has been throughout time, arguably the most extreme oppression enforcement over social outcaste subgroups. Society also held a strong grip on artists and the creative messages of the work that artist deliver to the world, which can depict a sometimes hidden, or subtle dropping of opinions of the hard hitting issues at hand during the present time period. Shakespeare is deemed as one of the greatest known writer’s in English history, not only because he was tremendously attentive towards the Elizabethan era and the diverse struggles that haunted the streets of England in everyday life’s routine, but because he did more than just take notice, as he acted upon the travesties he observed by weaving the representation of the world he came to know through his artwork, leaving the world with irreplaceable pieces of literature and insightful history of Shakespearean society.
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of the masterpieces of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare explores various aspects of love and friendship. With the help of the main characters such as Lysander, Demetrious Helena and Hermia, he endeavors that the path of love is full of obstacles, however, if one is committed and faithful, he/she can defy those obstacles leading him/her to success. As Lysander says “The course of true love never did run smooth”, the love stories presented in the play undergo difficult situations but eventually the genuine love is recognized by the triumph of the true loves.
The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, deals with marriage. The ideas explored are primarily shown through the characters of Petruchio and Katharina. We are introduced to the trials and tribulation's which present themselves in their everyday lives. The characters bring up a traditional concept of male domination. Through the play we see the need for domination through Petruchio, and the methods he uses to dominate. While these ideas of male domination have remained a constant throughout the years, however recently there has been a change toward equality.
"Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them." -Oscar Wilde. This quote embodies the fight over gender roles and the views of women in society. Taming of the Shrew deals with Kate and Bianca, two sisters who are at the time to he married off. However, suitors who seek Bianca as a wife have to wait for her sister to be married first. Kate is seen as a shrew because she is strong willed and unlike most women of the time. In his 1603 play The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare enforces traditional gender roles and demonstrates how little say women had in society. He accomplishes this through the strong personality of Kate, Baptista 's attitude towards his daughters as transactions, and
Centuries ago in Elizabethan England there were many traditions about marriage and the treatment of women. One strong tradition of these times was the practice of marriage between races. Interracial marriages were considered extremely taboo. (High Beam). In this era marriages were arranged by the parents with strong help from the local church. The individuals had little choice as to who they would marry. (Elizabethan England Life). Yet another example of these traditions was the respectable treatment of women. While the husband was in charge of his wife, as was the father, the husband were expected to treat the women right (Elizbethi). In spurning all of these traditions, Shakespeare demonstrates a view of marriage far different from that of Elizabethan England, in doing this he is trying to plant new ideas in the people who read or view the play.
This play has many themes of patriarchy concerning the roles of males and females in a marriage, the authority of fathers over their families, husbands over wives, and men over women (Bloom 13). In the title alone, there's the indication of the husband over the wife, the "taming" of the shrew (16), and the word shrew that is chosen to describe Katherine is somewhat demeaning. In modern day society there is no such boundaries put on women. There should not be one party who overpowers the other one. It is a marriage, a bond that is shared, and each should be respected in the same way. Today, women and men are equals in a marriage, or at least in the United States. Women are no longer as oppressed as they once were. This play is rather primitive on the views of women in society.
Sexism is an ever changing concept in today’s world. Every day the concept morphs a little bit, changing the entire definition of what is sexist and what is not. In The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, the male characters lie to and abuse their women in order to have the women marry them. Lucentio come to Padua to study, but when he sees a beautiful girl, he pretends to be a teacher in order to marry Bianca. Petruchio on the other hand forces a woman to marry him and then trains her to follow his every command. Although the The Taming of the Shrew is frequently regarded as a particularly sexist play, it is not sexist and demeaning towards women.
In The Taming of the Shrew, the concept of love is a means of emotional manipulation, and manipulation is nothing more than a means of control between men and women. William Shakespeare critiques the patriarchal social structure by ironically employing the manipulative stance Petruchio takes towards winning Katherine as his wife by charming her with words and manipulating her psychologically, and then taming her after their marriage through legal, physical, financial, and psychological control and manipulation. Though Petruchio may think he yields power over his wife, Katherine uses obedience as a tool of manipulation and has the control of the household, as can be seen by her ironic speech at the end of the play, where she claims women must serve their men. Shakespeare uses the irony of a man using manipulation as a tool for control to magnify the significance of the power women yield through manipulation, thus proving that men and women engage in a power-shifting struggle.
William Shakespeare’s writings are famous for containing timeless, universal themes. A particular theme that is explored frequently in his writings is the relationship between men and women. A Midsummer Night’s Dream contains a multitude of couplings, which are often attributed to the fairies in the play. Each of these pairings has positive and negative aspects, however, some relationships are more ideal than others. From A Midsummer Night’s Dream the optimal pairings are Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, and Oberon and Titania; while the less desirable pairings are Theseus and Hippolyta, Hermia and Demetrius, Lysander and Helena, and Titania and Bottom. Throughout A Midsummer
Marriage in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew At the time Shakespeare wrote The Taming of the Shrew the idealistics
The universal nature of the themes in The Taming of the Shrew, beg analysis and social critique. This comedic farce, by William Shakespeare, creates an elegant depiction of a modern life and romantic love with all of its masks and pretensions. It is easy to assume the perspective of a psychotherapist while witnessing the drama of Katherine and Petruchio’s love affair unfolding. Concepts like “emotional repression” and “therapeutic catharsis” neatly fit the “taming” scenario. In fact, this play offers many new insights into what it takes to create an enduring, viable marriage—if one understands it from a very contemporary, psychotherapeutic or even spiritual point of view. If one is distracted by the recent feminist perspectives of this play, it is easy to miss the integrity and practicality expressed in Katherine’s final exhortation to women on how to love their men: