Timeless Treasure of Shakespeare's Women

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Recommended: Women in Shakespeare

Literature has drastically changed throughout the ages, and over time many plays, stories and poems have been forgotten by the majority of society. However, there are many pieces of literature dating back to the 16th century that are still studied to this day. A majority of these works belong to a man by the name of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is one of the most well-known play authors to date, capturing his audience’s attention by defying the norms of his time. The way he displays the women in his works is quite different than the stereotypical view of women during his time, showing his ability to disobey the norms and expectations of his society.

The Elizabethan time in England had an everyday life founded on social ranking, the sovereign as the most high-ranking, the aristocracy as next rank, the upper classes as third, traders as fourth, and workmen as fifth. The monarch was thought of as God's portrayal here on Earth. The Elizabethans had a high consideration for relatives in a society. They thought that families were good examples for the people in their society. They were systematized and accompanied by a high regard for the significance of social rankings. They also thought that God had shaped these communal positions and had deluged protection on each rank.

There is hardly any uncertainty regarding the fact that the rule of Elizabeth, who offset all communal conventions of her time and yet was able to influence an era of prestige and affluence for her citizens, also had a sizable effect on the way women and mainly their role in the community were considered. Nonetheless, if we inspect the way women were often regarded throughout the Elizabethan Era, we come to the deduction that the affirmative effect of the Que...

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...New York: Routledge, 2000. Print.

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"Shakespeare's Heroines." -Folger Shakespeare Library. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.

"Shakespeare's Unruly Women." -Folger Shakespeare Library. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. .

"The Stage and the State: Shakespeare's Portrayal of Women and SovereignIssues in Macbeth and Hamlet." History Department, Hanover College. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. .

Weber, Harold. The Restoration Rake-hero: Transformations in Sexual Understanding in Seventeenth-century England. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 1986. Print.

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