Discuss the part played by the following in Hamlet, with brief reference to the same theme or concern in Antigone: female sexuality
Discuss the part played by one of the following in Hamlet, with brief reference to the same theme or concern in Antigone or the poetry of John Donne: female sexuality, the supernatural, or the passage of time.
Human sexuality is thought to be the manifestation of ‘the limits of human agency and willpower’ (Sjöholm, 2004), however its expression is perceived as the embodiment of human freedom. It is through the oppression of female sexuality that throughout history females were essentially rendered powerless. Forced by the expectations of society to conform to a constructed ideal, expressing virtues such as obedience, piety and sexual chastity. Although female sexuality was seen as taboo it was, and remains, a continual topic of interest, examined throughout history in art and literature. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Antigone, the two female characters, namely Ophelia and Antigone, seem to undergo a similar progression. Due to their sexuality, throughout the tragedies Ophelia and Antigone are excluded from society, pushed to change in order to cope and eventually driven to suicide. Consequently through their predicaments they bare the hierarchy and social norms the Elizabethan and Ancient Greek societies. Ophelia’s identity is shown to be much dependant and shaped by the men who surrounded her. Lacking a significant female role model to identify with Ophelia’s belief in her own ‘intelligence, virtue and autonomy’ (Dane, 1998) is absent; she therefore conforms to the desires of the men in her life. Hamlet as well as her father and brother attempt to control and repress her sexuality. Laertes tries to warn Ophelia about male advances, specifically Hamlets, telling her to ‘Fear it Ophelia, fear it my dear sister’ (Shakespeare, 1.3.32), however excusing Hamlet by explaining that ‘his will is not his own…he is subject to his birth’ (Shakespeare, 1.3.17-18). Here Laertes establishes the roles of males and females, explaining males as able and expected
Human sexuality is thought to be the manifestation of ‘the limits of human agency and willpower’ (Sjöholm, 2004), however its expression is perceived as the embodiment of human freedom. It is through the oppression of female sexuality that throughout history females were essentially rendered powerless. Forced by the expectations of society to conform to a constructed ideal, expressing virtues such as obedience, piety and sexual chastity. Although female sexuality was seen as taboo it was, and remains, a continual topic of interest, examined throughout history in art and literature. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Antigone, the two female characters, namely Ophelia and Antigone, seem to undergo a similar progression. Due to their sexuality, throughout the tragedies Ophelia and Antigone are excluded from society, pushed to change in order to cope and eventually driven to suicide. Consequently through their predicaments they bare the hierarchy and social norms the Elizabethan and Ancient Greek societies. Ophelia’s identity is shown to be much dependant and shaped by the men who surrounded her. Lacking a significant female role model to identify with Ophelia’s belief in her own ‘intelligence, virtue and autonomy’ (Dane, 1998) is absent; she therefore conforms to the desires of the men in her life. Hamlet as well as her father and brother attempt to control and repress her sexuality. Laertes tries to warn Ophelia about male advances, specifically Hamlets, telling her to ‘Fear it Ophelia, fear it my dear sister’ (Shakespeare, 1.3.32), however excusing Hamlet by explaining that ‘his will is not his own…he is subject to his birth’ (Shakespeare, 1.3.17-18). Here Laertes establishes the roles of males and females, explaining males as able and expected