How Does Shakespeare Show Courage

Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face danger, pain, etc., without fear. Geoffrey Trease was a British writer who published 113 books and Cue for Treason was one of them. This book mainly talks about the history of Shakespeare and the Elizabethan era and how stereotypical it was. Kit demonstrates courage in the novel by pretending to be a boy, not being afraid of danger or risks, and by not conforming to the stereotypical image of an Elizabethan young woman.

Pretending to be a boy is not an easy or a common thing to do, it takes a lot of bravery and courage. Back then in the 16th century there were consequences if a girl was caught pretending to be a boy one of the consequences or punishments is that the girl gets grounded and won’t be able to move around, but Kit showed courage by not being afraid of any punishments and standing up for her rights. Pretending to be a boy was very dangerous for Kit because her dream was to become an actor which means she had a lot of people watching her which means she can get caught any time by anyone, but she showed courage for not being afraid of that and following her dream of acting.
Kit showed courage by fighting for her freedom without being afraid of danger or risks.
“Yes. I have no mother or father. Or five sisters” This quote clearly shows how weak Kit should be, but even though she has no parents or siblings to support her, she is still fighting for her rights and following her dream of becoming an actor. Kit showed courage in the novel when she followed the yellow gentleman who tricked Peter into giving him Shakespeare’s script home just to help Peter out. After Peter said “If I don’t come out in 10 minutes” Kit said “I’m coming in to look for you!” This quote clearly shows how courageous and brave Kit is because she isn’t afraid that she gets caught by Sir Philip or his friends all she cares about is
Peter.

The image of an Elizabethan young woman was very stereotypical, but Kit tried her very best not to follow that image and still followed her dream of becoming an actor. After Peter thought of Kit’s situation he said “Why shouldn’t women act women’s parts” This quote clearly shows how much courage and bravery you need to have to do what Kit is doing this quote also shows how unequal between a man and a woman it was back then. Kit’s dream was obviously acting which means Kit had to be seen by hundreds of people each time she goes on stage, the fact that Kit continued to follow her dream not afraid of anyone detecting or finding out that she’s a girl is very shocking and courageous. Back then in the Elizabethan Era there very serious consequences if a girl was caught acting sometimes even beheading, but Kit wasn’t afraid she still went out there on stage and followed her dream of becoming an actor.

At the end Kit showed everyone that she is a very strong and courageous girl by pretending to be a boy, not being afraid of danger or risks, and not following the stereotypical image of an Elizabethan young woman. Courage is not that easy to show, especially back in the Elizabethan Era, but Kit still showed a very high amount of courage in the novel.