I usually look at the picture in the class and the worksheet for any hint of an answer to our group work. The pictures of Queen Elizabeth help remind us that she too was once like us, young and lively. Through this, we can related to her as a young adult, rather than an old political figure we see her as today.…
One of the negative traits of the Puritans was sexism. They were sexist because they excluded from decision making in the churches (002). Women were only respected if they managed a household (002). While male Puritans could receive a college education, women didn’t receive a college education, in fact women didn’t receive an education at all (003). It is sad that so much talent was wasted from women was wasted in the Puritan colonies.…
In past years women have played a role economically, politically, and socially, therefore having a huge impact on the way they are perceived in literary works. Women have been oppressed and undermined by men for centuries, thus creating feminist criticism within literature. Mary Wollstonecraft author of, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, highlights the inequalities between the sexes. For example, men were seen as freethinkers that ruled and changed the world for better, while women were recognized as pretty objects that bear children and took care of household duties. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the women in the play are portrayed as extremely weak, passive, and submissive, illustrating the power dynamics between men and women.…
Female emancipation and the struggle for women of existing within a predominately patriarchal society is a prevalent topic in literature. Female heroines are portrayed variably across all eras and genres of literature and yet the use of a melancholic and isolated female protagonist is arguably inescapable as writers continually refer back to a critical portrayal of women in their work. From Chaucer’s presentment of the Wife of Bath as an old hag to John Donne’s plea in his poem ‘Loves Alchemy’ that one should “Hope not for mind in women”1; or one of Shakespeare’s female protagonists, Ophelia driven mad arguably due to her unrequited love for Hamlet. There is a tendency in literature, with particular reference to Shakespeare’s…
Throughout history, a strong male lead has been the popular choice in literature. Oftentimes, the females in written works are seen as weaker characters than their male counterparts. This was especially true in the time of Shakespeare. In Hamlet, both Ophelia and Gertrude, the queen, are written in this way. Although they both could have had a large impact on the plot, Shakespeare chose to write them in as small, impotent characters. This may be because that's how women were often viewed in his time.…
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) probably didn't know the impact of his words writing "Hamlet" would affect the history of literature, playwriting and poetry. Written at the peak of his career, it's considered his masterpiece and the most controversial of his works, not only because of its philosophical insights into human nature but for showing the reality of the political system during Elizabethan times and the abuse of power. If Shakespeare portrays these issues through strong male characters and their concerns about life, he on the other hand portrayed women still in the way they were supposed to behave and act. Elizabethan women were submissive, subservient to men and they had no voice other than 'I do' the day they married. Such a paradox, as the chief of state at the time was Elizabeth I, considered almost as a supreme being and who intentionally never got married because that would've made her the consort of the King and therefore she would've lost her authority for issues far more domestic. This submission and the fact that they were also dependant on their men relatives made them the perfect tool to forge alliances with powerful families normally through arranged marriages.…
Since the Renaissance, when Shakespeare born and wrote his works, many of the plays and literature styles have gained wide popularity among the readers and influenced many of the readers and the critics. Furthermore, people often say, it is widely believed at this time that role of males stand completely opposite to that of females; however, through the play of Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays a complex representation of human beings including femininity in its protagonist and title character, prince Hamlet. The Women in Literature and Life Assembly states in one of their articles, “Defining masculine and feminine characteristics allowed writers like Shakespeare to draw males with certain ‘feminine’ characteristics and females with certain ‘masculine’…
Hamlet is about Prince Hamlet’s misperceptions that women are morally Corrupt. Hamlet’s misperceptions originate from Gertrude’s inappropriate behavior and ignorance and Ophelia’s malleable behavior, and throughout the play Hamlet is rude and cynical to the two main female characters. Hamlet makes a sweeping generalization based on his Mother Gertrude and Ophelia that all women are morally corrupt, and in doing so he demonstrates a lack of trust in Gertrude that contributes to his madness and leads him to more trouble.…
Gender inequality in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, is a key discourse which is explored throughout the character of Ophelia. In Elizabethan England, the period of William Shakespeare, women were brought up in a patriarchal society where they were dominated by the authority of men. Women were socially degraded and taught they were inferior to men. Ophelia, is portrayed as weak, submissive and is manipulated continuously by the male figures in her life. Throughout the play, Ophelia is continuously taken advantage of and used as an object by her father Polonius and her love interest Hamlet. In modern day society, women have become more independent and generally have more freedom in regards to social expectations.…
In many of William Shakespeare’s works, it is evident that Shakespeare is alluding the lack of intelligence and weakness of women. “Frailty, thy name is woman” (1.2.146), quoted by Shakespeare in Hamlet is an example of this. In Hamlet, Shakespeare depicts characters like Ophelia and Gertrude as demonstrating weakness and being tools of manipulation by the males in their lives. Their actions and fates are greatly influenced by the men's decisions and are led by the men in their lives, which gives them a weak image. Women in the Elizabethan era were reliant on men to make their decisions as they were oppressed and disregarded in society. As Alex Gilbertson states, “this was not a glorious time…
The motif of misogyny occurs throughout the play ‘Hamlet,’ it is however especially prominent in Act III Scene I, lines 135-149. Shakespeare has used negative imagery and language to portray ‘Hamlet’s’ dislike of women, for example ‘Hamlet’ in this extract curses ‘Ophelia’ that even if she is ‘as chaste as ice, as pure as snow,’ she will still be looked down upon, the imagery of ‘snow’ is often used by authors to represent virginity and is not necessary seen as being negative, Shakespeare however could have used this language to create the connotation that like ‘snow’ and ‘ice’ virginity is only temporary, and not something that will last forever, this is something that appears to frustrate and anger ‘Hamlet.’ This frustration ‘Hamlet’ has…
People think that because of the way the women were treated by hamlet and the things that he had said to…
The play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, written in 1599 repeatedly brings up female sexuality. The emphasis on female sexuality has a lot to do with the time period and gender stereotypes in the time, some that are still vivid in the twenty first century. Some of the common disbeliefs are that all women are associated with corruption and temptation (Wilcox 45), this stereotype comes about from the story of Adam and Eve, which has been around since the creation of Christianity. Hamlet was written in the early modern English era, a time in which a female’s chastity was held as her “primary virtue” (Gibson 2).…
American politician and feminist Shirley Chisholm once said “The emotional, sexual and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, “it's a girl”. In saying this, Chisholm draws attention to the idea that from birth females are stereotyped and victimised, purely as a result of society’s ingrained attitudes towards women. This unfortunate, patriarchal portrayal of females as the less dominant gender is a theme that is not only reflected through the Shakespearean play ‘Hamlet’, but in many areas of contemporary society. Although times have changed since the Elizabethan era, women are still oppressed and restricted by male-constructed orders and societal attitudes, along with unequal power structures between the sexes to a lesser extent.…
The presence of only two female characters and their ultimate deaths show the little importance Shakespeare places on their role in his plays. In Hamlet, the roles of women are minor yet essential to the plot of the play. Gertrude and Ophelia are both seen as being submissive, naive and frail. Their actions are greatly influenced by men’s decisions, giving them a weak image as women who are dependent on men during Shakespeare’s time. Gender inequality is a predominant issue in many of Shakespeare’s plays, including Hamlet. To some readers Ophelia and Gertrude's downfalls can be blamed on the narrow minded and sexist men or their own inevitably obvious…