William Shakespeare Research Paper
William Shakespeare was one of history’s most influential literary geniuses, whose work transcended time. His plays and sonnets have intrigued scholars and ordinary people alike for over 400 years. Even though his works and contributions to history are known, most of his personal life remains a mystery even to this day. While his life is quite cryptic, there are some connections that can be drawn between Shakespeare’s works and his life or the events surrounding it. One can clearly see examples in his plays of visual imagery due to scenery and props in theatres during his life being quite minimal, the role of women in society, and the impact of the Renaissance going on at the time. Visual imagery is often used in the plays of William Shakespeare,
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Women were thought of as lesser or subservient to men during his time. This can be shown in Shakespeare: The World as Stage through the way English actors harbored a “disdain for female actors” and how they “were genuinely surprised to find that women could play women as competently onstage as in life” when they saw women actually having roles in performances in other countries (Bryson 78). The role of women at the time is best expressed in Taming of the Shrew where even Katherine during her speech to Bianca and the widow says that it is the woman’s duty to obey their husbands and that “Our strength as weak, our weakness beyond compare” (Shr. 5.2.183). This accurately portrays the way society and even some women themselves viewed women as weak and subservient to men. In some of Shakespeare’s other works the attitude towards women is expressed through many of the conflicts that occur in the plays arising from a woman breaking the status quo. For example, because Hermia is “made bold” and refuses her father’s wish for her to wed Demetrius, she and Lysander run away into the woods and Demetrius and Helena follow, allowing most of the mischief with the “love-in-idleness” to occur (MND 1.1.59). Similarly, when Goneril and Regan subvert their father King Lear’s wishes and try to kill him it leads to events such as Gloucester losing his eyes trying to protect Lear and a war between England and France to reclaim Lear’s power and lands (Lr. 3.7.65; 4.4.28). These both represent how many viewed at the time that when a woman did not know her place, bad things would
Women were thought of as lesser or subservient to men during his time. This can be shown in Shakespeare: The World as Stage through the way English actors harbored a “disdain for female actors” and how they “were genuinely surprised to find that women could play women as competently onstage as in life” when they saw women actually having roles in performances in other countries (Bryson 78). The role of women at the time is best expressed in Taming of the Shrew where even Katherine during her speech to Bianca and the widow says that it is the woman’s duty to obey their husbands and that “Our strength as weak, our weakness beyond compare” (Shr. 5.2.183). This accurately portrays the way society and even some women themselves viewed women as weak and subservient to men. In some of Shakespeare’s other works the attitude towards women is expressed through many of the conflicts that occur in the plays arising from a woman breaking the status quo. For example, because Hermia is “made bold” and refuses her father’s wish for her to wed Demetrius, she and Lysander run away into the woods and Demetrius and Helena follow, allowing most of the mischief with the “love-in-idleness” to occur (MND 1.1.59). Similarly, when Goneril and Regan subvert their father King Lear’s wishes and try to kill him it leads to events such as Gloucester losing his eyes trying to protect Lear and a war between England and France to reclaim Lear’s power and lands (Lr. 3.7.65; 4.4.28). These both represent how many viewed at the time that when a woman did not know her place, bad things would