Women in Shakespeare's Plays
Women in Shakespeare´s Plays
1. Appearance and Behavior - women are adorable creatures of sweetness and grace, phantoms of delight - they are angels of purity and they are "good" - they are the most enchanting women in literature and they are beautiful, but Shakespeare could not describe them in detail - their voices are charming, beautiful and well-placed - they seem to exist only in their attachment to others
2. Roles in the plays - in more than half of Shakespeare´s plays, women have the most important role - often, they are cleverer and braver than men and they take the initiative in order to save someone else´s life, whereas men remain passive (Portia) - Shakespeare had no heroes, only heroines -most of these are faultless, steadfast in grave hope and errorless purpose - the wittiest and most playful of these heroines is Beatrice: she forsakes her pride and her contempt after she realizes that she has fought against her inclinations long enough and that she is attracted to Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing) -> especially these energetic, intelligent and ready-witted women were uncommon in the Elizabethan age, but they delighted the spectators most
3. Love between women and men and their relationship - women throw themselves at the necks of the men they have decided to love without much understatement but with utter abandon - Shakespeare´s heroines are taught by the force of feeling and they are ruled by love - Shakespeare seems to take it for granted that if a girl is really in love, she will marry the man who has won her heart - no matter what stands in the way - often, love turns to hate and disgust and men start to regard all women as prostitutes (Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing) -> women are often innocent victims of masculine jealousy and paranoia (Desdemona in Othello / Hero in Much Ado About Nothing) - different relationships between wife
1. Appearance and Behavior - women are adorable creatures of sweetness and grace, phantoms of delight - they are angels of purity and they are "good" - they are the most enchanting women in literature and they are beautiful, but Shakespeare could not describe them in detail - their voices are charming, beautiful and well-placed - they seem to exist only in their attachment to others
2. Roles in the plays - in more than half of Shakespeare´s plays, women have the most important role - often, they are cleverer and braver than men and they take the initiative in order to save someone else´s life, whereas men remain passive (Portia) - Shakespeare had no heroes, only heroines -most of these are faultless, steadfast in grave hope and errorless purpose - the wittiest and most playful of these heroines is Beatrice: she forsakes her pride and her contempt after she realizes that she has fought against her inclinations long enough and that she is attracted to Benedick (Much Ado About Nothing) -> especially these energetic, intelligent and ready-witted women were uncommon in the Elizabethan age, but they delighted the spectators most
3. Love between women and men and their relationship - women throw themselves at the necks of the men they have decided to love without much understatement but with utter abandon - Shakespeare´s heroines are taught by the force of feeling and they are ruled by love - Shakespeare seems to take it for granted that if a girl is really in love, she will marry the man who has won her heart - no matter what stands in the way - often, love turns to hate and disgust and men start to regard all women as prostitutes (Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing) -> women are often innocent victims of masculine jealousy and paranoia (Desdemona in Othello / Hero in Much Ado About Nothing) - different relationships between wife