Woman Macbeth, here depicted in a virgin legend of the play, is a noted female Shakespearian ethos.
Shakespeare created an huge hurl of memorable and highly realistic characters, and some of his most noted characters are female. By reason of of Shakespeare's command to build realistic characters, studying him wound up a feminist perspective can afford insights into the ways that he and his culture viewed women.
Instructions
1. Cordelia is a firm female bent in "King Lear."
Examine positive female characters in Shakespeare. Characters such as Cordelia in "King Lear," who seems to represent purity and goodness, and Beatrice in "Much Ado About Nothing," who has witty and willful banter with male characters, both represent female characters with primarily positive characteristics. Studying these characters and their monologues can provide some insight into how Shakespeare positively characterized women.
In these roles, women are often far more successful than their male counterparts. Examine how power is given to women when they dress as men and what this implies about female power in general.
In "King Lear," the evil sisters Reagan and Goneril drive forward the plot, while Cleopatra, if not a villain, is at least a troubling figure in "Antony and Cleopatra." Examine exactly what makes these women villains and if these characteristics are tied to their gender or how women were perceived in society.
3. Ophelia, often depicted in works of art after her drowning, is famously victimized by male characters in the play "Hamlet."
Study female victims in the plays. Historically, female roles in literature featured some kind of victimization, and Shakespeare's plays also echo that focus. Characters such as Ophelia in "Hamlet" and Emilia and Desdemona in "Othello" provide a vision of women who have been victimized by power. Examine exactly what causes this power dynamic and whether the victimizers are considered villains or heroes.
4. Some of Hamlet's most powerful monologues discuss his relationships with women.
Review what other characters say about women. By looking at the speeches of male characters, you can see the male attitudes of the day. In "Hamlet," Hamlet gives speeches about Ophelia and his mother, Queen Gertrude, while King Lear devotes time to discussing all three of his daughters in the play "King Lear."
5. The character Rosalind in "As You Like It" dressed as a man.
Examine the roll of cross dressing. In plays such as "Twelfth Night,""As You Like It" and "The Merchant of Venice," women dress as men in order to hold powerful positions (such as that of a lawyer or councillor) or to move freely in society.2. Cleopatra is a difficult and contradictory figure in the play "Antony and Cleopatra."Examine the negative female characters. The towering negative character in Shakespeare's canon is that of Lady Macbeth, the wife of Macbeth and primary reason that Macbeth decides to move forward with his murderous plans.
