In Titus Andronicus, Lavinia’s physically enforced silence serves as a metaphor for the silence culturally enforced on women in the seventeenth century, and thus Lavinia was silenced long before her rape and mutilation. Through contextual research and close readings of sections of the play, I will explore the complexities and nuances of this argument – Lavinia’s silence at the beginning of the play, her scathing attack on Tamora, her failed plea to be murdered instead of raped, her disturbing reveal of her attackers, and of course her death at the hands of her father. These key scenes bring up the relationship between gender and communication, as well as highlighting the patriarchal definition of rape which was slowly changing in Shakespeare’s
Women’s Rights In Romeo and Juliet Juliet being forced into marriage, showed how little input women had during the Renaissance period. Renaissance is a period in which the ancient writing of Greece and Rome, “Rebirthed”, or came back into practice. During the Renaissance period, women had limited, to no rights. They were required to follow orders made by their husband’s or superior male figure. This is presented in the play Romeo and Juliet made by William Shakespeare.
For many people that think Titus Andronicus is all about violence, well it is mainly from the criticism from “The Pequod” where it talks about violent act is the style and context in which it is executed whether we respond to violence with shock, laughter or satisfaction like for example the death of Titus’s sons in battle and how he buried them. Some of the lens that were used was revenge and feminism also stereotypes, revenge is a major part of Titus Andronicus and getting even but not every succeeds in doing so. Feminism comes in when Lavinia got raped by Tamora’s sons Demetrius and Chiron and how they took advantage of her body, she is represented as an object or thing. Additionally, how Tamora is an sexulised character, including by virtue of what trying to understand if Tamora is liberating or in male fantasy.
Throughout history, men have always dominated. They never let a woman rise to power or have the same rights. This sexism has been ingrained in society for thousands of years, so much so that it has defined some of the most famous works of literature, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This play was written during the Elizabethan Era, an era in which a woman had all the power imaginable (Queen Elizabeth), and yet, women were still severely discriminated against. Women had no say whatsoever in their society; they were not allowed to vote and they had very few legal rights (Papp, Joseph, Kirkland).
Patriarchal roles given to men in the most important positions of Shakespeare’s time, the government and army, form masculine stereotypes which perpetuate accepted standards of masculine violence. In Titus Andronicus and Henry IV Part 1, Shakespeare elicits the expectation of men to establish masculine dominance by perform violent acts, whether achieved in savage or cunning ways, if driven by an accepted motive such as war, revenge, or the defense of one’s honor; in turn, this accepted violence constructs masculinity and patriarchy. The respect and reverence of war heroes in Titus Andronicus form standards of masculinity through violence. Shakespeare begins Titus Andronicus with Saturninus addressing crowd on how he deserves to be emperor
The Geek society had may guidelines concerning the way men and women were treated and the roles they played within society. “The concept of gender was an integral aspect of this social hierarchy; power was not evenly distributed and only men were allowed to participate in prestige activities such as politics, law, or the military” (“The Ure Museum”). The values of gender roles within the Greek society are expressed in the play Medea by Euripides. Though Euripides tried to show the disparities of how women are treated compared to men, he still uses some of the same stereotypes exhibited within Greek society. Some issues that will be discussed are the way the women are portrayed in Greek society.
In today’s world, gender expectations and roles of men and women are a highly debated topic. However, the reconsidering of these expectations is not a new phenomenon. Set in Verona, Italy, the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare explores the reversal and fluidity of characteristics usually assigned to a specific gender. In this play, two young people fall in love and end up tragically taking their lives as a result of their forbidden love. Shakespeare suggests that men are not necessarily masculine, women are not necessarily feminine, and that when people are forced by society to act the way their gender is “supposed” to, problems will arise.
Throughout Hamlet, the thoughts, intentions, and actions of all of the characters can be explained through predisposed gender roles in the play. Hamlet is a tragedy in which the main character, Hamlet, attempts to seek vengeance for his father’s murder, while the relationships with him and around him begin to strain. In the play, gender plays a huge role in assuming the capability and worth of people. Women are most commonly depicted as being weak, powerless, and confused, while men are commonly shown as being strong, analytical, and intuitive. Hamlet features Ophelia and Gertrude as the only two female roles, and even then they show little independence from the males.
“And though she be but little, she is fierce” -William Shakespeare. In today’s day and age, one of the greatest topics of debate is gender roles. It is evident everywhere, from cyberspace to the streets of home, from online petitions to marches across the country such as the Women’s March. Shakespeare lived in the Elizabethan Era of England, where Queen Elizabeth I, the virgin queen ruled.
Feminist point of view means the analysis of any literary works based on the feminist perception. Feminism has gradually become broad and noticeable in its attacks on male-dominated society. The Shakespearian era of the 16th century was a time when women were very inferior in the society. If we compare with other writers, Shakespeare was always careful of women and tried to give them respect in his different writings. If we look at his famous play named Othello we need to judge the equality of women in terms of political, social and economic perspective.
Ever wonder about gender roles in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew? In Taming of the Shrew, the gender roles affect the characters in a rather negative way, and when they surface in the play, it’s rather shocking. This essay will discuss how gender roles affect the characters in what I believe is a negative way, and how they surface in the play. In this play, the men appear to have a particular idea on how all women should behave.
“Grab them by the p***y,” states our now 45th president Donald Trump. In a lewd conversation, back in 2011, Trump degrades women by treating them unfairly and as objects. For a long period of time, women have not been held to the same standard as men, which is still prevalent in today’s society. In the sixteenth century, women are not seen as equal as men. Women were widely viewed as matriarchs of the domestic household, who were meek and submissive.
In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the female characters' desire to question the law of Athens and select their own husbands drives most of the conflict in the play. In a way, Hermia, Helena, and Titania are the protagonists of the play because each of their desires are being thwarted by the patriarchal structure of the society in which they live. The way the women try to overcome such hurdles does not sit well with the men. Accordingly, the men get on edge when their patriarchy is disrupted, so they make strict laws to try and keep the women under their control.
During the Elizabethan period, the role of women in society was very different from what it is today. According to the system of patriarchal society that dictated that women were inferior to men, they had to obey the male figures in their lives. The woman was seen as the weaker sex either physically or emotionally which meant that it was entirely dependent on her husband if married and members of his family if single. Moreover, in the Elizabethan theater, women were not allowed to play because of this hierarchy. Therefore, they were replaced by men disguised as women.
Virginia Woolf’s story “Shakespeare’s Sister” and the essay “Girls Against Boys” by Katha Pollitt are two texts that talk about feminism. “Shakespeare's sister” talks about how it would have been different if shakespeare had a sister. If shakespeare had a sister she wouldn't of had the same choices like him because she was a women. Pollitt's essay talks about how women are seen differently from men especially in universities. The argument for both text is gender discrimination and feminism because they both believe that women are not equal to men just because they are women.
