Misogyny In Shakespeare

Since the sixteenth century, people cannot seem to not talk about Shakespeare and his plays. Thousands of professionals have been analyzing his works coming up different theories on his themes. Not only people with extreme qualifications have studies Shakespeare, but also countless classrooms have dived into what makes his works so great. The biggest aspect that set Shakespeare apart from other writers of his time is not just how he wrote, but what he talked about. During the 1500s, Shakespeare wrote about topics that were not discussed in everyday life. This includes material like suicide and feministic views. Shakespeare’s written works excelled his time period when articulating different points. In fact, the John Hopkins University Press

It is no secret that misogyny occurred during the Elizabethan era. This behavior was apparent throughout Hamlet. Hamlet had sexist attitudes towards both his mother and his lover. The young prince tells Ophelia to “Get thee to a nunnery” shaming her for her sexuality (III.i.123). This was moments after he was questioning if he should commit suicide; therefore, showing how Hamlet used Ophelia as an outlet for his frustration. In the same scene he told her how he “did love her once” playing with her emotions like it was a game (III.i.17). Hamlet also belittles Gertrude. He tells her how she is weak for marrying Claudius too early by yelling at her “Frailty! Thy name is woman!” (I.ii.146). He is saying how Gertrude cannot go very long with sex or a man. It is no surprise that both of these women who Hamlet degrades end their own life. Romeo and Juliet, on the other hand, stands for the opposite. Shakespeare shows feminism in the play by Juliet questioning the authority of her family. She tells Lady Capulet that marrying Paris is an “honor that [she] dream not of” (I.iii. 68). It was unheard of, during this time, for woman to question arrange marriages set up by their family. Juliet was a heroine advanced in feminism for this era. She went against social norm in the balcony scene. When she declared her love for Romeo over and again on her balcony as she tells him “I should have been more strand, I must confess, But that though overheard’st ete I was ‘ware, My true love’s passion” (II.ii.102-04). Juliet even admits that she should have been more shy with Romeo. Proving that most women would not have proclaimed their love for a man so early. She goes on to tell him that she loves him anyways and doesn’t regret telling