Shakespeare Women - The Real Power Behind The Throne - Essay Example

Shakespeare, critics claim, was a feminist. Some go so far as to claim that Shakespeare was the noblest feminist of them all. It is common throughout Shakespeares plays for a woman to have a leading role. Shakespeare never directly gave women the power or portrayed them as the potent characters, which directed the course of the play. He brought out subtle qualities in them, which influences the more dominant male characters. This eventually changed the power equations. I would first like to draw the attention of the reader to King Lear.

In the play, King Lear does not trust his youngest daughter Cordelia when she says she has no words to describe the love she has for her father. He divides up Britain between his two daughters, Regan and Goneril, only to discover they do not want him around. Cordelia later hates the treatment meted out by her sisters to their father and returns to the kingdom she was once banished from along with her husband, the King of France, to make amends. Cordelia thus plays an instrumental role in the play and it is her execution that causes King Lear’s death when he was unable to bear the grief.

Looking at Gertrude in Hamlet, we see that Shakespeare uses her submissive natures to bring out the strengths of the characters more vital to the subplot. Queen Gertrude in Hamlet appears to be quite shallow. The Ghost of the deceased King of Denmark tells Hamlet to avenge his death but not to punish Queen Gertrude for remarrying; He says it is her conscience and heaven that will judge her. Later, Queen Gertrude scolds her son but Hamlet instead scolds his mother for her actions. Despite the fact that Queen Gertrude breaks down and starts crying, Hamlet continues scolding his mother but the Ghost reappears, telling Hamlet to be gentle with the Queen.

For her part, Queen Gertrude agrees to stop living with King Claudius, beginning her redemption. A much more direct example of how the women in Shakespeare’s works have worked out to be the real power behind the thrones can be seen in the narrative poem The Rape of Lucrece. In the poem, Sextus Tarquinius, the King’s son is said to have been entertained by Lucrece, the wife of Collatinus. Sextus Tarquinius immediately develops a liking to her and his passion manifests itself into a beast later in the play.

Sextus slides into Lucrece’s chamber and violently rapes her. The next morning when the Romans come to her chamber she narrates what ensued the previous night, takes the name of Sextus Tarquinius as the man responsible for the heinous act, makes them vow for revenge and then suddenly stabs herself to death. They all immediately vow revenge on the Tarquins. Brutus carries Lucrece’s body out to the streets of Rome. This incites and agitates the Roman Citizens against the Tarquins. Finally, the Tarquins are driven out of Rome and the Roman Republic is established.

We see how something that has happened to a woman causes a change not only in the rulers who hold office but the very structure of governance itself. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare – James Shapiro The book is a description of a year in Shakespeare’s life : 1599. The year 1599 was an important year in the life of William Shakespeare as it marked a change in his style of writings, his themes and to an extent his life. It was the year he wrote 4 plays, including Hamlet.

James Shapiro is a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. The author of Shakespeare and the Jews, he lives in New York City and Thetford, Vermont. Essential Shakespeare Handbook - Leslie Dunton-Downer, Alan Riding, Karen Wilks (Designer), Elizabeth Wyse (Editor) Written in an engaging style, this book is as informative as it is entertaining. Each section – history, comedies, tragedies, and romance commences with an essay on the section followed by a detailed discussion of the plays and issues.

The individual analysis is thorough, well-laid out and the subtle implications hidden in his writings are very clearly brought out with appropriate reasoning. The authors also talk about Shakespeare’s poetic genius and the complexities in his poems are unraveled too. Asimov’s guide to Shakespeare: Isaac Asimov In this selection, Isaac Asimov selects 38 of William Shakespeare’s plays and two of his poems to analyze the issues represented in them. Along with interesting maps, figures and designs, Asimov vividly portrays the historical and mythological background behind Shakespeare’s writings.

The poems selected include The Rape of Lucrece. Dr. Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992, was a Russian-born American author and biochemist, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction.