3.Presentation of relationships in 'To His Coy Mistress' and 'Ghazal' Both 'Ghazal' and 'To His Coy Mistress' present relationships as self-seeking and manipulative, as the narrators in both poems desire the sexual fulfilment of their lover. In 'To His Coy Mistress' Andrew Marvell uses form for effect. The narrator in the poem is trying to convince his love to have sex with him, and his whole argument can be seen as humorous and playful. One way we see this is through the use of rhyming couplets which are employed throughout the poem: 'Had we but world enough, and time, This coyness, Lady, were no crime'. The extended use of rhyming couplets has a comic effect in this poem as the fast paced rhymes read like a collection of little jokes with fast punch lines.
‘Women are the subtler sex: more varied in their attractions, more ingenious in their stratagems.’ In light of this view, discuss ways in which Webster presents women in the ‘White Devil’. Bartholomew Scholefield At first the audience is led to believe that all women in the ‘White Devil’ will epitomise the contemporary role of the subservient, Jacobean woman. From the beginning it is clear to see that men hold all the power and women are viewed as merely desirable, indeed Flamineo uses his own sister’s sexuality only in order to advance his social status in the patriarchal society of the time. This view of women as beneath men is ingrained so deeply into the psyche that even the majority of women themselves believe it, Cornelia, the mother of Flamineo and Vittoria is outraged to discover the plans her son has for her daughter but it is not the nature of the deed that Flamineo commits that angers her rather that Vittoria would break the ‘rules’ of society by causing “dishonour” to her family and her husband, she does not care about Vittoria’s happiness but her social standing and reputation. However, the idea of women being unequal to men is quickly dispelled by Webster who appears to mock the misogynistic characters of the play and indeed, very possibly the misogyny of society as a whole at the time.
However, Shakespeare presents Benedick’s change in a more positive and light-hearted manner, whilst Macbeth’s change revolves around negativity and wrong-doing as the approach to each individual genre is different, where comedies are humorous and happy, whilst tragedies are gloomy and grief-stricken. INTRO: The opening scene of the play, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, is significant as Shakespeare introduces the genre of the play as a romantic comedy through the comic names given to Benedick and Beatrice by each other. Beatrice nicknames Benedick as “Signor Mountanto”, which uses sexual innuendo expressing their love hate relationship, created by the definition of the word ‘montanto’ (technical term for an upward thrust in fencing). This insulting, but hilarious comment would have only been understood by the Shakespearean audience. Opposing this, Benedick personifies disdain in the form of Beatrice, by calling her “Lady Disdain”, suggesting that she is in fact, the epitome of disdain or contempt.
‘To His Coy Mistress’ shows an idea of a sexual and lustful love. This is because the narrator uses words to encourage sexual activity towards a woman. ‘Sonnet 130’ is also based on a true and realistic love. This is shown as the narrator writes about his realistic love between him and his lover. In this time in history, love was shown by a kiss on the cheek or on the hand.
In a male-dominated society, this was unheard of. Through these books, she expressed her ideas, which women came to listen to. Mary Wollstonecraft is remembered chiefly for her book “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” (1792), a polemic treatise that deemed marriage “legal prostitution” (“Mary” par 2). Mary’s book, “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”, was a type of guide for women who were thought lowly of by their husbands or were abused. Mary was also a contributing editor and founder of the Analytical Review, a radical London newspaper (“Mary” par 2).
Hawthorne’s fabrication of Hester gives the reader an indication of Hawthorne’s opinion on the female gender. “Hawthorne’s pro-woman novel retains its value to feminist literature for its depiction of circumscribed female lives” (Snodgrass). Hawthorne is sympathetic to Hester and shows her strong and ambitious side throughout the novel. He creates this likeable character by analyzing her psyche, picking out specific traits in order to engage the reader, and giving her ambitious actions to carry out in order to show the reader her full potential. Hester Prynne is the wife of a man named Chilingworth, who has sent Hester to live in a village near Boston.
Hester does not fall after convicted of a sin, but becomes a strong woman seeking equality between men and women and the letter she is branded “was a symbol of her calling” (Hawthorne 150). The letter allows her to live without the Puritans hypocrisy and the hardship women face and carves her into being an essential feminist character throughout the novel. An individual may need to understand the difference between the feminism in the women of the Puritan society and Hester Prynne. According to the tradition culture, there are two types of female images: the first type is the discriminated female image. For a long time, men are considered having superior intelligence and having a
I believe this a great example and show power and control over women; this can be classified as sexist gender roles and of the reinforcement of male hegemony and female subservience. It also shows how sex sells, the commercial ends right as the women approaches him. This commercial is
Performativity links gender and racialized bodies. Gender says the man is supposed to be strong and the woman weak. Race and gender is one in the same regimes of truth are definitely rooted from these two specific category. Bell Hooks Chapter 15 1. Women of the historical culture construction were taught to believe that sexual desire was for the man and that basically no respectable woman should acquire sexual needs.
How far do you agree with the idea that Donne is a misogynist and Webster an early feminist? It can be argued that the poet John Donne is a misogynist and John Webster was an early feminist from parts of their work, although it can be interpreted in different ways. In ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ Webster has presented the Duchess as a very strong and independent woman. The Duchess is the main character in the play and Webster has done this to emphasise her importance and independence in the play. Here it can be argued that he is a feminist because he has made a woman the main character instead of the stereotypically strong and brave male as the main character.