Ophelia is a beautiful woman who is at the mercy of the male figures in her life – mainly her father, Polonius and her brother Laertes. Laertes and Polonius love Ophelia tremendously and feel it is their obligation to shelter her from the cruelty of the world. When Polonius is told that Ophelia has entertained Hamlet without any parental consent, it is stifled very quickly by Polonius and Laertes – the double voices of patriarchy – telling her that she is too naive and that her behavior is unsuitable. In Act I, Scene III he begins his dialogue with Ophelia by warning her of the potential danger that love with Hamlet (Ophelia’s lover) could bring. He feels it his obligation to protect her form a potential broken heart: “The canker galls the infants of the spring Too oft before their buttons be disclosed,” (I, III, 39-40) implying that Hamlet, as the canker, may ruin her before she ‘blossoms’.
It could in some ways be considered the driving force of the play itself. The sickly jealousy which comes to consume Othello would have meant very little at all if he had not loved Desdemona with the passion and vigour that he did. There are a number of contrasts utilised by Shakespeare to convey two very different forms of love, each nearly completely antithetical to the other. The relationship between Othello and Desdemona, proved in the end to be something pure and good, is set beside the sickly, superficial relationship between Iago and Emilia. Interestingly, this makes the theme of love in Othello yet another aspect of the idea of opposites, two-facedness, the ultimate duality of black and white, good and evil, inherent in the play.
In Othello, Shakespeare weaves an intricate story about three couples and how misunderstandings concerning sex deeply impact them all. The characters he creates embody different roles in the society of this time period, from the ideal woman to the abusive husband. Through the transformations and outcomes of these characters, Shakespeare successfully endorses feminist ideas, a rarity at his time; he rejects male sexual dominance and pushes for equal sexual responsibilities. Shakespeare uses Othello to criticize the double standard regarding male and female sexuality in his society through the portrayal of three relationships. Othello and Desdemona start off the story as an unconventional pair.
How love is presented in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and a selection of poetry by Philip Larkin Many people consider Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ a stereotypical romantic love story. In some ways, it does meet these expectations. The archetypal lovers are brought up in ‘fair Verona’ by grand families ‘alike in dignity’. Because of the families' on-going conflict, the two 'star-crossed lovers' find themselves hurtling towards an ill-fated end. 'Violent passions lead to violent ends', therefore the romance becomes a tragedy.
Much Ado is a play based around the theme of deliberate deception- sometimes this deception is malevolent and sometimes benevolent but much of the play hinges around them and their effect on the characters. An example of malevolent deception would be Don John trying to ruin Hero and Claudio’s marriage whereas an example of benevolent deception would be the gulling’s of Beatrice and Benedick in an attempt to get them to admit their true feelings for one another to get them to wed. The gulling scenes both rely on Beatrice and Benedick being persuaded into believing that they are in love with one another, this is dependent on them ‘accidentally overhearing’ the other characters talking about them whilst being within earshot but so as not to be seen. The majority of the subplot is dependent on these gulling scenes being successful as if they hadn’t worked or if Beatrice and Benedick hadn’t been so susceptible to this benevolent deception than there wouldn’t be much of a story. These gulling scenes provide comic relief in contrast to Don John’s malevolent deception and make Much Ado lean towards being a comedy rather than a tragedy as they use dramatic irony for humour.
In Romeo and Juliet, love and hate share the same feature in that they are both senseless and mysterious. While at some points love may be the passion used to drive Romeo head over heels for Juliet, at other times hate may be the same passion used to drive Tybalt into murderous fury. Both love and hate can be at times blinding and become as compelling as an influence that everything else is of low significance. Consequences may be ignored and lives may be lost in the process. The never-ending brawl between the Montagues and Capulets in due course envelops the lovers into conflict.
Sexual abuse corrupts a child as Miller showcases here. Abigail has a natural tendency for attention because she is adopted. She craves an increasingly amount of attention and out of desperation and approval she will perform any action to receive the attention as she does with John. Abigail understands that her relationship with John is forbidden and unmoral but she strives to recover the provocative relationship because she needs to know and feel that John loves her. She cries out in tears that “[John] loved [her], and whatever sin it is, [he] loved [her] yet!” and she pleads for John to “pity [her]” (Miller 24).
Lear viewed love as a one way street, in which he believed that a family was there only to serve his needs. His excessive pride and sense of ego blinded him from recognizing true love. Putting his daughters into a love test proved Lear’s view on love. He turned the daughters against each other and made them compete for love. “Tell me, my daughters/ (Since now we will divest us both of rule, / Interest of territory, cares of state), / Which of you shall we say doth love us most, / That we our largest bounty may extend/ Where nature doth with merit challenge.” (I i 50-55) At this point Lear’s love towards his daughters was uncertain, he took advantage over the love he had and used it for his own pride.
Word Count: 1493 How far do you agree that Shakespeare’s portrayal of gender relations is more sinister than comic? Shakespeare’s depiction of gender relations in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ distinguishes the female and male stereotypes during the Elizabethan era in 1599. Shakespeare accomplishes this through the contrasting couples of Benedick and Beatrice and Hero and Claudio. The relationship within father and daughter is likewise used to demonstrate the sinister and slightly comedic relations between men and women. To a great extent, modern audiences would find the portrayal objectification of women very much ominous, especially in the case of Hero.
Kevin Matte Mrs. Bailey Bean Gr. 11 University English November 16th, 2011 How Hamlet Treats Women In this love story, Hamlet, a main character in the play has dilemmas with his love life. Hamlet is the most controversial characters in this novel, too fully and thoroughly understand his characters feelings and actions the reader must understand his pain. Hamlet is a male character that was not fond of the opposite sex, until his heart was broken. His attitude makes it seem like he finds women untrustworthy and weak.