The two characters in these two poems have a certain attitude towards women, which is that they both see women as objects but in different ways. The Duke in "My Last Duchess" is an arrogant, disrespectful man, who cares more about status and wealth then love. He is a megalomaniac, who is jealous about his ex-wife not giving only him her attention. The speaker in "To His Coy Mistress" seems like a respectful man, who is articulate, this is important because it is his main strength which he uses to lure her to him. He uses his skill to flatter her, but we then learn that he only wants her for pleasure rather than love; he puts up a false persona of love as another technique to lure her.
The reader can see that the Duke is jealous and controlling, which is shown in, “Sir, ’twas not/ Her husband’s presence only, called that spot/ Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek” (13-5). The Duke is offended that the Duchess other men gave the Duchess happiness and pleasure in anything other than him. She tries to hide her happiness from the Duke by blushing instead of smiling, but the Duke describes it as if though it were a stain of joy. “This grew; I gave commands;/ Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands/ As if alive.
In both poems gender conflict is demonstrated between through the emotion of betrayal in a relationship. For example in Les Grands Seignurs she talks about “little woman” which could show the great depth of thought about how she feels towards men. The word “a toy, a plaything” suggests that’s once she got married she has became powerless and feels like she is a toy, this shows her betrayal as when you get married you expect the marriage to be fantastic and not to feel like a toy. In contrast, Medusa also demonstrates this when she says “wasn’t I beautiful?” this Is effective as I can infer that she feels insecure about her looks. It also suggests that she misses her past through the use of a rhetorical question which makes the reader feel sympathy for her.
Shakespeare quite obviously plays with the conventions of Petrarchan characters and their views of desire throughout the play but most significantly towards the beginning. Romeo is introduced as a character that seems to be blinded by love, his desire for Rosaline is over powering, shallow and foolish – “He that is strucken blind cannot forget / The precious treasure of his eyesight lost” (1.1.225-226). Shakespeare has created Romeo to resemble the typical ‘Petrarchan lover’ speakers that are found in Petrarch’s sonnets, we hear Romeo obsessing over Rosaline whom like ‘Laura’ from Petrarch’s sonnets is unattainable to Romeo, as she is choosing to remain celibate - "She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow / Do I live dead that live to tell it now” (1.1.216-217) Shakespeare has purposefully created Romeo and Rosaline with these similarities to Petrarchan conventions in mind as he is able to successfully critique the discourse of desire through the growth of Romeo in the play and the introduction of Juliet. Shakespeare also relies on the fact that his audience are aware of ‘what’s in store’ for Romeo, allowing him to create a clichéd and conventional character - “The theatre audience knows that
The Duke name drops the painter's name "Fra Pandolf" to see if it impresses the listener. The Duke even admits deliberately mentioning the name - "I said / Fra Pandolf by design". Wanting to impress the person to whom he is speaking becomes a regular feature in the poem and is obviously another negative characteristic of the Duke. The Duke also reveals his misgivings about his late wife's character: ...Sir, 'twas notHer husband's presence only, called that spotOf joy into the Duchess' cheek... she liked whate'erShe looked on, and her looks went everywhere. If we remember that he is speaking to a relative stranger, this is quite inappropriate conversation.
Bianca struggles to fight for the love and respect she thinks she deserves from her partner, Cassio. A clear sign of Cassio’s authority is Bianca’s obedience towards him. After a quick phase of Bianca’s jealousy of another possible mistress, Cassio demands her to get over it and leave him be; she then says, “Tis very good. I must be circumstanced.” The way she almost immediately obeys his commands evidently gives him the power in their relationship. Throughout the play, Cassio who merely views her as an instrument for his bodily pleasures is constantly playing Bianca.
As you can imagine, the pressure to marry well is high. When Elizabeth is slighted with the opportunity to meet a ravishing young fellow named Mr. Darcy, she is drawn in by his wit and charm. Mr. Darcy is by far the passionate choice in the war between passion and responsibility. Elizabeth didn’t much like Darcy at the beginning of the novel but once he admits what he does for Elizabeth’s younger and older sisters, she realizes that he couldn’t possibly be a bad man. The conflict begins with Elizabeth’s parents.
Katherina and Bianca are to be married, according to Baptista Minola, their father, but Bianca the youngest daughter cannot wed until Katherina does. Bianca is seen as an acceptable, attractive mild woman who has many suitors whereas Katherina is said to be a “Shrew”. Petruchio is willing to take Katherina to be his wife as he wishes to “wive wealthily in Padua”. The conflict between Katherina and Petruchio, creates much of the humour in the play. Society in the Renaissance period was highly dominated by males, and they exercised their power over women quite regularly in
Hermia states that Egeus, “That he hath turned a heaven unto a hell”, the use of juxtaposition of “heaven” and “hell” shows Hermia’s contrasting ideas of the court, because it can be paradise where they live and eat well but hell where they cannot act against the law and express their love . Also, Hermia’s character is showing her rebellious side, suggesting that she will do anything for love, even defying Egeus, her father and Theseus’ orders, which was to become a nun or be a virgin; this is subverting the norms of society in Shakespeare's time, women in that era were seen as vulnerable and submissive, which Hermia’s characters opposes to this stereotypical perception of women. Hermia elopes into the woods and this prepares the audience for the complication as she is entering the green world, because the green world is a place where characters can do anything and is without limits as the green world is full of unruliness and subversion. However, it is only temporary, and the characters will have to go back to where they came from. A Midsummer Night’s Dream follows the typical structure of a dramatic comedy because it contains the tripartite
The duchess is objectified in the poem. Instead of seeing her innate virtuous and pious characteristics, the duke observes only the aesthetical beauty of his wife in a painting after her death. This notion is reinforced by enjambment in the quote: ‘I call/ That piece a wonder, now…’ The words ‘that piece’ are a pun which is used to describe the painting as well as the duchess herself. The underlying concept here is that in Victorian society women were regarded as trophy possessions and your wife had to be presentable as she reflected your reputation. The duke despises his wife’s great kindness and humility towards other people and is enraged that she did not show the same sort of devotion towards him.