Thoughts: Shakespeare's Comedies paper
Oct. 20th, 2007 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jhameiaI really want to talk about my dog, but I'm still not over her death so I'm just going to talk about my paper.
We've got a list of assignment topics we cn choose to write on and I went from five to three in a matter of seconds:
3. Strong-minded Women in a Male-dominated society
4. How the Plays reflect the Notion of "Order" or "Degree"
5. Shakespeare's Depiction of Common People
Me being me, in love with gender theory and fascinated by the power dynamics of patriarchy, I'm going to go with #3.
Now, I'm used to researching topics before I start writing, and I'm not supposed to look up secondary sources this time around... Dr. MacDonald wants us to base our thesis on a close reading of the plays and that's what I'll do.
So here's a list of female characters that I could discuss:
From Much Ado About Nothing:
Hero - young sweet girl who falls in love with Claudio right off the bat, and she's framed of being a whore and publicly disgraced. She pretends to die, her innocence is proved and she forgives Claudio for his idiocy.
Beatrice - Witty, sharp-tongued and resigned never to find a husband. She's always picking on Benedict, even after she realizes she's somewhat in love with him. She gets angry when her sister Hero is framed and tries to get Benedict on her side. She's not upstaged by anybody to her face, except by Benedict, so everyone has to conspire to get them together.
Midsummer Night's Dream:
Titania - Pretty bitchy when we first see her, she sticks by her principles not to give the Indian boy away to Oberon. She accuses Oberon of coming to the wedding only because Hippolyta is one of his mistresses, but he accuses her of interfering with Theseus' affairs... it's an interesting note, considering they're the royalty of the fairies, and despite the obvious marriage and affection between them there's a great deal of sexual autonomy. It's something I wish I could write about, really.
Hermia / Helena - the teen tag team, haha. Hermia is willing to risk her father's respect by running away with Lysander, and Helena sticks by Demetrius no matter how shitty he treats her. I know it's a stretch saying that they're strong for these reasons, but I still believe it's valid. When you're willing to stick by what you believe in, that's still strength.
Twelfth Night:
Viola - The obvious choice. She hides herself as a boy, falls in love and somehow doesn't show it and just suffers through while Orsino tells her to go off and tell Olivia of his love. The speech she gives Orsino is a clear indication of her principles and her patience.
I'm considering adding Olivia to the list, but I'm not too sure what to say about her. She's the lady of her manor, and it's clear that all her staff respect her. There's not too much to say about her: she never faces any real confrontations that really shows spirit.
Merchant of Venice:
Portia, hands down. The girl's got more lines than anybody in the play, and her playing off the whole court was brilliant. She's opinionated, knows what she wants, devious, and firm.
So these are the main players, the Shakespearean women I'll be looking at.
How do they function within the male-dominated society that is Renaissance England?
That's the next question.
I have a migraine so I'll think about it tomorrow.
We've got a list of assignment topics we cn choose to write on and I went from five to three in a matter of seconds:
3. Strong-minded Women in a Male-dominated society
4. How the Plays reflect the Notion of "Order" or "Degree"
5. Shakespeare's Depiction of Common People
Me being me, in love with gender theory and fascinated by the power dynamics of patriarchy, I'm going to go with #3.
Now, I'm used to researching topics before I start writing, and I'm not supposed to look up secondary sources this time around... Dr. MacDonald wants us to base our thesis on a close reading of the plays and that's what I'll do.
So here's a list of female characters that I could discuss:
From Much Ado About Nothing:
Hero - young sweet girl who falls in love with Claudio right off the bat, and she's framed of being a whore and publicly disgraced. She pretends to die, her innocence is proved and she forgives Claudio for his idiocy.
Beatrice - Witty, sharp-tongued and resigned never to find a husband. She's always picking on Benedict, even after she realizes she's somewhat in love with him. She gets angry when her sister Hero is framed and tries to get Benedict on her side. She's not upstaged by anybody to her face, except by Benedict, so everyone has to conspire to get them together.
Midsummer Night's Dream:
Titania - Pretty bitchy when we first see her, she sticks by her principles not to give the Indian boy away to Oberon. She accuses Oberon of coming to the wedding only because Hippolyta is one of his mistresses, but he accuses her of interfering with Theseus' affairs... it's an interesting note, considering they're the royalty of the fairies, and despite the obvious marriage and affection between them there's a great deal of sexual autonomy. It's something I wish I could write about, really.
Hermia / Helena - the teen tag team, haha. Hermia is willing to risk her father's respect by running away with Lysander, and Helena sticks by Demetrius no matter how shitty he treats her. I know it's a stretch saying that they're strong for these reasons, but I still believe it's valid. When you're willing to stick by what you believe in, that's still strength.
Twelfth Night:
Viola - The obvious choice. She hides herself as a boy, falls in love and somehow doesn't show it and just suffers through while Orsino tells her to go off and tell Olivia of his love. The speech she gives Orsino is a clear indication of her principles and her patience.
I'm considering adding Olivia to the list, but I'm not too sure what to say about her. She's the lady of her manor, and it's clear that all her staff respect her. There's not too much to say about her: she never faces any real confrontations that really shows spirit.
Merchant of Venice:
Portia, hands down. The girl's got more lines than anybody in the play, and her playing off the whole court was brilliant. She's opinionated, knows what she wants, devious, and firm.
So these are the main players, the Shakespearean women I'll be looking at.
How do they function within the male-dominated society that is Renaissance England?
That's the next question.
I have a migraine so I'll think about it tomorrow.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-21 09:40 am (UTC)I thought Hero was a spineless runt. I wouldn't call her 'strong-minded'. Swear to God if any guy pulled a stunt on me like Claudio did with Hero, I'd make him understand the true meaning of the saying 'Hell knows no fury like a woman scorned'. To just forgive him without even the least bit of punishment pissed me off.
Beatrice on the other hand kicked ass. Finally a woman with some balls. I loved her character (and Emma Thompson plays her superbly in the movie).
If I had to choose, I'd pick Beatrice, Portia and Titania. All were very strong-minded women IMO.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-21 12:54 pm (UTC)A lot of female characters which are considered weak now were considered typical for their day. Hero's still the archetypal "virtuous virgin" type and that generally merits some thought. (That, and wasn't Kate Beckinsale just adorable as Hero?)
Beatrice is a type of 'shrew' character, but I find her even better than Katherine (from Taming of the Shrew) because she didn't have to be starved into submission - she's very passionate and her hate is obviously deep-set in affection for Benedict.
I'll probably be working from a viewpoint of "types" of women, not just characters. More to talk about that way.