Are there any women characters in Shakespeare that paint a positive picture? Are there any you can identify with?
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Are there any women characters in Shakespeare that paint a positive picture? Are there any you can identify with?
I can totally identify with Katherine in Taming of the Shrew. I was shrill and bossy in my twenties, and her reversal at end of the play meshes with me now.
Are there any feminists ready to kill me ;) :D?
Oh dear, amuse, really, how could you?:) A group of feminists netsurfers are probably on their way to your place this very moment, to drag you out of your home and force you to see a production of the Vagina Monologues.:)
Yep. Oh, we are going to get you now. We now where you live.
And you to, AP.
I thought that Hypolita was a strong woman character. In a time when women were supposed to be quiet and virtueous ect. she proved she could be just as degenerate as Oberon.
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After thinking a bit more, I would like you to just disregard that. I guess in the big picture she DID fall in love with an *** (donkey incase thats cencered), and than she thought it was a good trick rather than being mad about it.
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What about...
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nevermind.
There are. Desdemona, obviously, Cordelia, Portia, to name a few.Quote:
Originally posted by atiguhya padma
Are there any women characters in Shakespeare that paint a positive picture? Are there any you can identify with?
To identify with? definitely Helena, I am as love-lost as she! ;)
I just finished writing a paper on Juliet and how her isolation affected her thoughout the play. I was surprised to realize how strong she was! Despite the fact that she committed suicide, she is definately a role model!
Uhh, I thought Helen was a terrible character to use as a role model. She unconditionally loves this guy who doesn't give two craps about her. He still wouldn't love her if it wern't for Oberon's juice. That's misplaced devotion. Why is she a perfect character? I thought she was pathetic and winey.Quote:
Originally posted by Helena_of_verona
Though I force myself to identify with Helena. She's the perfect character.
Desdemona was and unknowing, ignorant lovesick sap and Juliet was an obsessed child, good characters but not women to model yourselfe after.
Potia is probably the female character the paints the most "positive image" in my opinion
I hope your not talking about Brutus' Portia!:D Hot coals down the throat! That kind of reminds me of my grandma's coffee drinking habits!Quote:
Originally posted by Blade
Potia is probably the female character the paints the most "positive image" in my opinion
I like Portia of the Merchant of Venice. A very strong woman!
Simon, Juliet was obsessed with Romeo, but still kept her ability to reason. She was much more level-headed than he was. Just before she meets him at the balcony scene, her rationale proves her to be the only smart Capulet, in that she's the only one who won't hate someone simply because of his name. If you ask me, it's the rest of her family that has a wild uncontrolled obsession.
Oh, i haven't read any works of Shakespeare, coz' it's so difficult to me. but i have read a lot of translated copies of his works. I hope to read the original works asap.
Footnotes are a big key in understanding Shakespeare! Sometimes they can be annoying, because you think you understand a word or a line, and you look at the footnote to see if there's something you didn't know, but it's just what you thought. But other times, they can really help you understand what going on by giving insight into the text or even the time period of either the play or Shakepeare himself.
yes, i'm sorry i didnt clarify, i did mean Portia from the merchant of veniceQuote:
Originally posted by Shea
I hope your not talking about Brutus' Portia!:D Hot coals down the throat! That kind of reminds me of my grandma's coffee drinking habits!
I like Portia of the Merchant of Venice. A very strong woman!
What???Quote:
Originally posted by simon
Desdemona was and unknowing, ignorant lovesick sap and Juliet was an obsessed child, good characters but not women to model yourselfe after.
If all lovers (men and women) were like her, imagine how much better our life would be.
Desdemona or Juliet?
Sorry, I thought it was understood. I meant Desdemona, obviously.
Better how? Because women would be pathetic creatures that fail to notice the obvious? And that's not to say that Othello was any better, he never even considered to ask Desedemona. By the way I'm not ragging on Will, it's becuase his characterization is so good that we can analyze and attack the nature of the characters. But I guess you could say that Desdemona was strong in her innosence and Juliet in her faith.
I think Emilia was the only decent female character in Othello - at least she stood up to men
I forgot about Emilia, she is a decent female and look what she got for it: death.
Emilia is decent and Desdemona is "a pathetic creature that fails to notice the obvious"??? :confused: I'm wondering if we read the same book...
Shakespeare is not the only love creation writter. But, he is one of them. I wish I could visit his dreamland and grab some fireflies of romance .
Actually you CAN visit Shakespeare's dreamland. Read some Plutarch and other historians that he had access to. The majority of his plays are based on others' historical writings. Some are what we would consider strait up plagerism today. I think the only plot that he really dreamed (interesting use of languege) is A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sorry Ava, but He hardly had an ounce of creativity in his bones.
Quote:
Originally posted by IWilKikU
Actually you CAN visit Shakespeare's dreamland. Read some Plutarch and other historians that he had access to. The majority of his plays are based on others' historical writings. Some are what we would consider strait up plagerism today. I think the only plot that he really dreamed (interesting use of languege) is A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sorry Ava, but He hardly had an ounce of creativity in his bones.
I dunno. I never realli read about Shakespeare's works. He's not my stlye. I'm the person who hardly read. I'm not talented in literature. But, once an author's mind sparkles with mine, I read the book for what it tells me. Never for the literature.
Avalive, I'm confused as to how you can separate the book from the lit?Quote:
Originally posted by Avalive
I read the book for what it tells me. Never for the literature.
I don't know. I know it sounds unreasonable and ribiculous. The feeling is kinda abstract. Honestly,I don't love literature myself. The real book is not created for Nobel Prize, the entity is not for literature. There must be link between lit and books. Obviously. However, it's not all. I remember somebody says something which
sparkles with my mind:
"True poets don't write
Their thoughts with a pen...
They release the ink that flows
From within their heart. "
~ by Anonymous ~
We are not in any debates. We are just sharing the feelings. Cuz my point won't stand. I'm always ridiculous. I guess u are right, Amuse,I basically nod for those normal attitudes, but they are powerless in my world.
well, it depends on what you mean by creativty. some authors are gifted with plots, some with character development, some with other worlds. I doubt there are many writers who are great at all of them. I myself can create whole worlds easily, but ask me to think of a plot and I draw a blank! ;)Quote:
Originally posted by IWilKikU
Actually you CAN visit Shakespeare's dreamland. Read some Plutarch and other historians that he had access to. The majority of his plays are based on others' historical writings. Some are what we would consider strait up plagerism today. I think the only plot that he really dreamed (interesting use of languege) is A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sorry Ava, but He hardly had an ounce of creativity in his bones.
that's what i thought. i just wanted to see the bones within. :)Quote:
Originally posted by Avalive
I don't know. I know it sounds unreasonable and ribiculous. The feeling is kinda abstract.
well put.Quote:
"True poets don't write
Their thoughts with a pen...
They release the ink that flows
From within their heart. "
~ by Anonymous ~
if?? you felt i was looking for one, no. i simply prefer the normal blended with the mystical. one without the other confuses this little tree called me.Quote:
We are not in any debates.
peace. :)
WHAT???????????????????????????????????? :confused: :mad:Quote:
Originally posted by IWilKikU
The majority of his plays are based on others' historical writings. Some are what we would consider strait up plagerism today. I think the only plot that he really dreamed (interesting use of languege) is A Midsummer Night's Dream. He hardly had an ounce of creativity in his bones.
Who are you and what have you done to IWilKikU?
Perhaps kik has been napped by gnomes of some kind, they seem to have been lurking about lately, it might be time for another uprising.
Well, its true! I still think Shakespeare was the best! But come on, So many of his plays were based on pre-existing stories. And I havn't been kidnapped, the kidnapping gnomes work for ME! They go out and night and steal underpants from unsuspecting underpants victims.
Oh no, you don't have any that say "wicked" do you?
I will not say anything that may incriminate my underpants gnomes. They're a hard working bunch and deserve their privacy. Its the least I can do to repay them for the mass quantities of underpants that they provide me with.
*flashback to episode of "friends" where julia roberts/susie makes chandler wear her panties :D
Well at least now I know where all my underwear has been ending up.
*Zips lips for fear of transmogrifying into some kind of Kik Groupie* All I'm gonna say is, my Shakespeare teacher must have hated me. I am not a Stratfordian.Quote:
Originally posted by IWilKikU
Well, its true! I still think Shakespeare was the best! But come on, So many of his plays were based on pre-existing stories. And I havn't been kidnapped, the kidnapping gnomes work for ME! They go out and night and steal underpants from unsuspecting underpants victims.
And....Why is no one mentioning VIOLA??? She has to be one of the biggest feminist role models in the history of literature. I know, she dressed like a boy to get the respect, but everything she said and did Shakey clearly intended to be all Viola. Especially when compared to the other women we have to choose from -- shrews and nunnish things and airheaded nymphomaniacs. Just look at how Feste spoke to her; he was fooled (no pun intended) by the disguise, but the one scene outside Orsino's when they're alone he treated her with a kind of admiration and curiosity that no one else ever got from him.
*Quietly slips padlock onto her underwear drawer*
As an hombre, I note no one has mentioned Imogen in Cymbeline, who is a lovely character. Also the gal who cuts a deal with the Duke in "All's Well" is rare.
I had a great admiration for Lavinia of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, due to her strength throughout everyone violently victimizing her. The thought of her persona seems almost haunting in the play, and I cannot but give the greatest sympathy.
Another character I loved seems a common one: Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream. I looked highly upon her strong will, and for just merely being the Queen Fairy.
Yeah, Viola is actually one of my favourite Shakespeare characters...and after her, comes Rosalind. I like the name Rosalind. More if you pronounce the "-lind" part as rhyming with "pinned" instead of "rind" or "mind" or "kind". Though there are rhymes for both in the play itself, I guess they were all pronounc'd the same during the Bard's time.Quote:
And....Why is no one mentioning VIOLA??? She has to be one of the biggest feminist role models in the history of literature.
Fare thee well,
Miss Darcy
Forgetting this isn't Shakespeare High