Examine Shakespeare’s presentation Essay

When juncture was origin performed in 1601, England had been successfully control for forty-three years by Elizabeth I, a strong and influential milkweed butterfly who reigned without a male counterpart, establishing England as one of the well-nigh military groupful and heavy(p) countries in the world. This is proof that wowork force jackpot be as successful as custody however women were still examinen as wink class citizens, and proportion of their hubbys, during the Elizabethan period. Polonius says of Ophelia I induce a daughter charter temporary hookup she is mine. (2.2, line 106).This is reflected in Shakespe ars portrayal of women in Hamlet, which shows Gertrude in a very different light to Elizabeth Tudor. For more years in the past, many women convergeed a sm completely employment socially, economically and politically. As a result of this, many works of literature of this time, including Hamlet, were reflective of this diminutive role of women. Shakespe be suggests the danger of womens involvement in politics at the monarch butterfly level, and reflects the publics desire for a return to a put up of stability th more or less(prenominal) a change to a patriarchal system.We washbasin examine Shakespeares presentation of women in Hamlet through the counseling the two women in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, are treated by the men in their lives, and by analyzing the context in which they are referred. The first time Claudius refers to Gertrude he says Our sometime sister, forthwith our Queen, Th imperial jointress of this warthe comparables of state, (1. 2, lines 8-9) which shows how he besidesk prefer of his dead br opposites wife whilst she was still mourning her husbands end to settle his place on the throne. She married.O most wicked speed, to post, with such dexterity to incestuous sheets. (1.2, lines 156-157) Here Hamlet is impeach his mother of corruption because of her improper fetch upual activity and trades unio n. Even though a marital bond existed between Claudius and Gertrude, the rushed and incestuous aspects of the marriage enrage Hamlet. The couple were married less than three months after the close of Hamlets father, and in Hamlets eyes, Gertrudes actions realise defiled her character. Royal sexual activity created concerns about both power and purity in the Elizabethan world. As women had no opportunity to urge on the battle field, chastity was the principle measure of their honour and chastity. so Hamlets opinion of his mother has a negative admonition of a womans virtues. Sir Walter Mild direction, 1510, said Choose thy wife for virtue only. Elizabeths sexual conduct drew public attention, and she publicly vowed her purity, all the same adopting the title Virgin Queen. When King Hamlets ghost appears he refers to Gertrude as his most seeming-virtuous Queen. (1. 5, lines 4-6) He is expressing his belief that Gertrude had always seemed faithful, but now she has married much less of a man she has dishonoured him, and lost all his venerate and trust.Even though Hamlet and his father are want r all the samege on Claudius, they continue to turn to of Gertrude. In his second soliloquy we expect Hamlet to be expressing his hatred towards Claudius, however he is stress all of his energy on this most pernicious woman, (1. 5, line 105) who is his mother. This dis-belief at his mothers behaviour is under(a)standable, however, as it is so soon after his fathers death, and you would expect Gertrude to still be mourning the death of her husband that she apparently love dearly. One of the most famous quotes regarding women in Hamlet is Frailty thy name is woman. (1. 2, lines 146-147) This quote sums up the attitudes of the male characters in the play, that women are by far the weaker sex and gives us a steer as to why the men treat Gertrude and Ophelia with so little respect. In 1558, writer, John Knox described women as weak, frail, impatient, feeble and foo lish. Emphasizing the way that women were viewed at the time Hamlet was written. Both the women are greatly controlled by the men of the play, particularly Ophelia who is lots told what to do and who has been treated as if she does not have a mind of her own all her life.When inviteed a question Ophelia often replies with I call nothing, (3. 2, line 118) and when she does express an opinion it is dismissed. Polonius says Affection? Pooh, you speak like a green girl unsifted, (1. 3, line 101) which is extremely patronizing, verbalism she speaks like an inexperienced and untried girl who does not know what she is talk of the town about. Ophelia could have an out-going personality however, she is so oppressed that we never get to see a true reflection of her character, due to the constraints of the society she is living in.We even hear Gertrude, the Queen of Denmark, saying to her husband I shall obey you. By obeying the men and giving in to a passive existence Gertrude and Ophe lia are living up to the label that women are the weaker sex. The men give vertical advice to both women, telling them what to do and when, Polonius tells Ophelia not to give her virginity away too easily when he uses the metaphor set you entreatments at a high rate then a command to parley, (1. 3, lines 122-123) where her virginity is compared to a castle under siege.Even though Polonius is Ophelias father, he seems to have no respect for her, or her privacy, and rarely thinks of how she may be feeling. He reads Hamlets love letters out-loud to the King and uses Ophelia as bait to improve his take care in front of Claudius, which is extremely self-centred and obsequious. Another quote that real stands out in Hamlet that shows how little respect the men have for Gertrude and Ophelia is Get thee to a nunnery. (3. 1, line 121) This is Hamlet telling Ophelia that because he can not have her, no one can, so she has to go to a nunnery, away from all other male contact.He does not a sk her how she feels, and is willing to make the rest of her life miserable simply because he can not be with her. It never even occurs to Hamlet that she top executive be willing to move on and come upon someone other than him to spend the rest of her life with. After the nunnery scene, Ophelia speaks to Polonius and we hear her opinion for the first and only time. She presents herself entirely as the victim of Hamlets rough treatment.She says I of ladies most deject and wretched, that sucked the honey of his musiked vows, (3.1, lines 158-159) showing how Ophelia had believed in what Hamlet told her and how she feels dejected about the fact that he claims to have never loved her. God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another, (3. 1, lines 145-146) is Hamlet saying that women brook too much make-up and in doing so are deceiving men into thinking that they are something that they are not. He accuses Ophelia of being a classifiable woman and is therefore not treating her as an individual.He says For the power of knockout will sooner transform honesty from what it is bawd, (3.1, lines 111-112) explaining his opinion that beautiful women are untrustworthy and insincere. Even though Hamlet accuses women of this, he is saying it in the heat of an argument so he may be exaggerating and may not be giving his true opinion. Ophelia hardly says a think back to him though, again reflecting the idea that women are frail and passive. Throughout the play Hamlet makes reference to prostitutes, and seems to make a connection between women, sex and corruption. When Hamlet and Polonius are speaking he says For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion. (2. 2, lines 184-185) He uses this metaphor of a dead dog, and a pun on the vocalise sun, to make the calculate that if the son (Hamlet) kisses the daughter (Ophelia) then she may breed, like the maggots in the dead animal. The characters of the play often refer to sex in a negative manner, and it is never described as a loving act between a couple. In Hamlets second soliloquy he is blaming himself, and compares himself to a slatternly woman saying that he must like a whore, unpack my heart with words, and fall a-cursing like a very drab, a stallion. (2.2, lines 592-594) His references to women are always negative, and he presents them as objects that men can use for sexual pleasure whenever they want.The final point to make about the way Shakespeare presents women is the fact that Ophelia is the only character compulsive to suicide, and that she is one of only two women in the play. This is possible another way for Shakespeare to make his point that women are by far the weaker sex. Audiences today would find the way that the women in Hamlet are treated extremely strike as today women are so much more independent. or else of being a husbands possession, a wife is seen as an equal. Women today have the freedom to be more open-minded, and are allowed to inte rpreter opinions other than their husbands. Women today have almost total sexual freedom as well, so the connection between women, sex and corruption would in all likelihood cause mixed reactions. This, however, also brings me to the point that even though Shakespeares presentation of women is negative, so is his presentation of men.He shows the men being insensitive, selfish, authoritarian and shows them treating women with very little respect. Frailty thy name is woman, no longer applies to the women of the twenty-first Century as there are more or less equal opportunities for men and women now, and everyone has the same education and job opportunities no discipline what sex you may be. I think that this quote sums up Shakespeares overall presentation of women and the treatment of Gertrude and Ophelia shows us how women were oppressed, and often seen as objects quite a than human beings.