In Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Miranda is little more than an instrument. Caliban tries to rape her to populate the island and thereby take it over, and Prospero intends to marry her to Ferdinand to regain his power. Miranda even subjects herself to being an instrument for she says to Ferdinand “I am your wife, if you will marry me. / If not, I’ll die your maid” (3.1.83-84). Miranda is an interesting example of the servant in The Tempest’s prevalent power play between master and slave, server and served, because she willingly submits to her role in this form in her relationship to Ferdinand. Her willing submission seems to represent her sexuality. Upon meeting Ferdinand’s shipwrecked male companions at the end of the play, Miranda says “O wonder! / How many goodly creatures are there here! / How beauteous mankind is!” (5.1.184-186). The men she sees are “beauteous” to her, “pleasing to the sight” (oed.com), denoting her attraction to them. And because these men represent society as well, Miranda espouses her attraction to her place in this society as Ferdinand’s wife. For Miranda to equate the men that she sees with “mankind,” denoting the “human species” (oed.com), leaves women out of the picture of society, yet to do so is not far from the truth in regards to who holds the power in The Tempest.
Whitney Starks
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
"Lear's Shadow" and "Nothing"
Shakespeare's Boy World: Misogyny in King Lear and Antony and Cleopatra
“Lears shadow” (1.4.206) is a spondee with a feminine accent. The feminine ending is a signal for alarm, as Lear’s shadow follows a stressed-stressed-unstressed meter. The use of a feminine ending to signal alarm is an act of misogyny. It’s bad enough that women are represented in Shakespeare's plays only to the extent that female characters are played by male actors. So, the use of the feminine ending to evoke alarm and a sense of eeriness emphasizes that Shakespeare’s world of 16th/17th century literature is a boy world--a world in which women are not allowed to exist beyond the costumes and disguises worn by male actors who mimic femininity. Shakespeare’s boy world or the theatre, as it’s called, is a microcosm for 16th/17th century, English society. The exclusion of women from the theatre parallels the haunting presence of misogyny in 16th/17th century English culture.
Anti-woman ideals appear in the language of Shakespeare's day. “Nothing” (1.2.126) is the term that refers to female genitalia as it is used in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. The genitals of man and woman are that which defines man from woman. The use of the word nothing to refer to female genitalia is an implication that in Shakespeare’s society women are perceived to be exactly that which defines them--nothing. In contrast, men as the victors, the dominant members of society are defined by their genitals, as are women. The difference, however, is the word used to define the male genital. This word is “cause” (1.2.127) as it too is used in Antony and Cleopatra. In contrast to the word nothing, the word cause implies existence and value. In its use in Antony and Cleopatra, the word “great” (1.2.127)precedes the word cause to signify the importance of male genitalia and--by extension--the importance of men in Shakespeare’s society.
Beata Ingabire
Section 1D Waldo
“Lears shadow” (1.4.206) is a spondee with a feminine accent. The feminine ending is a signal for alarm, as Lear’s shadow follows a stressed-stressed-unstressed meter. The use of a feminine ending to signal alarm is an act of misogyny. It’s bad enough that women are represented in Shakespeare's plays only to the extent that female characters are played by male actors. So, the use of the feminine ending to evoke alarm and a sense of eeriness emphasizes that Shakespeare’s world of 16th/17th century literature is a boy world--a world in which women are not allowed to exist beyond the costumes and disguises worn by male actors who mimic femininity. Shakespeare’s boy world or the theatre, as it’s called, is a microcosm for 16th/17th century, English society. The exclusion of women from the theatre parallels the haunting presence of misogyny in 16th/17th century English culture.
Anti-woman ideals appear in the language of Shakespeare's day. “Nothing” (1.2.126) is the term that refers to female genitalia as it is used in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. The genitals of man and woman are that which defines man from woman. The use of the word nothing to refer to female genitalia is an implication that in Shakespeare’s society women are perceived to be exactly that which defines them--nothing. In contrast, men as the victors, the dominant members of society are defined by their genitals, as are women. The difference, however, is the word used to define the male genital. This word is “cause” (1.2.127) as it too is used in Antony and Cleopatra. In contrast to the word nothing, the word cause implies existence and value. In its use in Antony and Cleopatra, the word “great” (1.2.127)precedes the word cause to signify the importance of male genitalia and--by extension--the importance of men in Shakespeare’s society.
Beata Ingabire
Section 1D Waldo
Monday, December 8, 2008
Chaos in King Lear
Postlapsarian- characteristic of the time or state after the fall of human kind in the Bible
Prelapsarian- characteristic of the time or state before the fall of human kind in the Bible
after the fall the notion was that we age, we feel pain, and we die
This idea appears in the world of King Lear as it is representative of Shakes' England. The plays succession of terrible events suggests the universe does not operate in an eye for an eye manner (Lex talionis) --there is no regulation. The play being situation in the midst of a storm underscores this notion.
The fool's soliloquy at the end of act 3.2 speaks of the constant chaos in the world and the worlds inability to return to a state of tranquility.
The fact that "King Lear" is based in a time before the fall suggests that the world died a long time ago, and that great tragedy has been dead. Shakes is touching on the danger of nostalgia over the epic culture which does not exist in "King Lear" so therefore does not exist in his England.
maija sjogren
waldo
Prelapsarian- characteristic of the time or state before the fall of human kind in the Bible
after the fall the notion was that we age, we feel pain, and we die
This idea appears in the world of King Lear as it is representative of Shakes' England. The plays succession of terrible events suggests the universe does not operate in an eye for an eye manner (Lex talionis) --there is no regulation. The play being situation in the midst of a storm underscores this notion.
The fool's soliloquy at the end of act 3.2 speaks of the constant chaos in the world and the worlds inability to return to a state of tranquility.
The fact that "King Lear" is based in a time before the fall suggests that the world died a long time ago, and that great tragedy has been dead. Shakes is touching on the danger of nostalgia over the epic culture which does not exist in "King Lear" so therefore does not exist in his England.
maija sjogren
waldo
Background Behind Coriolanus
A relationship exists between James I & Coriolanus in regards to absolutism. Coriolanus acts as the pharmakos and his story happens much earlier than that of Julius Caesar. 509BC is when Truscans were in charge of Rome and it was being led by a tyrant. One of the Truscans, Tarquin, planned to rape Lucrece because she was the most beautiful woman in Rome. After Lucrece is raped, she calls men to her bedside and tells them she has been raped by Tarquin and that she plans to kill herself to prove she never wanted to be raped. They then proceed to take her body out to the public plaza to show everyone she has been raped. The rape of Lucrece is the root of the founding of the Roman Republic. Coriolanus is part of this story in that he was one of the heroes in the overthrow of the tyrant. The other reason this is brought up is because Shakespeare will continuously go back to this story. We also see this story in Julius Caesar in which all of this iconography haunts the play.
Cecilia Luppi
Waldo Section 1D
Cecilia Luppi
Waldo Section 1D
Black Friars Identification
I forgot my name:
Josephine Lee
Ian Hoch
Black Friars was a theatre in the Blackfriars district in London during the Renaissance. The name Blackfriars originated from the original owners, Dominican Friars. In 1608, Shakespeare and his company "King's Men" took ownership of the theatre. An enclosed, small theater, the theater was usually used in the winter while the Globe was used in the Summer. Unlike the public open amphitheatres theatres like the Globe, Black Friars served as a private theatre, catering to the wealthy. Shakespeare used the theatre until 1642 when all theatres closed due to the English Civil War. BY 1655, the theatre was demolished
Josephine Lee
Ian Hoch
Black Friars was a theatre in the Blackfriars district in London during the Renaissance. The name Blackfriars originated from the original owners, Dominican Friars. In 1608, Shakespeare and his company "King's Men" took ownership of the theatre. An enclosed, small theater, the theater was usually used in the winter while the Globe was used in the Summer. Unlike the public open amphitheatres theatres like the Globe, Black Friars served as a private theatre, catering to the wealthy. Shakespeare used the theatre until 1642 when all theatres closed due to the English Civil War. BY 1655, the theatre was demolished
Black Friars Identification
Black Friars was a theatre in the Blackfriars district in London during the Renaissance. The name Blackfriars originated from the original owners, Dominican Friars. In 1608, Shakespeare and his company "King's Men" took ownership of the theatre. An enclosed, small theater, the theater was usually used in the winter while the Globe was used in the Summer. Unlike the public open amphitheatres theatres like the Globe, Black Friars served as a private theatre, catering to the wealthy. Shakespeare used the theatre until 1642 when all theatres closed due to the English Civil War. BY 1655, the theatre was demolished
Metatheatre
Metatheatre illustrates some of the ways in which reality and illusion seep into both life and drama, allowing the play and world to become one. Also, metatheatre in its own artificiality prompts the audience not only to consider the various themes as they might arise in their own experience, but also to question the entire nature of reality in this world.
An example Professor Little provided:
When we are born we cry because we have come to this grand stage/world of fools
Robert Lopez
Amanda Waldo 1A
An example Professor Little provided:
When we are born we cry because we have come to this grand stage/world of fools
Robert Lopez
Amanda Waldo 1A
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