The images of women in some of william shakespeare,s plays

The innocent, faithful women striving for true love and fighting to protect their love and happiness.. I am really interested in the images of women in his plays such as Juliet in “Romeo

Table of contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

I The rationale for choosing the thesis

II The aims of the thesis

III The objectives of the thesis

IV The methods of the study

V The limitation of the thesis

VI The main contents of the thesis

contents

Chapter I: background

I England in the Renaissance

1 What is the Renaisance?

1.1 The Middle Ages and the origins of the Renaissance1.2 A surge of interest in classical learning and values, especially Greek and Roman achievements in the Renaissance

1.3 Renaissance men’s ideas and attitudes1.3.1 Changes in political attitudes

1.3.2 Changes in religious attitudes1.3.3 New inventions and discoveries in science in the Renaissance

2 England in the Renaissance

II Elizabethan and Jacobean drama

1 What is drama?

2 Elizabethan and Jacobean drama III William Shakespeare

1 His life

2 His career and works

Chapter II: the images of women in some of William Shakespeare’s plays

I The innocent, faithful women striving for true love and fighting to protect their love and happiness

1 Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”

1.1 A brief summary of "Romeo and Juliet"

1.2 Juliet

2 Desdemona in “Othello”

2.1 A brief summary of "Othello"

2.2 Desdemona

II The intelligent woman : Portia in “The Merchant of Venice”

1 A brief summary of “The Merchant of Venice”

2 Portia III The fearless, stubborn and valiant women

1 Emilia in “Othello”

2 Cordelia in “King Lear”

2.1 A brief summary of “King Lear”

2.2 Cordelia

Secondly, I would like to thank very much to the Dean of The Foreign Languages Department, and especially, the teacher of English TrÇn Ngäc Tëng and the teacher of Literature NguyÔn §×nh Ba who lent me some interesting materials and gave me a lot of useful ideas.

Finally, I also thank my parents and my friends for their encouragement Due to the help of all above-mentioned people, I can finish this thesis.

I The rationale for choosing the thesis:

I have been learning literature since I was twelve years old and it has beenone of my most favourite subjects so far When I was a pupil, I used to learn manyworks with various themes by famous Vietnamese writers Among them, “Ngêicon g¸i Nam X¬ng” by NguyÔn D÷, “TruyÖn KiÒu” by NguyÔn Du were twostories I liked most and they tell us about destinies of women in Feudal Society inVietnam

Now I am a student of English and fortunately, I have the opportunity tostudy English literature, to know the literature in the Renaissance, especiallyWilliam Shakespeare and his works I am really interested in the images of women

in his plays such as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”, Desdemona in “Othello”, Portia

in “The Merchant of Venice” etc

Besides, in process of studying English literature, I usually face manydifficulties in understanding the English literary language, especially as it used byShakespeare It seems to challenge for me to discover.

All the above things are the main rationale for choosing my graduationthesis

II The aims of the thesis:

Firstly, studying this thesis helps me to understand more about theRenaissance, drama in Elizabethan and Jacobean ages, English literature in theRenaissance and to know more deeply about William Shakespeare’s life, career andfamous plays

Secondly, through studying this thesis, I can improve my English language,especially English literary language

III The objectives of the study:

To study the images of women in the plays “Romeo and Juliet”, “Othello”,

“King Lear” and “The Merchant of Venice” by Shakespeare

IV The methods of the study:

- Using collective method: Collecting the materials that are concerned with thethesis and studying them carefully

- Using analysis and synthetic methods

- Making use of the help of my supervisor Christopher Staples

V the limitation of the thesis:

- Studying the Renaissance, England in the Renaissance

- Studying Elizabethan and Jacobean drama

- Studying Shakespeare’s life and career

- Focusing on “the images of women” as Shakespeare’s following characters:Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”, Desdemona and Emilia in “Othello”, Portia in “TheMerchant of Venice” and Cordelia in “King Lear”

VI The main contents of the thesis:

Chapter I: background

I England in the Renaissance

1 What is the Renaisance?

1.1 The Middle Ages and the origins of the Renaissance

1.2 A surge of interest in classical learning and values, especially Greek and Roman achievements, in the Renaissance.

1.3 Renaissance men’s ideas and attitudes1.3.1 Changes in political attitudes

1.3.2 Changes in religious attitudes1.3.3 New inventions and discoveries in science in the Renaissance

2 England in the Renaissance

II Elizabethan and Jacobean drama

1 Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”

1.1 A brief summary of "Romeo and Juliet"

1.2 Juliet

2 Desdemona in “Othello”

2.1 A brief summary of "Othello"

2.2 Desdemona

II The Intelligent woman : Portia in “The Merchant of Venice”

1 A brief summary of “The Merchant of Venice”

2 Portia III The fearless, stubborn and valiant women

1 Emilia in “Othello”

2 Cordelia in “King Lear”

2.1 A brief summary of “King Lear”

2.2 Cordelia

Chapter I

Background

I England in the Renaissance:

The word “Renaissance” means “Rebirth” which is the French translation ofthe Italian “Rinascita” The Renaissance was a series of movements in literatureand culture in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in Europe These movements began

in Italy and eventually expanded into Germany, France, England, and the rest ofEurope This period marks the transition from the medieval to the modern world inEurope

The Renaissance was inspired by a criticism of the styles and thought of theMiddle Ages and a desire to return to the glories of ancient Greece and Rome Itmeans that Europeans became interested in studying the great civilizations ofancient Greece and Rome and Renaissance men had many changes in their beliefsabout the Universe, and the place of human beings and the worth of the individualwithin it

In Europe, the term Middle Ages is used to show periods in the history ofEurope that lasted from about AD 350 to about 1450 It was invented by scholars inthe 15th century of the Renaissance These scholars thought that their Renaissanceand the time of ancient Greece and Rome were advanced and civilized They calledthe period between themselves and the ancient world “The Middle Ages” TheMiddle Ages were divided into three main periods: The Early, Central and LateMiddle Ages The period which is the considered as origins of the Renaissance isthe late Middle Ages, so we will focus on this period’s influences on theRenaissance

The late Middle Ages which lasted from about 1300 to 1450 witnessed notonly Europeans’ famine, plague, war, and religious dissent but also a period ofenormous vitality and advance in art, literature, and thought Two typical characters

of this time who really affected the Renaissance were Petrarch and Boccacio

Petrarch (1304-1374), an Italian poet, restored the Latin of the AncientRomans and vernacular literature Meanwhile all learned people used the Latin ofthe Church, of the Scholarsticism, and of the law courts Petrarch succeeded in

writing vernacular love poems and imitating the great ancient Latin authors Hisperfection of the sonnet form later influenced such English poets as GeoffreyChaucer, William Shakespeare, and Edmund Spenser Petrarch was also one of thefirst humanists He and other humanists absorbed the ideas of the ancient Romansand made them their own such as ancient Roman writers gave them an example ofhow to express their own feelings of patriotism.

Besides, Boccaccio (1313-1375) was an Italian writer and humanist, one ofthe greatest authors of all time The writers in the Renaissance who wereinfluenced by his works and used them as source material were Geoffrey Chaucer,William Shakespeare and John Dryden

Roman achievements, in the Renaisance.

During the Middle Ages, there were some scholars and researchers studyingthe achievements of ancient cultures but they were only theologians, philosophersand writers Their attention was mostly limited to their professional activities Forinstance, Alcuin (735 - 804) - an English scholar who supported and worked forthe Carolingian Kings and Christianity revised and reedited a version of the Bibleknown as the Vulgate Moreover, these scholars wrote on parchment made ofanimal skins and all works were written out by hand, so their manucripts couldhardly come to the readers

In the Renaissance, however, people from various segments of society - fromkings and nobles to merchants and soldiers - sought and studied thoseachievements They began to learn the Latin of the Ancient Romans, so they couldsearch manucripts of the old Roman writers easily Especially, the number of thereaders who were interested in reading works of the ancient writers increasedgreatly due to the invention of printing

1.3.1 Change in political attitudes

After the Western Roman Empire collapsed in about AD 500, The HolyRoman Empire and The Roman Catholic Church controlled much of Europe duringthe Middle Ages The Holy Roman empire influenced the polical life of the people,and through the papacy the popes of the Roman Catholic Church controlled thereligious life So the state and the Church were viewed as two different aspects ofone Christian society However, the strong ties between Church and State weregradually weakening because, firstly, popes and the emperors struggled with eachother for control over Church administration and secular lands, and, secondly, they

only concentrated on political control rather than spiritual matters The decline ofthe Holy Roman Empire and the office of the pope was a preparation for changes inattitudes toward politics in the Renaissance.

The struggle between the popes and the secular rulers was an advantage formany towns in European countries, especially, in Italy, towns such as Venice,Milan etc enlarged their power and independence We can call them independentcity - states In some other areas of Europe, national monarchs established theirpower such as France, England, Spain, etc

The unstable politics formed modern ways of thinking about politics Thesenew attitudes appeared in historical writings and in theoretical works written byhumanists The humanists stated that God and religion couldn’t control politicssuccessfully, that was for human beings to do And the humanists also describedpolitical development in purely natural and nonreligious terms The typical writersfor this thinking way were Niccolo Machiavelli ( Italy ) and Jean Bodin ( France)

Although this new political perspective emerged during the Renaissance, itwas not accepted at that time However, humanism was a stable and unifyingframework for the organization of spiritual and material life

1.3.2 Changes in religious attitudes

The Roman Catholic Church which was the institution of official religionduring the Middle Ages was discredited and weakened by series of failures such asthe Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism The Babylonian Captivity or theBabylonian Exile lasted from 1309 to 1377, the Popes were forced to live inAvignon in the south of France under the domination of several French monarchs.The Great Schism was a term used to the period in the Western Church when threerival popes competed for control from 1378 to 1417

However, the decline of the institution of the Roman Catholic Churchseemed to motivate religious fervor in Europe There were many successfulmovements in religion emerging and challenging papal authority For instance, the

“devotio moderna” movement in the Low countries of Belgium, Luxembourg andthe Netherlands emphasized individual and practical faith, a contrast with the morecommunal and metaphysical faith of the Catholic Church; a mystical religiousmovement appeared in Germany, it taught men about direct revelations from Godwithout the Church, etc Many Churches and Chapels were built, and newdevotional exercises became popular

As a result, many of the leaders of religious movements and humanistssucceeded in reforming Christian society by relying on education rather than

religious faith All their actions for religion aimed at expressing hope for theimprovement in the spiritual life of human beings.

1.3.3 New inventions and discoveries in science in the Renaissance

Along with changes in political and religious attitudes, Renaissance meninquired and discovered many new things about human beings and the Universe

In the Middle Ages, scholars usually took their scientific knowledge from books.During the Renaissance, however, scholars began to experiment and observe thenatural world by themselves

In astronomy, the 16th - century Polish astronomer Nicholaus Copernicusstudied the scientific writings of antiquity, and observed the Universe Heconcluded that the Earth revolves around the sun and the sun is the center of theUniverse The 17th - century Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo invented thetelescope and declared the laws of falling bodies and the motions of projectiles Inmedicine, a Belgian physician Andreas Vesalius first dissected a human body in ascientific way and he was considered as the father of modern anotomy Innavigation, Italian Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus discovered America in

1492 Besides, other important inventions such as gunpowder, the printing press,and the compass were practical results of Renaissance science In the field ofphilosophy, many scholars set out the new Renaissance attitudes toward science.Among them, Francis Bacon stated that it is necessary to be certain of the truth,and the only way of being certain is by observation and testing

The above – mentioned figures were typical scientists in the Renaissance.They not only changed ancient thinking about the Universe but also gave new ideasand discoveries about the natural world and human beings Their contributions forscience have a great and crucial importance up to now and in the future

2 England in the Renaissance

There was never any doubt that due to the Renaissance, England became themost prosperous and important European country Expecially, during the reign ofQueen Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603), English society witnessed dramatictransformations The following were some salient changes:

The Parliament and the Privy Council operated effectively and the county’slegal institutions developed The population also grew in the country Protestanismwas established firmly as England’s faith instead of Catholism Moreover, byimproving the navy under Henry VIII, England successfully defeated the SpanishArmada under Elizabeth I This victory established the glory of the English navyand inspired merchants and explorers toward colonization of a wider world Great

explorers such as Sir Walter Raleigh who brought tobacco and potatoes fromoverseas set up the first English outposts in North America.

The continuing development of trade, the thoroughness of education, thegrowing entertainment demands of people at this time and other above - mentionedchanges gave a new impetus to a great flowering of the arts Especially, theoutpouring of poetry and drama led by William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser andChristopher Marlowe

II Elizabethan and Jacobean drama

1 What is drama?

Drama is a type of literature usually written to be performed Primitive menwould act out the story of a hunt for wild animals in front of other people without atheatre or stage Modern drama began with the classical Greek tragedies about2,500 years ago Works of drama are written not only to be read but also to bepresented in public by a group of performers, each of whom plays one of characters

in the story The elements of drama are divided into dialogue, theme, plot,character, setting, stage directions, stage property, little description of the situation.The main kinds of drama include comedy, tragedy, and history

2 Elizabethan and Jacobean drama

Drama was the great art – form of the Elizabethan and Jacobean Ages.Playwrights read and translated the Roman plays in order to create their ownworks All actors, who travelled from town to town to perform plays, were male It

is amazing to realize that boys acted the female roles They set up their stages inthe open courtyards of inns or in the hall of some noble houses

Since 1576, the theatres had started to be built in London such as the Globeand Blackfriars where most of Shakespeare’s plays were performed They wereusually round or eight – sided Their stages jutted out into the audience who stoodround the pit The pit had no roof, and the richer people sat in covered galleries Onthe other hand, there was little or no scenery when actors acted on the stage, and sothe audience mostly had to use their imaginations through the language of theplays In particular, the performance was only in the middle of the day

The theatre brought the large entertainments to citizens of the towns inEngland However, the political and religious instability at the end of the ageprevented the development of drama and the theatres were closed until 1660.Beside the best dramatist, William Shakespeare, other famous playwrights of theage were Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd, Ben Jonson, etc

III William Shakespeare

1 His life:

William Shakespeare, of whose personal life little is known, was born in thesmall town of Stratford - Upon - Avon in England on about 23rd April 1564 Hewas the third son of eight children of John Shakespeare, a tradesman, and MaryArden The young Shakespeare probably attended the Stratford grammar schoolwhich educated the sons of Stratford citizens After he finished at this school, hedid not go to university, and perhaps he worked in his father’s business InNovember 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, a daughter of a farmer, and she waseight years older than himself They had three children, a daughter and twins – aboy and a girl The boy did not survive

For a few years after that, Shakespeare left for London in about 1588, and it

is uncertain to know about his life there He seems to have attained sufficientsuccess as an actor and a playwright He was a shareholder in the Globe theatre,which opened in 1599, and in Blackfriars, which was rebuilt in 1610 Thesetheatres enabled Shakespeare to become a wealthy man

In about 1611, Shakespeare returned to Stratford, his hometown, and spentthe last years of his life there He died on his 52nd birthday in 1616

The legacy of Shakespeare’s work consists of 154 sonnets, which talk of hislove for a young man and for a “dark lady”, two long narrative poems, “Venus andAdonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece”, and 37 plays – 17 comedies, 10 tragedies,and 10 histories Although the precise date of many of Shakespeare’ plays is indoubt, his dramatic career is generally divided into 4 periods: the period up to

1594, the years from 1594 to 1600, the year from 1600 to 1608, the period after1608

This first period was considered his apprenticeship As his contemporaries,

he imitated the styles and plays of Roman playwrights He sometimes collaboratedwith Christopher Marlowe and others in composition His early works werecomedies, histories plays, tragedies, and poems as following:

1 Comedy of Terror (c.1592) 1 Henry VI, part 1 (c 1590)

2 Taming of the Shrew (c.1593) 2 Henry VI, part 2 (c 1591)

3 Two Gentlemen of Verona (c 1594) 3 Henry VI, part 3 (c 1592)

4 Love’s Labour’s Lost (c 1594) 4 Richard III (c 1592)

1 Titus Andronicus (c 1593) 1 Venus and Adonis

2 The Rape of Lucrece

2.2 The second period : 1594 - 1600

In this period, although Shakespeare wrote all the types of drama, he wasreally interested in composing romantic comedies They contain joyous poetry andmuch optimism They describe friendships, loves, the search for happiness of theyoung people Many humorous incidents inserted in the plays bring about laughter

of the audience "Romeo and Juliet" which was the only tragedy of the period,started the appearance of a series of more later His works in this time are:

o Comedies:

1 A Mid Summer Night’s Dream (c 1595)

2 The Merchant of Venice (c 1596)

3 Much Ado about Nothing (c 1598)

3 Henry IV, part 1 (c 1597)

4 Henry IV, part 2 (c 1958)

5 Henry V (c.1958)

o Poems: Sonnets

o Tragedies : Romeo and Juliet (c.1595)

2.3 The third period : 1600 - 1608

Shakespeare’s plays changed from optimism to pessimism They reflect theproblems people had to face in the life such as falsehood, cruelty, love, hate,jealousy, ambition.etc His tragedies showed his disbelief in man’s values, man’scapacity and in the meaning of human life, even expressing his hatred for mankind.They are considered the most profound of his works Besides, the laughter in hiscomedies became darker and more bitter than it in two above-mentioned periods

1 Twelfth Night (c 1600)

2 Troilus and Cressida (c 1600)

3 All’s well that ends well (c 1602)

4 Measure for Measure (c 1604)

1 Julius Caesar (c 1600)

The plays seemed to be mixture between comedies and tragedies, they wasalso called dramatic romances They expressed calm, sober and quietly lovelysituations They tell of happiness which is lost, and then found again Thefollowing plays are the famous ones of Shakespeare in this period:

in some of William Shakespeare’s plays

I The innocent, faithful women striving for true love andfighting to protect their love anh happiness

1 Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet"

1.1.A brief summary of "Romeo and Juliet"

In the city of Verona in northern Italy, during the fourteenth century, twowealthy and noble families, the Montagues and the Capulets, have been feuding formany years The feud between two families still continues although the originalcause of the quarrel has been forgotten Romeo, a child of the Montague family,first loves Rosaline, a beautiful woman in Verona Romeo is sad because she hasrefused his love His cousin and friend, Benvolio, advises him to think of otherwomen but he says that he couldn’t forget Rosaline

The great rich Capulet family organises a party on Sunday evening and allpeople in Verona, except for the Montagues, have been invited However, Romeogoes to the party in order to see his Rosaline There he meets Juliet, a Capulet, andsuddenly he forgets Rosaline and falls in love with Juliet That night, theyexchanges vows of eternal love on the balcony of the Capulets’ house The nextday, they are married secretly by Friar Lawrence

Romeo’s appearance at the Capulet’s party makes Tybalt, a nephew of LadyCapulet, feel angry and he thinks he will punish Romeo for this Later that day hemeets Mercutio, a friend of Romeo and relative of the Prince of Verona, withBenvolio They quarrel and fight each other Unfortunately, Mercutio is killed byTybalt so Romeo gets revenge for his friend’s death by killing Tybalt The Princesentences Romeo to banishment from Verona The Friar advises Romeo to leavesVerona to live in the nearby city of Mantua and wait for an opportunity to proclaimthe marriage publicly Romeo agrees with the Friar He decides to leave Veronaafter spending Monday night with Juliet When Romeo has gone, Juliet is reallyvery sad but her parents thinks the death of Tybalt is the cause of her sorrow Theytell her to marry her suitor, Count Paris She refuses Her father threatens never tosee her again if she doesn’t obey his order

The next day, Juliet seeks Friar Lawrence for advice He suggests to her topretend to accept the marriage with Paris The Friar also gives her a drug whichwill make her sleep and look as if she is dead on her wedding morning Then shewill be placed in the family vault where he and Romeo will rescue her when sheawakes and Romeo will take her to live with him in Mantua Meanwhile, the Friar

will send a message to Romeo Juliet carries out the Friar’s plan However, beforethe message is delivered to Romeo, he hears news of the death of Juliet He returns

to the Capulet vault There he meets Paris and they fight Paris is killed After that,Romeo takes the poison and dies When Juliet wakes up and sees the dead body ofher lover, she stabs herself After their death, Friar Lawrence explains to the Prince,the Capulets and the Montagues what has happened This makes two familiesunderstand that their children’s death is caused by their feud, so they forget theirhate and promise to live in peace

1.2 Juliet :

"Romeo and Juliet" is a play about love, William Shakespeare concentrated

on describing two central characters, Romeo and Juliet, and their love Especially,William Shakespeare created the beautiful woman, Juliet, who is considered as asymbol of youth, innocence, and faith She overcomes the long - standing hatebetween the Capulets and the Montagues to give Romeo her true love That leads tothe tragedy of her life We can find the development of the character Juliet fromthe beginning to the end of the play She begins the play as an obedient girl wholives a sheltered life, but after she meets Romeo and falls in love with him, shebecomes a resolute woman who dares striving for her true love

Juliet is very young because she is a girl of fourteen She is the daughter andthe only heiress of the wealthy and powerful Capulet family She first appearsindirectly through the talk between Capulet and Paris, a wealthy young man ofVerona, who is suitor of Juliet In this talk, Paris asks Capulet to allow him to getmarried to Juliet Although Capulet accepts, he says that Paris should wait twoyears more because he thinks his daughter is childish:

“ My child is yet a stranger in the world,

She hath not seen the change of fourteen years

Let two more summers wither in their pride

Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride”

(Act I, scene 2)

Juliet is a modest and obedient girl, who has never loved before She hasn’tknown about the nature and power of love Thus, when her mother suggests thatParis might make a good husband, she simply replies:

“ I’ll look to like, if looking liking move

But no more deep will I endart mine eyes

Than your consent gives strength to make it fly”

(Act I, scene 3)

However, the meeting with Romeo at her family’s party is an awakening toher feelings of love She is impressed by Romeo’s handsome appearance andbeautiful behavior, and falls in love with him at first sight It is the first time sheknows what true love is She loves Romeo naturally and strongly, even when shediscovers that Romeo is a Montague In the balcony scene, she talks aloud of herown love for him, she is also sad because Romeo is a number of the Montagues,but for her, the name Montague or Capulet is not important It can not isolate orprevent the lovers, she says:

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father, and refuse thy name

Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet”

(Act II, scene 2)

We are surprised that Juliet is changed from an obedient girl who has notunderstood what love is, to a women with strong true love In this scene, she showsher love passion frankly In order to protect her love, she dares to do everything,even to oppose the hate for generations between two families She is willing torefuse her father, especially, her name if that can help her to have Romeo’s love.Her love is greater than everything It is clear that the feud between two familieshas lasted for a very long time, it is very deep and strong, so the love of children oftwo families will never be accepted Although the love of Romeo and Juliet has toface a lot of such dangers and difficulties, the power of love encourages Juliet toovercome them and to fight to protect her love and happiness Thus, she deserves to

be called one of the most wonderful heroines of William Shakespeare

The faith of Juliet’s love for Romeo is proved deeply and clearly throughthe scene that Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge for his friend, Mercutio, and Romeo

is banished from Verona Because Tybalt is Juliet’s dear cousin, she could neverforgive Romeo’s action, and would hate Romeo, but she doesn’t do that, she stillloves Romeo, even more strongly She spends one sweet night with Romeo before

he leaves for Mantua, she decides to belong only to Romeo in spite of hisbanishment The distance between them can not separate two lovers, their love isstronger than everything, they believe that they will meet again:

“ Art thou gone so, love lord, ay husband, friend?

I must hear from thee everyday in the hour,

For in a minute there are many days

O by this count I shall be much in years,

Ere I again behold my Romeo”

(Act III, scene 5)

After Romeo and Juliet’s farewell eachother, Juliet is forced to mary Paris,this horrifies her and she tells her mother that she will not agree to do such a thing

We know that Paris is a very good young man of Verona and he also loves Juliet IfJuliet becomes Paris’ wife, she will have a high position in society and live awealthy life Furthermore, Paris is accepted by Juliet’s parents, they like Paris andthey think that their child will be happy with Paris On the contrary, Romeo is aMontague who her parents hate absolutely and is in exile far from her However,the power, the wealth and the love of Paris are not strong enough to change Juliet’slove for Romeo She refuses to mary Paris even though her father, Capulet,threatens to disown her

“ Hang thee young baggage, disobedient wretch!

I tell thee what, get thee to church a Thursday,

Or never after look me in the face”

(Act III ,scene 5 )

Juliet disobeys the order of her parents flatly, so they are angry and rejecther Even the Nurse suggests that Juliet should indeed marry Paris and forgetRomeo as Romeo is unlikely to be able to return Everyone rejects her at herrefusal but she still retains her own idea that she would rather die than marry Paris

In this difficulty, Juliet decides to go to see Friar Lawrence for advice All heractions, words and decisions in this scene clearly aim at protecting her love forRomeo That proves her faith and resolution and the power of love helps her to dosuch things

The only love of Juliet for Romeo is affirmed once more in her decision totake the drug given by Friar Lawrence On the night before the wedding of Parisand her, before drinking the drug, she hesitates doing or not doing because shethinks of a lot of terrible things that will happen to her when she lies in the vaultand thinks of the death She wonders whether the Friar has given her poison to take

so that she will die and no one will know of what he has done because he hasalready married her to Romeo secretly But Juliet puts aside her worry and doubtsand believes the real Friar Lawrence:

“What if it be a poison which the friar

Subtly hath ministered to have me dead,

Lest in this marriage he should be dishonoured

Because he married me before to Romeo?

I fear it is , and yet methinks it should not,

For he hath still been tried a holy man”

(Act IV, scene 3)

Juliet overcomes her doubts, she thinks of her love, for Romeo, and decides

to swallow the drug: “Romeo! Romeo! Romeo! I drink to thee” (Act IV, scene 3).She hopes that she will meet Romeo when she awakes, he will rescue her and takeher to live with him in Mantua, they will be together forever, but she doesn’t knowthat there will be a mistake in the plan of Friar Lawrence that the message willnever come to Romeo, and Romeo will die beside her in the vault In fact, Juliet’sbravery shows us that her love for Romeo is all, it is stronger than everything, eventhan her fear of death

When William Shakespeare describes the heroine, Juliet, he extols herbeauty both in the soul and in looks She is really a very beautiful woman Her facemakes Romeo dote on at the first time of their meeting in the feast of Capulet Inthe scene of the balcony, in the moonlight, Romeo adores her beauty, he says thatthe moon is not as beautiful as Juliet and he calls her the sun:

“ It is the east, and Juliet is the Sun

Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief

That thou her maid art far more fair than she”

(Act II, scene 2)

As Romeo returns to the vault where Juliet lies, he finds that his lover’s face,lips, cheeks are still crimson, even when she has died For Romeo, her beauty lastsforever, his love for her will never fade, thus he swallows the poison to die besideher body:

“ Death that hath sucked the honey of thy breath

Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty

Thou art not conquered; beauty’s ensign yet

Is crimson in thy lips and un thy cheeks”

(Act V, scene 3)

Through the play "Romeo and Juliet", we have learned that Juliet is abeautiful, brave, and faithful woman Although she is very young, only a fourteen-year-old-girl, she dares to struggle alone with circumstances to protect her love andhappiness It means that she overcomes the long-standing feud between twofamilies, denies the good suitor Paris, forgets the death of her cousin Tybalt, forwhich Romeo was responsible, takes the drug of Friar Lawrence and stabs herself

to die with Romeo Because of all the above things, Juliet becomes one of myfavourite images of women in William Shakespeare’s plays and I think her nameand her love for Romeo will be remembered forever

2 Desdemona in "Othello"

2.1 A brief summary of "Othello"

Brabantio, the rich senator of Venice, has a beautiful daughter, the gentleDesdemona She falls in love with Otenllo, the General in the army of the Duke ofVenice They get married together secretly although her father strongly opposesthis match as Othello is a Moor and he has no wealth Their marriage cannot bekept a secret for long When Brabantio hears about it, in a coucil of the Senate, heaccuses Othello of having gained the love of Desdemona by magic At the sametime, news arrives that a large Turkish ships is preparing to attack the Venetiancolony of Cyprus, and Othello is ordered to defend Cyprus against the Turks In thecourt, Othello describes exactly how he has won the love of Desdemona andDesdemona herself declares that her love for Othello is true So Brabantio’scomplaint is dismissed, and Othello sets out for Cyprus When Othello andDesdemona land in Cyprus safety, they are informed that a great storm has drivenaway the Turkish ships and so the danger for Cyprus is over

However, a worse enemy than any Turk is beginning to attack theirhappiness He is the evil Iago, Othello’s ensign He hates Othello because he hasrecently passed him over for promotion and raised a handsome and attractive youngVenetian named Cassio to the rank of lieutenant, a position of trust nearest to theGeneral This has given great offence to Iago, for he believes himself a bettersoldier than Cassio He feels jealous of Cassio and makes a plan to ruin both himand Cassio

In the island, a sort of holiday is organized to congratulate the arrival of thegeneral and his lady in Cyprus, together with the news of the scattering of theenemy’s ships Othello orders Cassio to Belmont in charge of the guard that nightand to keep the soldiers from drinking too much While Cassio is on duty, Iagoinvites him to drink quite a lot He at first refuses, but eventually swallows glassafter glass as Iago offers them A quarrel occurs between Cassio and Roderigo, aVenetian gentleman in love with Desdemona, by Iago’s provocation Immediately,Iago raises the alarm and Othello and Desdemona come there Othello, findingCassio drunk, takes away Cassio’s place of lieutenant from him

Then Iago advises Cassio to meet Desdemona who can help him now Thismeeting is arranged by her maid Emilia, the wife of Iago, and she does not know

his wicked purpose Cassio begs Desdemona to plead with Othello for him andDesdemona promises Cassio that she will ask her husband to forgive him After herwords, Othello is not unsympathetic But Iago suggests to Othello that the reasonfor Desdemona’s anxiety about Cassio is that they are secret lovers Unfortunately,Desdemona drops her handkerchief on the ground, Emilia picks it up and gives it toIago He puts it in Cassio’s room, and then tells Othello that he has seen it inCassio’s hand Othello asks Desdemona about the handkerchief which he offeredher but now Desdemona cannot find it Thus Othello is really jealous of Cassio andhis love for Desdemona is turned to mad hatred He agrees with Iago’s suggestionthat the most fitting punishment for Desdemona will be to smother her

One night, when Desdemona is in bed, he enters the room, and quickly holdsdown a pillow over her face until she dies At the same time, Iago has asked one ofhis men to murder Cassio, but Cassio is only wounded and so Iago kills that man toprevent discovery However, his wife Emilia denounces him that he has betrayedboth Othello and Desdemona, and Iago stabs her to death and escapes fromOthello’s house Othello discovers that his wife has always been faithful to him.Because of his great pain and sorrow, he kill himself by the sword, throwinghimself on the body of Desdemona Iago is captured and put to a painful death bythe law

He usually tells Desdemona such the stories of his life as the battles in which

he fought; the dangers he met by land and sea; the strange things he saw in theforeign countries, the great desert, the caves, the rocks and mountains whose headsare in the clouds; wild people who are man-eaters, and a race of men in Africawhose heads grow beneath their shoulders, etc Desdemona loves to hear thestories of his adventures that hold her attention a lot She said to him if he had afriend who loved her, he had only to teach him how to tell his story and that wouldwin her Othello understood what she meant:

“She loved me for the dangers I had passed, And I loved her, that she did pity them ” (Act I, scene 3)

Othello gains the generous Lady Desdemona’s true love by his talent oftelling stories as well as because of his nobility and bravery

She agrees to marry him but their marriage is organized secretly because ofher father’s opposition Neither the colour of Othello’s skin nor his fortune canmake Brabantio accept him for a son-in-law Furthermore, Brabantio expects thathis daughter would choose a man of the rank of Senator as most the nobleVenetian ladies did In this, however, he is deceived Desdemona is very differentfrom all other ladies who will not able to overcome the objection of skin’s colour,she values it far above all the white skins and clear faces of the young Venetiannobles who wish to marry her The power of love encourages the gentleDesdemona to speak aloud to protect Othello when her father accuses him ofhaving seduced her and stolen her away from him:

“ I am hitherto your daughter But here’s my husbandAnd so much duty as my mother showed

To you, preferring you before her father,

So much I challenge, that I may professDue to the Moor, my lord”

Desdemona shows her father that she always respects him and clearlyknows the duty of a daughter to the father who brought up and educated hercarefully, but now she must give a higher duty to her husband, Othello Due to herprotection he avoids the old senator Brabantio’s accusation Thus, both thedifference of race between Desdemona and Othello, and her father’s objection arenot strong enough to obstruct her love for Othello That love is stronger thaneverything It helps Desdemona overcome every difficult situation, strive for andfight to protect it

Desdemona loves Othello, she wants to live with him for all time A war willhappen in the island Cyprus, but she does not fears dangers of that war, and shedecides to go with Othello to the island She is accompanied by Iago and his wife,Emilia They arrives in Cyprus before Othello because his ship is threatened by adreadful storm at sea Desdemona really feels anxious for her husband but she tries

to hide her true feeling by joking with Iago, and she only shows it to the audience:

“I am not mercy, but I do beguile