Examples Of Masculinity In Hamlet

Throughout centuries men have been seen as the gender that have more rights than women. According to Diane Elizabeth Dreher’s 1986 book, Domination & Defiance: Fathers and Daughters in Shakespeare, she explains that a woman during renaissance England, “was to conform patiently and silently to the will of her father and, later, to that of her husband, accepting commands, correction, physical abuse, with sweetness and humility” (16). As a result of a renaissance society that promotes and even encourages this type of behavior, men believe that they have more power. When someone believes that they have more power than another person a pattern of disrespect, and in the most extreme cases, physical and emotional abuse are likely to follow. In Hamlet, Shakespeare contrasts two female leads of the play, Ophelia and Gertrude, through reduction to appearance, instrumentality, and silencing in order to show that during this time period, the objectification of women in the play was parallel to the objectification of women during renaissance England.

Romeo is a melodramatic 16-year old that lets his downheartedness over Rosaline take over when he sees Juliet. Romeo is unhappy, as Rosaline decided to stay chaste, and then he meets Juliet and he sees that she is looks attractive and wants to make irresponsible decisions. Romeo gives a perfect example of his irresponsible, lustful identity when he says this, “Did my heart love till now? / Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night”(Shakespeare,

During some of part one, and two, we slowly learn about Romeo and his dilemma. He has fallen in love with beautiful Rosaline and all of his heart is crying out to her. He vows to never see a beauty as fair as her, and complains about the rudeness and pain of love. He allows himself to go to the party with Mercutio and his friends, but remarks he won't have a good time. "I'll go along, no such sight to be shown, But to rejoice in a splendor of mine own."  That is until he sees Juliet. Instantly he forgets all of his lamenting for Rosaline love, and proclaims Juliet is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. "O! she doth teach the torches to burn bright. It seems she hangs on the cheek of night, like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand, And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

Romeo is portrayed as an emotional and reckless character. His friend Mercutio and Fr. Lawrence comment on Romeo’s fickle attitude when he immediately falls in love with Juliet completely forgetting about Rosaline, his first love. Romeo quotes,” Did my heart love until now? Foreswear it sight, for I never saw true beauty until this night”. His love for Rosaline was superficial. Juliet transforms Romeo’s immature and erotic infatuation to true and constant love. After meeting Juliet he matures very quickly. Maybe Romeo’s love for Juliet is so intense because unlike Rosaline, Juliet reciprocates his

What defines society’s portrait of a man? Perhaps it is his intelligence, ability to communicate his feelings, or his artistic vision. Within the play from William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Hamlet is a prince who struggles with his father’s death and lacks any sense of responsibility. He spends the whole play running, making excuses, and never facing his problems head on. Eventually, he gets revenge on King Claudius, kills Laertes, and dies. Shakespeare utilizes Hamlet to portray the complications within society’s ideal of being a “real man” while still being able to express his inner feelings.

Romeo labels his feelings towards Juliet as “love”, although he has not gotten the opportunity to learn about her personality. This indicates that what he feels about her was entirely formed by her physical beauty rather than genuine feelings. Evidently, sexual desires seemed to be his ulterior motive for marrying her, instead of committing to love, care, and cherish her till death do them apart.

Hamlet can be viewed through a feminist lens by focusing on Ophelia and Gertrude and how various other male characters treat them. Ophelia and Gertrude are dismissed as characters through the entire play because they are women. Hamlet refers to women as “frailty,” implying that they are weak and are dependent on men. Reason suggests that with out the males, Ophelia and Gertrude would simply have no story.

Moreover, Romeo through his infatuation with Rosaline learned valuable lessons that help him come to appreciate and understand the feelings he experiences with Juliet. Romeo felt rejection, sorrow, and misery from his infatuation with Rosaline which is seen when he is talking to Benvolio, “In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman” this particular quote shows the sadness or sorrow he feels from the feelings for Rosaline (1.1.201). Also when he says “She hath forsworn to love”, the words Romeo speaks allow it to be inferred that his feelings for her have been rejected (1.1.220). “At the opening of the play [Romeo] is maundering about like an erotic woman novelist, sighing and groaning because Rosaline will not listen to his tenders of affection” revealing that Romeo’s love was rejected and was upset because of this, allowing him to learn these feelings and what it is like to be rejected by the one he had feelings for (Northwood 19). Due to having felt these emotions from his infatuation, when he finds his love for Juliet and receives love and acceptance from her. Since he went so long, feeling sorrow and rejection when he finally finds Juliet, he can fully appreciate the love and acceptance he is given which intensifies his love for her and does the opposite of weakening the credibility of his love. Through his infatuation with Rosaline, he was able to grow as a person and become able to fully commit to his love for Juliet.

Romeo and Juliet go together like hand-in-glove; they work to balance each other out and in doing so, defy the gender roles of their time. One way Romeo defies masculine gender roles is by expressing his emotions and not apologising for them. He is painfully poetic and completely and utterly in love with love. Romeo is particularly expressive of his love for Juliet and even goes as far as to compare her to the sun, “It is the east and Juliet is the sun,” (Act 2, Scene 2). Whilst Romeo is romantic and vulnerable at times, it is not to be forgotten that he is still portrayed as possessing masculine

According to a quote by The Atlantic, America is still a “patriarchal community” (Cohen 1). The majority of humans live in a society influenced by men and have little to no understanding of a matriarchal society because it is not around. For centuries, women have fought for equality and it is a reoccuring theme in literature. This theme can show how people critique and analyze many works of art. Countless people can read a text and depict it differently, from the beginning to end. This depends on what critical lens they view it from, allowing people to comprehend the different ways literature is written. There is many different critical lens to choose from. An example of one of the critical lens is the feminist viewpoint. The feminist theory, analyzes the nature of gender equality. This approach shows how women can compare to men. This can be done politically, socially, or economically. In William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, he can be seen going against the feminist theory. This lens will affect Hamlet’s two main, female characters Gertrude and Ophelia. While viewing Hamlet through the feminist theory lens, many male characters can be seen as being, aggressively, dominant; creating the women to have many stereotypes.

From the moment we first hear about Romeo, it is in the context of his suffering at the hands of love. Romeo’s father, Montague, perplexed by his son’s behavior states that, “Many a morning hath he there been seen, / With tears augmenting the fresh morning’s dew, / Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs” (1.1.124-26). While this may be the first time we encounter Romeo’s melancholy humour, it certainly isn’t the last. In fact, one of the primary sources of our infatuation with Romeo rests in our sympathy for him. From the very start this poor boy is plagued by affections for girls that fate, it seems, will not let him be with. At first, it’s Rosaline, a girl who has “sworn that she will still live chaste” (1.1.210), a vow that sets Romeo reeling and complaining because “from love’s weak childish bow she lives unharmed” (1.1.204). His depression over Rosaline is enough to draw the attention of his father, Montague, who has observed that Romeo shuts himself up in his room all day in order to wallow in the darkness. These are the actions of someone who is undeniably quite

Throughout history, a system of patriarchy and sexism has over time replicated itself across the world. From this system of male-superiority, emerged misogyny. Referring to the hatred or dislike of women, misogyny has taken many different forms throughout William Shakespeare’s published works. In specific, Shakespeare’s play Hamlet features various examples of misogyny, portrayed by the tragic hero Hamlet and his relationships with the women in his life. This underlying theme of misogyny heavily influences his course of action, and contributes nothing but conflict between his female counterparts and himself.

Women are truly the backbones of society. They continue to bloom and flourish, helping to further grow and expand communities and the world, but are often cast to the shadows because of stereotypes placed on them dating from centuries ago. It is no secret that Shakespearean plays set basis for these stereotypes, but because of the world views on women's rights in Shakespeare's time, his female characters were allowed to break free from the confines of society. In Shakespeare's most famous play, Hamlet, the two leading ladies, Ophelia and Gertrude, break free from the standard by showcasing various acts of defiance, choosing their own paths and _______________________________. Shakespearean plays often portray women as fragile, negligible and untrustworthy people. Because of the dynamics of Hamlet, the women in the play closely fit the accepted stereotype but, prove to be the strongest characters written in this tragic tragedy by defying the restrictions placed upon them.

“Husbands can object to their wives working and prevent them from accepting jobs in fifteen economies” (Reiner). Critical lens’ exist. They can be in literature, but also can be in other works. They are present so readers can criticize and analyze literature. An example of a critical lense is Feminism. This applies to literature and other works because female characters often always play a minor role in the action of the work because the male characters in the action of the work over power and out rule the women. In the play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare the female characters Gertrude and Ophelia are often overlooked and treated with little to no respect. Feminism is uncovered in the play Hamlet because of the fact of how rudely male characters treat female characters as if they are not as superior to the male characters and how the female characters act towards the male characters in such an enlightened way as they continue to play a minor role in the play.

When one thinks of art and religion, one may think of gender role defiance and non-conformism. While this may be generally true in present times, it was not always this way. Women and men have had distinctly different places in society, these places often being unequal. Generally most well-known works throughout the ages have adhered to and represented what society regarded as the proper gender roles for men and women. This is represented in three works of art which will be discussed: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Courtier: Book 3 by Baldassare Castiglione, and Luncheon on the Grass by Eduoard Manet. While these three forms of art come from different times and are of different mediums, they are connected in that they follow and represent the gender roles of their time.