Sample Essay on:
Comparing Shakespearean Heroines

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Essay / Research Paper Abstract

A 5 page essay that contrasts and compares the resourceful Viola from Twelfth Night and the feisty Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing. The writer argues that while Shakespeare wrote for his age and was influenced by the social concepts of gender that were prevalent in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, his plays also indicate that he saw women as thinking, feeling individuals who had the capability to be the equals of men. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

Page Count:

5 pages (~225 words per page)

File: D0_khvivbe.rtf

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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:

a public stage, so that all of Shakespeares heroines were played by pre-pubescent boys. However, despite this public perception of women as weak and vulnerable, serving as obedient handmaidens to their fathers and then their husbands, Shakespeare repeatedly created female characters who exhibited enormous independence of thought and constitutional fortitude. This perspective is substantiated, in particular, by two of Shakespeares heroines from his comedies: the resourceful Viola from Twelfth Night and the feisty Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing. From the beginning of Much Ado, Shakespeare makes it clear that Beatrice is not docile. She exchanges quips with Benedick, and its clear that she can hold her own in any verbal exchange. Incredibly sarcastic, she states, "I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your humour for that. I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me" (Much Ado About Nothing). Of course, Shakespeare shows that this outward distaste for the male sex is mere show. Beatrice is a proud woman who will not allow herself to be spurned by a man. Therefore, she doesnt reveal her true feelings for Benedict until her friends intimate to her that Benedict loves her. In portraying Beatrice in this manner, Shakespeare shows insight into female psychology in that he realizes that women are frequently just as prideful as any male. Beatrice would rather come across as shrewish and abrasive then having her independence and character demeaned by a man. This strength of purpose shows clearly in her devotion to her cousin Hero. When Claudio impugns Heros character, Beatrice appeals to Benedict to murder him. This is further proof of the passionate nature of Beatrices character. She feels for her cousins plight so completely that she would sacrifice her ...

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