Gender Roles And Roles Of William Shakespeare s The...

Gender plays an important role in Shakespeare’s comedies. Cross gender roles and cross dressing are essential not only for the inherent humour of the situation but also for the advancment of the plot. English Renaissance stereotypes of women and men and their various roles and responsibilities in society are reflected in Shakespeare. What sets Shakespeare apart is the fact that he also challenges, and at times even breaks down those stereotypes especially in his comedies. Hamlet may proclaim â€Å"Frailty thy name is woman†, but even the merest of character analyses of Portia in The Merchant of Venice, or Viola in The Twelfth Night conclusively proves that they are anything but. In this paper we begin by examining the prevailing gender†¦show more content†¦Other praised virtues included physical features and beauty. Men naturally had more powerful roles to play both socially as well as politically. In Renaissance society, men were expected to engage in public a ffairs, to be talkers, make decisions, and on the whole be far more active compared to women. They led aggressive, self-satisfying, and (supposedly) duty bound lives. Men controlled the positions of powerful positions ranging from family to the state. Ironically, the monarch was a female, who was the most powerful person of the land. GENDER AND THE TWELFTH NIGHT: Shakespeare’s greatness and enduring popularity cannot be attributed to a single or even a small set of factors. It is undoubtedly the case however that one of Shakespeare’s greatest traits has been to unshackle himself from the limitations of his age. He transcends the stereotypical views of Renaissance society as he portrays women as more than passive vessels. Women are often equal to or sometimes even superior in their intelligence wit and vivacity compared to their male counterparts. Viola, the resourceful and practical female protagonist of The Twelfth Night stands out in this regard. Once she is shipwrecked and alone she quickly calculates that her position as a single lady in a foreign land is a very dangerous one. To counteract that she, with the help of the benevolent captain disguises herself as a man or a eunuch and proceeds to the court of Orsino the duke of Illyria. There, she