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Examine Shakespeare's presentation of women in Hamlet and how a modern audience might respond to them.
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| Submitted: Fri Apr 02 2004
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Examine Shakespeare's presentation of women in Hamlet and how a modern audience might respond to them. When Hamlet was first performed in 1601, England had been successfully ruled for forty-three years by Elizabeth I, a strong and influential monarch who reigned without a male counterpart, establishing England as one of the most powerful and prominent countries in the world. This is proof that women can be as successful as men; however women were still seen as second class citizens, and "property" of their husbands, during the Elizabethan period. Polonius says of Ophelia "I have a daughter - have while she is mine." (2.2, line 106) This is reflected in Shakespeare's portrayal of women in Hamlet, which shows Gertrude in a very different light to Elizabeth Tudor. For many years in the past, many women played a small role socially, economically and politically. As a result of this, many works of literature...
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