Portayal of Women in the Works of Shakespeare:A Discourse on Feminism

Much water has flown on the life and works of Shakespeare during the past few centuries and in light of this it would be superfluous and uncalled for to probe further into the many themes running deep in the world wide acclaimed plays of Shakespeare. Research and essays on Shakespeare's works have dealt with every aspect of his life and his plays have been fraught to the force, leaving nothing to add or substantiate to the surviving knowledge and understanding of the playwright's mind. This paper is a humble effort of the authors to place before its readers some aspects of Feminism and its exposition in the works of Shakespeare. This aspect of feminism is one vital thread of isms ever glaringly seen and experienced in the homogeneous composition of almost all the plays of Shakespeare. This so called veins of feminism runs deep and is firmly embedded in his philosophy and intellectual thought process. It forms the vital core of his perspectives and ideals which are clearly and explicitly propounded in almost all of his masterpieces. The genre of feminism and its implications can be felt and experienced in all aspects of life and literature. We the authors of this paper wish to cull out the judicious emphasis of feminism which can be seen in the works of Shakespeare. The scholarship of Shakespeare has come a long way from the days of its birth in the early 20's where readers in the realm of scarcity of expository material, were left to fumble through the maze of old archaic syntax and prosody, to grasp what promised to look like real life happenings. The evils of society and human characteristics radiated itself rather brilliantly in the works of Shakespeare. Feminism is one such retrospective element that forms the crux of this paper. This paper shall attempt to highlight the infusion of feminism into the works of Shakespeare and the subsequent ripples and effects it had created in the lives of people living in society of that time. Scholars are of the opinion that even today at this present time and age, this fantastic fusion of feminism experienced in the plays of Shakespeare continues to have a profound effect and repercussion which can never fade into oblivion.