Summary:
Explores the William Shakespeare play, The Winter's Tale. Considers how The Winter's Tale is not so much about the triumph of time than the triumph of women. Assesses how Shakespeare presents the female roles and discusses the play's significance for a modern audience.
The Winter's Tale was written in 1611, after Queen Elizabeth was on the throne for 44 years. Queen Elizabeth was an extremely powerful ruler, and was dubbed "the Virgin Queen", which highlighted her independence from men. It was highly unusual for women of the Elizabethan era to be such strong individuals, and Shakespeare may have been influenced by her rule. Never in another play before The Winter's Tale had Shakespeare used three strong and unique characters as the main focus in his work. Shakespeare's later views on women were very ahead of his time, as the Elizabethan view on women's status was that they were to be subservient and not loud or strong characters like Paulina, Perdita and Hermione. These three women are used by Shakespeare to represent rejuvenation, strength and innocence, which contrasts.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. There are 2,758 words (approx.
9 pages at 300 words per page) in the full essay.
Read the rest of this Essay with our The Winter's Tale Access Pass.
