Hamlet A Misogynist Analysis

Shakespeare further portrays men to be the instigators of betrayal, as Hamlet forgets that he ever loved Ophelia. Through, being overcome with intense hatred and anger at his mother, Hamlet denies ever having loved Ophelia, and orders her “to a nunnery”. It is Hamlet who instigates such betrayal, as he previously says “My fair Ophelia- Nymph” through “Nymph” Hamlet is describing Ophelia as a beautiful maid, thus highlighting his love for her. Yet, his attitude thereafter is considerably callous, as he continually questions Ophelia on her “honesty”. The continual questioning reflects that of a grueling and in part contributes to Ophelia’s later madness.

The men in Othello mistrust the women and always quick to associate them with being deceptive and unfaithful. Even in the beginning of the play there are hints of mistrust in women. For an example, when Brabantio discovers that Desdemona married Othello he says, “Fathers, never trust your daughters just because they act obedient and innocent” (1.1.15-17). Brabantio implies that women put on an act and pretend to be trustworthy.

King Hamlet loved Gertrude with all his heart that he “might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face too roughly” this represents true unforgettable love. Hamlet is exasperated about his mother’s hasty marriage that he claims a “beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer”. Gertrude’s hasty marriage with Claudius seems to Hamlet as done with “wicked speed to post with such dexterity to incestous sheets” showing Hamlet is disgusted with this relationship and aggressively disapproves to this action. Further into the play Act 3 Scene 2, Hamlet is having a conservation with Ophelia when he mentions “look you how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within two hours” showing anger towards the happiness of his mother. Throughout the play Hamlet uncovers horrible deeds his uncle has committed, which were “Remorseless, Treacherous, lecherous”.

His paradox insinuates that he is insane and truly did not love her. Contrary to belief though, this quote was a way to set his “mousetrap” and force her to be in the background of his grand scheme. The audience must draw conclusions concerning their relationship because their love is not the main focus of the play and Hamlet acting insane is an inconvenience because it is hard to decipher what was sincere or madness. Shakespeare does not seem to have a high opinion of women, while writing Hamlet, considering how Hamlet holds deep bitterness toward his mother and Ophelia for not having a backbone and allowing themselves to be pawns in the game Claudius and he are playing.

His hatred is shown clearly in the interactions between the two people. For example, Hamlet says as he watches his mother with Claudius, “Let me not think on’t; frailty, thy name is woman!” (I.ii 146) Instead of degrading Gertrude only, he makes a statement which implies that all women are flawed. Ophelia, who is another female character from Hamlet, is Hamlet’s lover. When Hamlet is feigning madness, he speaks in a very dismissive attitude toward Ophelia.

Manipulation can ruin your perspective of someone, even who you are closest to. In the play, Iago feeds Othello lies about his wife Desdemona. Iago’s false words enraged Othello and Othello begins to think poorly of his innocent wife. Othello angrily turns to Iago and yells “ O, devil, devil!”

The metaphor is used in this quote and the old ghost Hamlet describes Claudius as a “ traitorous gift” meaning Claudius is an untrustworthy person because of what he has done to old ghost Hamlet. Therefore, Claudius betrays his brother because Claudius took the throne, his wife, and his life. These reasons of betrayal lead to Shakespeare 's timeless appeal because Betrayal is a human feeling or act we do and it is like a domino effect that happens again and again in Hamlet and in real life. Shakespeare shows his characters in Hamlet the true nature of human feeling of betrayal and what the characters

Claudius decides to send his nephew to England because he recognizes that Hamlet isn’t mentally crazy just revenge crazy. Hamlet’s madness throughout the play was created by his intellectual and able mind as a ploy to ultimately get him something he wanted, revenge. His craziness was not real, just as Alice’s assumed craziness in Wonderland was not real. As the Cheshire cat says, “We’re all mad here,” we’re all a little crazy. All the characters in Hamlet are a little crazy and Hamlet’s intentional craziness is mistaken for real insanity when actually he is just as sane as everyone

As we move through the passage, we see Adriana shift her emotions of depression away from her husband and towards her naïve sister. Adriana becomes so enraged with her sister’s comments, that she refers to Luciana’s mentality as “servant like” (2.1.26). Since servants were treated as the lowest members of society, it is clear that Adriana feels as though Luciana is making a fool out of herself. Shakespeare portrays Luciana in a manner that would suggest that she is an expert on marriage, which is contradictory in itself as Luciana is not yet married. Her tone, while initially understanding and compassionate, quickly turns into one of arrogance and righteousness.

Additionally, society’s expectations are mirrored by Higgins’s expectations of what the ideal woman should be like, which is quite disturbing considering Higgins is anti-feminist. In the play, Higgins goes out of his way to exclaim, “I find that the moment I let a woman make friends with me, she becomes jealous, exacting, suspicious, and a damned nuisance. I find that the moment I let myself make friends with a woman, I become selfish and tyrannical. Women upset everything” (Small book Page 48) So, at this point, it is plausible to question how a man who is against women can be the man who dictates how the “complete” woman should

Misogynism in Taming of the Shrew ` A misogynist is a person who repels, dislikes, or mistrusts women. There’s been several debates about this topic in Shakespeare’s comedy, Taming of the Shrew. Some believe that his play is quite sexist, and feminist have been on top of that, and the others believe that people are just comparing his play to modern times, and women were treated like that back then. The two sides each have a point, just depends in what point of view you see it at. Let’s look at it through the eyes of the people who believe the play is misogynistic.

Sexist Hamlet Understandable? The true tragedy of Hamlet is the way he viewed and criticized women. The Prince of Denmark seemed to have a nasty attitude towards women; if only they had lessons on sexism in the 16th century. Towards the end of the 16th century woman were given the basic privilege to learn how to read and write.

After the death of her father and departure of Hamlet, Ophelia arrives at the castle and pays an unsolicited visit to the royal majesties. She sings, “Young men will do’t, if they come to’t./ By Cock, they are to blame” (4.5.60-61). This passage is often interpreted as Ophelia airing the grievances that Hamlet has committed toward her--namely, he used her solely for sexual pleasure and discarded her when he lost interest. In summary, Ophelia exposes the double standard prevalent in her society: to a man, a woman’s value lies only in her virginity. She blames “Cock”, which represents the patriarchy at large, for society’s willingness to excuse male lust and irresponsibility.

In Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy Hamlet, Shakespeare has characters such as Laertes, and Hamlet display verbal violence towards Ophelia, ignorant that their words cause the limited time they have with her before her suicide. Shakespeare then uses these acts of verbal violence to epitomize that life is fragile and one should value loved ones before they expire. Shakespeare uses Laertes’s stern tone and objectifying diction when speaking to Ophelia about her relationship with Hamlet to illustrate his verbal violence towards her that adds to her desire for death; exemplifying that life is frail and that one should value loved ones before they die. Shakespeare begins Laertes his tirade with him reminding Ophelia that Hamlet’s passion and love for her is only ‘“a toy in blood’” and would only last a “‘minute’”, harshly revealing that Laertes believes Hamlet,

For the duration of the play, Ophelia was portrayed as a naïve and submissive woman. Her passivity and powerlessness reinforce the voicelessness of women during the Elizabethan era. For example, “I shall obey, my lord” (I.iii.134) shows that Ophelia concedes to her father’s will, even though she believes Hamlet’s love is genuine. She is willing and expected to obey her father despite the fact that she still loves Hamlet, which emphasizes her character’s submissive nature. Furthermore, in Act I Laertes warns Ophelia that it would be shameful of her to love Hamlet, and she responds with “I shall the effect of this good lesson keep as a watchman to my heart” (I.iii.45).