The images of women in some of william shakespeare,s plays

Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper Table of contents Acknowledgements Introduction I The rationale for choosing the thesis II The aims of the thesis III The objectives of the thesis IV The methods of the study V The limitation of the thesis VI The main contents of the thesis contents Chapter I: background I England in the Renaissance What is the Renaisance? 1.1 The Middle Ages and the origins of the Renaissance 1.2 A surge of interest in classical learning and values, especially Greek and Roman achievements in the Renaissance 1.3 Renaissance men’s ideas and attitudes 1.3.1 Changes in political attitudes 1.3.2 Changes in religious attitudes 1.3.3 New inventions and discoveries in science in the Renaissance England in the Renaissance II Elizabethan and Jacobean drama What is drama? Elizabethan and Jacobean drama III William Shakespeare Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper His life His career and works Chapter II: the images of women in some of William Shakespeare’s plays I The innocent, faithful women striving for true love and fighting to protect their love and happiness Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” 1.1 A brief summary of "Romeo and Juliet" 1.2 Juliet Desdemona in “Othello” 2.1 A brief summary of "Othello" 2.2 Desdemona II The intelligent woman : Portia in “The Merchant of Venice” A brief summary of “The Merchant of Venice” Portia III The fearless, stubborn and valiant women Emilia in “Othello” Cordelia in “King Lear” 2.1 A brief summary of “King Lear” 2.2 Cordelia Conclusion Reference books Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mr Christopher Staples, who has enthusiatically instructed me in all the time of writing this thesis Secondly, I would like to thank very much to the Dean of The Foreign Languages Department, and especially, the teacher of English TrÇn Ngäc Tëng and the teacher of Literature Nguyễn Đình Ba who lent me some interesting materials and gave me a lot of useful ideas Finally, I also thank my parents and my friends for their encouragement Due to the help of all above-mentioned people, I can finish this thesis Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper Introduction I The rationale for choosing the thesis: I have been learning literature since I was twelve years old and it has been one of my most favourite subjects so far When I was a pupil, I used to learn many works with various themes by famous Vietnamese writers Among them, Ngời gái Nam Xơng by Nguyễn Dữ, “Trun KiỊu” by Ngun Du were two stories I liked most and they tell us about destinies of women in Feudal Society in Vietnam Now I am a student of English and fortunately, I have the opportunity to study English literature, to know the literature in the Renaissance, especially William Shakespeare and his works I am really interested in the images of women in his plays such as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”, Desdemona in “Othello”, Portia in “The Merchant of Venice” etc Besides, in process of studying English literature, I usually face many difficulties in understanding the English literary language, especially as it used by Shakespeare It seems to challenge for me to discover All the above things are the main rationale for choosing my graduation thesis II The aims of the thesis: Firstly, studying this thesis helps me to understand more about the Renaissance, drama in Elizabethan and Jacobean ages, English literature in the Renaissance and to know more deeply about William Shakespeare’s life, career and famous plays Secondly, through studying this thesis, I can improve my English language, especially English literary language III The objectives of the study: Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper To study the images of women in the plays “Romeo and Juliet”, “Othello”, “King Lear” and “The Merchant of Venice” by Shakespeare IV The methods of the study: - Using collective method: Collecting the materials that are concerned with the thesis and studying them carefully - Using analysis and synthetic methods - Making use of the help of my supervisor Christopher Staples V the limitation of the thesis: - Studying the Renaissance, England in the Renaissance - Studying Elizabethan and Jacobean drama - Studying Shakespeare’s life and career - Focusing on “the images of women” as Shakespeare’s following characters: Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”, Desdemona and Emilia in “Othello”, Portia in “The Merchant of Venice” and Cordelia in “King Lear” VI The main contents of the thesis: Chapter I: background I England in the Renaissance What is the Renaisance? 1.1 The Middle Ages and the origins of the Renaissance 1.2 A surge of interest in classical learning and values, especially Greek and Roman achievements, in the Renaissance 1.3 Renaissance men’s ideas and attitudes 1.3.1 Changes in political attitudes 1.3.2 Changes in religious attitudes 1.3.3 New inventions and discoveries in science in the Renaissance England in the Renaissance II Elizabethan and Jacobean drama What is drama? Elizabethan and Jacobean drama Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper III William Shakespeare His life His career and works Chapter II: the images of women in some of William Shakespeare’s plays I The innocent, faithful woman striving for true love and fighting to protect their love and happiness Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet” 1.1 A brief summary of "Romeo and Juliet" 1.2 Juliet Desdemona in “Othello” 2.1 A brief summary of "Othello" 2.2 Desdemona II The Intelligent woman : Portia in “The Merchant of Venice” A brief summary of “The Merchant of Venice” Portia III The fearless, stubborn and valiant women Emilia in “Othello” Cordelia in “King Lear” 2.1 A brief summary of “King Lear” 2.2 Cordelia Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper Chapter I Background I England in the Renaissance: What is the Renaissance? The word “Renaissance” means “Rebirth” which is the French translation of the Italian “Rinascita” The Renaissance was a series of movements in literature and culture in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries in Europe These movements began in Italy and eventually expanded into Germany, France, England, and the rest of Europe This period marks the transition from the medieval to the modern world in Europe The Renaissance was inspired by a criticism of the styles and thought of the Middle Ages and a desire to return to the glories of ancient Greece and Rome It means that Europeans became interested in studying the great civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome and Renaissance men had many changes in their beliefs about the Universe, and the place of human beings and the worth of the individual within it 1.1 Middle Ages and origins of the Renaissance : In Europe, the term Middle Ages is used to show periods in the history of Europe that lasted from about AD 350 to about 1450 It was invented by scholars in the 15th century of the Renaissance These scholars thought that their Renaissance and the time of ancient Greece and Rome were advanced and civilized They called the period between themselves and the ancient world “The Middle Ages” The Middle Ages were divided into three main periods: The Early, Central and Late Middle Ages The period which is the considered as origins of the Renaissance is the late Middle Ages, so we will focus on this period’s influences on the Renaissance The late Middle Ages which lasted from about 1300 to 1450 witnessed not only Europeans’ famine, plague, war, and religious dissent but also a period of NguyÔn thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper enormous vitality and advance in art, literature, and thought Two typical characters of this time who really affected the Renaissance were Petrarch and Boccacio Petrarch (1304-1374), an Italian poet, restored the Latin of the Ancient Romans and vernacular literature Meanwhile all learned people used the Latin of the Church, of the Scholarsticism, and of the law courts Petrarch succeeded in writing vernacular love poems and imitating the great ancient Latin authors His perfection of the sonnet form later influenced such English poets as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, and Edmund Spenser Petrarch was also one of the first humanists He and other humanists absorbed the ideas of the ancient Romans and made them their own such as ancient Roman writers gave them an example of how to express their own feelings of patriotism Besides, Boccaccio (1313-1375) was an Italian writer and humanist, one of the greatest authors of all time The writers in the Renaissance who were influenced by his works and used them as source material were Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare and John Dryden 1.2 A surge of interest in classical learning and values, especially Greek and Roman achievements, in the Renaisance During the Middle Ages, there were some scholars and researchers studying the achievements of ancient cultures but they were only theologians, philosophers and writers Their attention was mostly limited to their professional activities For instance, Alcuin (735 - 804) - an English scholar who supported and worked for the Carolingian Kings and Christianity revised and reedited a version of the Bible known as the Vulgate Moreover, these scholars wrote on parchment made of animal skins and all works were written out by hand, so their manucripts could hardly come to the readers In the Renaissance, however, people from various segments of society - from kings and nobles to merchants and soldiers - sought and studied those achievements They began to learn the Latin of the Ancient Romans, so they could search manucripts of the old Roman writers easily Especially, the number of the readers Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper who were interested in reading works of the ancient writers increased greatly due to the invention of printing 1.3 Renaissance men’s ideas and attitudes 1.3.1 Change in political attitudes After the Western Roman Empire collapsed in about AD 500, The Holy Roman Empire and The Roman Catholic Church controlled much of Europe during the Middle Ages The Holy Roman empire influenced the polical life of the people, and through the papacy the popes of the Roman Catholic Church controlled the religious life So the state and the Church were viewed as two different aspects of one Christian society However, the strong ties between Church and State were gradually weakening because, firstly, popes and the emperors struggled with each other for control over Church administration and secular lands, and, secondly, they only concentrated on political control rather than spiritual matters The decline of the Holy Roman Empire and the office of the pope was a preparation for changes in attitudes toward politics in the Renaissance The struggle between the popes and the secular rulers was an advantage for many towns in European countries, especially, in Italy, towns such as Venice, Milan etc enlarged their power and independence We can call them independent city - states In some other areas of Europe, national monarchs established their power such as France, England, Spain, etc The unstable politics formed modern ways of thinking about politics These new attitudes appeared in historical writings and in theoretical works written by humanists The humanists stated that God and religion couldn’t control politics successfully, that was for human beings to And the humanists also described political development in purely natural and nonreligious terms The typical writers for this thinking way were Niccolo Machiavelli ( Italy ) and Jean Bodin ( France) Although this new political perspective emerged during the Renaissance, it was not accepted at that time However, humanism was a stable and unifying framework for the organization of spiritual and material life Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai 1.3.2 *** Graduation paper Changes in religious attitudes The Roman Catholic Church which was the institution of official religion during the Middle Ages was discredited and weakened by series of failures such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism The Babylonian Captivity or the Babylonian Exile lasted from 1309 to 1377, the Popes were forced to live in Avignon in the south of France under the domination of several French monarchs The Great Schism was a term used to the period in the Western Church when three rival popes competed for control from 1378 to 1417 However, the decline of the institution of the Roman Catholic Church seemed to motivate religious fervor in Europe There were many successful movements in religion emerging and challenging papal authority For instance, the “devotio moderna” movement in the Low countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands emphasized individual and practical faith, a contrast with the more communal and metaphysical faith of the Catholic Church; a mystical religious movement appeared in Germany, it taught men about direct revelations from God without the Church, etc Many Churches and Chapels were built, and new devotional exercises became popular As a result, many of the leaders of religious movements and humanists succeeded in reforming Christian society by relying on education rather than religious faith All their actions for religion aimed at expressing hope for the improvement in the spiritual life of human beings 1.3.3 New inventions and discoveries in science in the Renaissance Along with changes in political and religious attitudes, Renaissance men inquired and discovered many new things about human beings and the Universe In the Middle Ages, scholars usually took their scientific knowledge from books During the Renaissance, however, scholars began to experiment and observe the natural world by themselves In astronomy, the 16th - century Polish astronomer Nicholaus Copernicus studied the scientific writings of antiquity, and observed the Universe He concluded 10 NguyÔn thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper does not want to believe that his lovely wife has done anything wrong and he asks for a proof: “I’ll see before I doubt, when I doubt, prove And on the proof, there is no more but this: Away at once with love or jealousy” (Act III, scene 3) Othello’s trust in Desdemona seems to waver Sometimes, he thinks his wife is honest and sometimes he does not think like that However, Iago quickly shows Othello a “proof”, and rouses Othello’s jealous suspicions He says to Othello that he has seen the handkerchief, which Othello offered Desdemona, in Cassio’s hand To the jealousy, such a small and unimportant thing as his wife’s handkerchief is very strong proof The deceived Othello uses this reason to send Desdemona to her death without asking how Cassio has obtained it It is clear that Desdemona has never given such a present to Cassio and she is really innocent in this situation When Othello meets Desdemona, immediately he pretends that he has a headache, and asks her to lend him her handkerchief to hold to his head She does so but Othello requires another handkerchief which he gave her Desdemona has not got it with her now because it has been stolen by Emilia Othello is very angry with her and Desdemona is frightened by his feelings She knows well that she has lost it, and she fears she will lost her husband’s love She tries to amuse her husband and turn his mind from too serious thought She cheerfully tells him she sees that all his talk about the handkerchief is meant to prevent her from speaking in favour of Cassio, whom she begins to praise At last, Othello burst madly out of the room and then Desdemona, though unwillingly, began to suspect that her lord is jealous She can not understand why he has behaved to her like that She thinks perhaps some unpleasant news from Venice or some state troubles has made him angry When he comes back their room, he accuses her of being unfaithful and of loving another man Desdemona now realizes the jealousy of Othello It is sad that Othello thinks the innocent Desdemona to be a loathed prostitute He loves Desdemona so much 28 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper that he feels bored with everything when he thinks of his wife’s unfaithfulness, even he says “Othello’s occupation’s gone” (Act III,scene 3) He states that his heart is broken by her unfaithfulness He also calls her a weed and wishes he had never been born Desdemona is amazed at her husband’s untrue suspicion of her She tries to explain the truth for Othello and wants to show her only love for him: “Your wife, my lord; your true and loyal wife” (Act IV, scene 2) But Othello does not believe in any her words Thus, she feels tired and ready to fall into a heavy sleep Othello intends to kill Desdemona, he enters the room when she is asleep innocently At that time, he hesitates because he still loves her, but eventually he decides that she should die In this scene, Shakespeare describes the beauty of Desdemona through Othello’s sight: “It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul: Let me not name it to you, you chaste stars It is the cause Yet I’ll not shed her blood, Nor scar that whiter skin of her than snow” (Act V, scene 2) Before he kills her, he kisses her for the last time but that kiss is so sweet that he could not help kissing her again Desdemona is awakened by his kisses She looks at Othello, sees him bite his bottom lip and roll his eyes and she knows that he is always to be feared when he looks like that He tells her to prepare for death The guiltless Desdemona begs him for pity, and begins to protest for her innocence but at last, the gentle lady can not prevent Othello from covering her face with a pillow until she dies After Othello discovers the wicked Iago’s schemes, the innocence of Desdemona, he kills himself by his sword and dies beside the body of his dear dead wife We can find that many of beautiful women in Shakespeare’s plays have sad fates Juliet stabs herself to die with her lover, Romeo; Cordelia is hanged in prison by her wicked sisters Similarly, Desdemona is killed by her husband because of his 29 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper jealousy In the play "Othello", Shakespeare mainly describes the true love of Desdemona for Othello and the jealousy of Othello She loves Othello with her true feelings For her, the colour of his skin and his race are not important, her strong love helps her overcome the differences between them She also stands in favour of her lover against her father’s objection to their love It means that she is ready to everything to protect her love, but Othello’s mad jealousy breaks their beautiful love and leads them to the tragic end of their lives The story "Othello" has a sad ending, but we will never forget the beautiful, gentle and faithful Desdemona II the intelligent woman: Portia in "The Merchant of Venice" A brief summary of the play "The Merchant of Venice" Antonio, a rich merchant of Venice, is in a depressed state His friends, Salerio and Solanio, ask if he is worried about his ship at sea or he’s in love but Antonio is sad for some other reasons His dearest friend, Bassanio, tells him about his desire to win Portia, the wealthy and beautiful heiress of Belmont He needs some money to compete with the rich men who want to marry her He asks Antonio for a loan but now all Antonio’s money are in his ships trading to distant countries To help his friend, he offer Bassanio to go to a Jewish moneylender named Shylock However, Shylock particularly dislike Antonio’s habit of lending money to his friends free of interest Shylock agrees to lend 3.000 ducats on condition that Antonio has to sign “a merry bond” promising to allow a pound of flesh to Belmont cut from any part of his body if the loan isnot repaid in three months Antonio agrees to this against Bassanio’s advice At Belmont, a strange choice awaits Bassanio All the suitors of Portia must choose one of three caskets (one of gold, one of silver and one of lead) which contains her portrait, in order to win her That was her father’s will before his death Firstly, The Prince of Morocco chooses the golden casket but inside is a scroll: “All that glitters is not gold Fare you well, your suit is cold” The next to see the caskets is the Prince of Aragong He asks for the silver one to be opened and there finds the 30 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper portrait of an idiot and some verses reproaching him for his foolish choice When Bassanio arrives, he chooses the leaden one Inside it, he finds a portrait of Portia and a verse beginning “You who choose not by the view” and ending “Claim her with a loving kiss” They are both happy and Portia gives Bassanio her ring, making him promise never to part with it Nerissa, Portia’s maid, also falls in love with Bassanio’s friend, Gratiano and she too give him her ring Back in Venice, Shylock’s beautiful daughter, Jessica, elopes with her Christian lover Lorenzo, taking Shylock’s money and jewels with them They arrive at Belmont, bringing a letter from Antonio The letter informs them that all his ships have sunk and Shylock is insisting on his pound of flesh Bassanio begs Portia to let him go to Antonio at once They hurriedly say farewell Lorenzo and Jessica stay to look after the house as Portia pretends that she and Nerissa are going to a religious retreat to pray for their husbands In fact, they are going to Venice to help their husbands According to Portia’s plan, she dresses as a doctor of law and Nerissa dresses as her clerk, they come to the court as deputy of Portia’s cousin, Bellario In this court, Shylock refuses to forgo his claim to a pound of Antonio’s flesh The young lawyer pronounces that he is entitled to a pound of flesh but she points out that he must take neither more nor less than a pound and must shed no blood When Shylock finds himself frustrated, she declares that half his goods go to Antonio and half to the Republic of Venice But Antonio requests that Shylock can keep half his wealth as long as the other half may go to Lorenzo and Jessica and the rest to them on his death Shylock must also become a Christian When Bassanio offers to reward the lawyer and clerk, they only accept presents of the rings Bassanio and Gratiano are wearing They hurry back to Belmont, where Lorenzo and Jessica await them When the two couples meet again and the story of the rings becomes clear, Bassanio realizes that it is Portia who has saved the life of his friend Antonio cleverly Meanwhile, Antonio discovers that three of his ships have come safely to harbour, and so all ends happily 31 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper Portia – the intelligent woman William Shakespeare not only wrote famous tragedies, but he also created wonderful comedies One of them is “The Merchant of Venice” (c.1596) I am interested in reading this play although the old English used sometimes makes it hard for me to understand The play contains many themes such as the loves of Bassanio and Portia, Jessica and Lorenzo, Gratiano and Nerissa, the friendship between Antonio and Bassanio, and specially, the hate between Shylock and Antonio Besides, Shakespeare concentrated on describing the image of Portia, the most dominant woman in the play She is very beautiful, noble and intelligent We can find out that many women in Shakespeare’s plays are beautiful in their looks and souls Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet" and Desdemona in “Othello” are symbols of beauty, innocence and faith Those qualities of women are once more in the character Portia Furthermore, she is a dutiful daughter, obeying her farther in choosing her future husband, and the readers really admire her intelligence and mercy in solving the problem between Shylock and Antonio at the court When Bassanio tells Antonio about her, we are impressed by her appearance: “In Belmont is a Lady richly left, And she is fair, and fairer than that word, Of wonderous virtues- sometimes from her eyes I did receive fair speechless messages Her name is Portia , nothing undervalued To Cato’s daughter, Brutus’ Portia Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth” (Act I, scene 1) In this speech, we are led to expect a charming heroine Bassanio introduces her name, her position in Belmont, more especially, he is captivated by her beauty, virtues and wealth He affirms that her fair eyes sometimes send “speechless messages” to him, he thinks she already loves him He also compares her with Portia , the noble wife of Brutus, a leader of the conspirators who assassinated Julius 32 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper Caesar Her hair hangs on her temples like “a golden fleece” Bassanio uses one of the most famous Greek story about Jason’s voyage to Colchis to secure the golden fleece to show Antonio that men in various places on the world love her and want to become her husband and so does Bassanio He describes her by his commendatory words Although he has run out of money at present, he tries to borrow some to compete with other rich suitors of Portia and Antonio promises to help him Due to Antonio’s help, Bassanio has enough means to go to Belmont as a suitor of Portia and he assures that he will win her heart: “Oh my Antonio! Had I but the means To hold a rival place with me of them, I have a mind presages me such thrift, That I should questionless be fortunat” (Act I, scene 1) It is clear that the love of Portia for Bassanio is true but she is not allowed to choose him because her father, who has died recently, insisted she must marry the man who makes the correct choise between three caskets of gold, silver and lead She has an internal struggle before she decides to carry out her father’s will because her will and desire are strong: “O me, the word “choose” ! I may neither choose whom I would, nor refuse whom I dislike; so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father” (Act I, scene 2) Portia overcomes that struggle wittily by mocking her suitors with her maid Nerissa First of all is the Neapolitan Prince This gentleman boasts of his horsemanship and his ability to shoe horses himshelf Second is the County Palatine, he frowns all the time and can not laugh, even at jokes The next suitor is the French Lord, he is even worse than two above mentioned men He seems to be twenty men in one man Then the English baron comes to woo her, he is handsome but Portia does not understand the languages he speaks The young German is the next one who behaves badly when he is sober and far worse when he is drunk These six suitors refuse to choose the caskets and that makes Portia glad because she like none of 33 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper them, and until now Bassanio is the only person she admires She says to Nerissa: “I remember him well, and I remember him worthy of thy praise ” (Act I, scene 2) Portia’s fate will be determined if the Prince of Morocco or the Prince of Aragon make the correct choice of three caskets, but both of them are wrong Firstly, the Prince of Morocco dismisses straightaway the warning on the leaden one: “ who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath”, he hesitates at the silver one because of the words “who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves” and he is sure that he deserves the beautiful Portia When he stands in front of the golden one which has the attractive inscription: ‘who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire”, he finds that Portia has many suitors who desire her, and he decides to choose it But Portia’ portrait is not in the golden one, there only a scroll of the message from which he has learnt that he should think carefully before choosing, should not base on the glisters of the outside The next suitor, the Prince of Aragon, dismisses the idea of the lead He understands the deep meanings of the inscription on the golden one and rejects it quickly He analyses the words of the silver and thinks he deserves the best He chooses it but he only sees the portrait of an idiot and some verses of irony for his foolish choice Thus, both of the Princes have to leave Portia and carry out their oath to Portia that if they make the wrong choice, they will never marry any woman After that Bassanio who she loves arrives in Belmont and he is ready to choose the caskets Portia suggests him to delay choosing for several days as she is afraid that she will lose him forever if he fails, but Bassanio can not bear to wait He considers very carefully before showing the casket he thinks correct He is very different from those Princes because he chooses the leaden one To Portia’s joy, Bassanio opens the right casket, and he finds inside a beautiful locket containing a portrait of Portia and a verse of congratulation and reminder: “You that choose not by the view, Chance as fair and choose as true 34 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper Since this fortune falls to you, Be content and seek no new If you be well pleased with this Turn you where your lady is, And claim her with a loving kiss” (Act III, scene 2) We have seen that many men want to own Portia’s beauty and wealth such as the Neapolitan prince, The County Palatine, The French Lord, the English baron,etc, but all of them fail Although she loves none of them, she allows them to choose the caskets freely following her father’s will Bassanio is the most fortunate man, as Portia loves him and he is also the winner Bassanio’s correct choice seems to be a wonderful release, Portia overcomes her anxiety, and her father was right Lovers become wife and husband, and the story of choosing three caskets has a happy ending All the above – mentioned things have proved that Portia is very beautiful, gentle, rich and dutiful Shakespeare also describes other good qualities of Portia, especially her intelligence, in the rest of the play Indeed, she deeply understands and respects the close friendship between her husband and Antonio, who has partly helped them become wife and husband Thus, she readily lets Bassanio leave Belmont for Venice to meet Antonio after receiving the letter which informs that Antonio’s ships have sunk, so now he is bankrupt, and Shylock is insisting on a pound of his flesh as his “ merry bond” written She knows that this news is the cause of Bassanio’s worry about his friend She can not bear to see his sadness because she loves him a lot, therefore she advises him to use very much money to save Antonio in this situation At the moment, Lorenzo, Jessica’s lover, just recognizes this wonderous virtue of her and says to her that: “Madam, although I speak it in your presence, You have a noble and a true conceit Of god –like amity, which appears most strongly 35 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper In bearing thus the absence of your lord” (Act III, scene 4) As soon as Bassanio and Gratiano, Nerissa’s husband, say “goodbye” to them, inmediately Portia uses her intelligence to make an excellent plan to help Bassanio and also to rescue Antonio First of all, she depends on Lorenzo and Jessica for the care of her house so that she and Nerissa can go to Venice Then she orders the servant Balthazar to bring her letter to Doctor Bellario, her cousin, as fast as possible The letter asks his deputy for them at the court She adds that if the Doctor Bellario gives him “ what notes and garments” , he must take them back for her After receiving Bellario’s acception for her requirement, she tells Nerissa about all her device, in which she intends to disguise themselves as two men At the same time, she has heard about the bond of Shylock and Antonio, she analyses it very carefully before attending the court The scene of the court is considered the most interesting the play Through it, we can observe Portia’s talent and intelligence the most clearly It begins with the dialogue between the Duke of Venice, Antonio, Shylock and Bassanio The Duke of Venice who presides over the court expresses his sympathy with Antonio and assumes that Shylock will relent at last He asks Shylock about the reasons why he prefers a pound of Antonio’s flesh to three thousands of ducats and expects him showing his mercy, which means that he will not take a pound of Antonio’s flesh and cut down a part of Antonio’s debt However, Shylock simply replies that he has a long hate of Antonio and he wants his bond to be carried out by the law Meanwhile, Bassanio readily offers to pay six thousand ducats for Shylock but he still refuses to receive such an amount While they are arguing with each other and Shylock is holding a knife very earnestly in order to prepare to cut Antonio’s flesh, Portia and Nerissa dressed as men come in They bring a letter of the Doctor Bellario to the Duke In the letter, Bellario introduces the young talent doctor of Rome whose name is Balthazar He says that Balthazar is his deputy in this court We clearly know that 36 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper the lawyer Balthazar is exactly Portia and the lawyer’s clerk is Nerissa The Duke accepts and welcomes their arrival Portia firstly says to Shylock that his legal case is very strange but it is suitable with the Venetian laws Then she begs him to be generous and simultaneously defines of the mercy She considers the mercy as “the gentle rain from heaven” and compares it with “the throned monarch” and “sceptred sway” She convinces Shylock that: “Though justice be thy plea, consider this, That intelligent the course of justice none of us Should see salvation: we pray for mercy, And that same prayer doth teach us all to render The deeds of mercy” (Act IV, scene 1) However, Shylock still demands “justice” Then Portia asks if Antonio is not able to discharge the money Immediately, Bassanio tenders to pay twice or even ten times the sum of money for him but in this, Portia does not agree with Bassanio That makes Shylock very glad, he calls her “a Daniel” and commends her wisdom After reading the bond, Portia continues to ask for mercy: “Be merciful: Take thrice thy money; bid me tear the bond” (Act IV, scene 1) but Shylock can not be moved Portia now declares that Shylock is entitled to a pound of Antonio’s flesh and Antonio must prepare his bosom for Shylock’s knife Hearing this decision, Shylock really admires Portia’s “wisdom” and displays his joy and pleasure evidently: “ ‘Tis very true! O wise and upright judge! How much more elder art thou than thy looks” (Act IV, scene 1) Portia once more suggests the mercy that Shylock should pay for some surgeon who will invited to stop Antonio’s wounds after Shylock cuts his flesh But the wicked Shylock does not agree, for that was not written the bond Then Antonio is ready to let Shylock cut his flesh, he does not fear the death because he thinks that 37 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper he is bankrupt now, so he would rather die than live He advises Bassanio to tell his noble wife about him and what he sacrifices for him Bassanio says that he has married a wife who is as dear as his life, but for him the life of them, even all the world are not esteemed as much as Antonio’s life And Gratiano also adds that he has a wife who he loves but he wishes her to have been in heaven if there she could have some power to change the currish Jew Both Bassanio and Antonio shows their true words without knowing the presence of their wives This is a humorous incident inserting the scene of the serious and strict court Shylock commends Portia’s judgement in favour of him She states that the Venetian laws allow him to what he has written in the bond However, to his surprise, she declares that he must cut a pound of Antonio’s flesh and drop no blood If he drops a blood of Antonio All his estate will belong to the state: “This bond doth give thee here not jot of blood, The words expressly are “a pound of flesh” Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh, But in the cutting it, if thou dost shed One drop of christian blood, thy lands and goods Are by the laws of Venice confiscate Undo the state of Venice” (Act IV, Scene 1) Shylock can not believe that Portia has said, and then Portia impresses “justice” which he has required Thus, he decides to receive thrice the sum of money and let Antonio go As Bassanio is preparing to pay him, Portia prevents him and acks Shylock to cut a just pound of Antonio’s flesh, if he takes more or less than a just pound, he will die and all his wealth will be confiscated Then Shylock begs to give his principal and let him go However, his requirements are not accepted Shylock has lost his original loan, and he wants to leave but there is now a case against him Portia reminds, in the laws of Venice, if a foreigner is proved to have direct or indirect attempts against the life of any citizen of Venice, half his goods 38 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper will be seized for victim and the other half comes to the privy coffer of the state, and only the Duke can share the offender’s life Shylock is in this same case, so Portia advises him to beg mercy of the Duke The Duke announces that he pardons him his life before he asks it, and half his wealth belongs to Antonio, the other half comes to the general state as a fine And the last punishment for him is that he must become a Christian and can keep half his wealth, but give other half to Lorenzo and Jessica and after he dies, all his wealth will also belong to them After Shylock is forced to accept the sentence of the court, Portia has him sign in the deed of gilf but he is not well that he can not and asks her to send it for him later Thus, Portia is very successful in the role of Antonio’s excellent young lawyer The Duke invites her for the dinner but she refuses Then Bassanio and Antonio show their gratitude to Portia and want to offer Portia some presents Portia only agrees to get Antonio’s gloves and the ring of Bassanio At first, Bassanio says that his wife gave him it and he swore to her neither to sell nor to give nor to lose it But then he decides to have Gratiano take it to the lawyer, and Gratiano also offers his ring to the Clerk Portia and Jessica come back to Belmont before their husbands.Just a moment later, Bassanio and Gratiano also go to Belmont Wives and husbands meet each other again in joy and happiness In this scene, Bassanio extols the resplendent beauty of Portia like the sunshine: “We should hold day with the Antipodes, If you would walk in the absence of the sun” (Act V, scene 1) One more interesting story in the play is that of the rings Portia and Nerissa pretend to ask their husbands about their rings and why they lost them They tell their wives how a lawyer and a clerk have helped them in the court and they offer the rings to them They beg their wives to forgive them Then Portia gives Bassanio a ring and recommends him keep it better than “the other” Suddenly, Bassanio realizes that it is the ring which the lawyer has got At the same time, she asks him to read 39 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper the letter from Bellario in other to know that the lawyer is his wife and the clerk is Gratiano’s wife The humorous story of the rings ends happily Their joy is doubled by the good news of the safety of Antonio’s ships After analysing the image of Portia in the play “The Merchant of Venice”, we clearly see her beauty and her wonderous virtues She seems to be a fighter when she overcomes the difficult situation at the beginning of the play, she only loves Bassanio but she has no right to choose him, but fortunately, her desire comes true, Bassanio wins the competition and he gets married to her Besides, we also find that her talents are shown through her solution in the court, she is very successful in saving Antonio who is her husband’s friend The story has a happy ending, Antonio is released, Shylock is punished, lovers can love freely And the intelligent Portia seems to become one of the immortal images of literature in general, and of Shakespeare’s plays in particular III The fearless, stubborn and valiant woman Emilia in "Othello" Emilia is one of subordinate characters in the play "Othello" She is the wife of the wicked Iago and the maid of the noble Desdemona She is not in such a high position in Venice’s society as Desdemona but this wonderful woman has good qualities in her spirit We are impressed by her loyalty to her husband in the early scenes of the play However, in the last scene, she dares denounce his guilt straightforwardly, and so she is considered a fearless, stubborn and valiant woman Emilia is always loyal and obedient to her “wayward husband”, Iago, who sometimes abuses her with his rough humour She picks up Desdemona’s handkerchief which Iago has asked her to steal many times, and gives it to Iago although she doesn’t understand why he wants it She knows clearly that it is an important thing to Desdemona who shall go mad if she discovers that she has lost it That is the reason why Emilia requires her husband to give it back if it is not used for some purposes of import In this situation, Emilia obeys her husband as a good wife 40 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper but her bad husband uses her as a neccessary means to carry out his evil plans It is clear that Emilia’s action of stealing the handkerchief indirectly makes the jealousy of Othello develop to the highest degree, and even leads the tragic and of their lives Emilia is also a good woman, she defends Desdemona when Othello asks her about the meeting between Desdemona and Cassio She tries to prevent Othello from suspecting Desdemona’s faithfulness, she says to Othello that: “I durst, my lord, to wager she is honest, Lay down my soul at stake If you think other, Remove your thought: it doth abuse your bosom” (Act IV, scene 2) Besides, she comforts the sad Desdemona after Othello accuses her of having a love affair with another man It seems that she is the only person who is always beside Desdemona in this situation and understands the innocence of Desdemona most She states that her mistress had to forsake her father, her country and all her friends to love Othello and to become his wife, but now he calls her “whore”, it means that he doesn’t respect his wife any more, and she advises her mistress not to weep at this She is really surprised by Othello’s suspicion of Desdemona Shakespeare describes the painful feeling of Emilia deeply when her mistress dies in her bed She cries: “O Lady, speak again! Sweet Desdemona, O sweet mistress, speak!” (Act V, scene 2) She doesn’t want to believe in Desdemona’s death and she wishes her to speak again, but this never becomes true When she discovers that Othello kills her, she hates him a lot and call him “the black devil” At the same time, she comes to realize that her husband is a villian who is responsible for Desdemona’s death Immediately, she flatly shows everyone the evils of her husband, and simultaneously asks Iago to admit his very bad deeds He slandered Desdemona that she is unfaithful with Othello, provoked Othello’s jealousy so that he has killed her and had one of his men attempt to murder Cassio She fearlessly tells Othello why Desdemona’s handkerchief was in Cassio’s hand and that it is a 41 Ngun thÞ Hoa Mai *** Graduation paper part of the plan arranged by Iago Everytime she speaks, Iago tries to stop her, but she does not fear Iago’s threat, she is against him stubbornly: “ Emilia: Villainy, villany, villainy! I think upon’t, I think- I smell’t- O villainy! I thought so then; I’ll kill myself for grief O villiany, villiany! Iago : What, are you mad? I charge you get you home Emilia : Good gentlemen, let me have leave to speak ‘ Tis proper I obey him, but not now Perchance, Iago, I will ne’er go home” (Act V, scene 2) We are surprised that Emilia changes from the obedient wife, who always does what Iago asks, into the valiant woman It seems that the death of Desdemona makes Emilia come to recognize Iago’s wicked nature It is too late because Desdemona will never be able to live again Emilia feels regretful for helping Iago have Desdemona’s handkerchief Now the love of the wife for her husband becomes hate, and she decides to tell all the truth in order to expose the villain However, Iago is very angry with her, he can not bear her sincere words to everyone, he suddenly stabs her from behind and escapes Before her death, Emilia sings the song which she heard from her mistress, and once more speaks good words in favour of Desdemona, affirming Desdemona’s only love for Othello: “What did thy song bode, lady? Hark, canst thou hear me? I will play the swan And die in music (singing) “Willow, willow, willow” Moor, she was chaste; she loved thee, cruel Moor, So come my soul to bliss as I speak true; So speaking as I think I die, I die” (Act V, scene 2) 42 ... Chapter II: the images of women in some of William Shakespeare’s plays I The innocent, faithful women striving for true love and fighting to protect their love and happiness Juliet in “Romeo and... VI The main contents of the thesis: Chapter I: background I England in the Renaissance What is the Renaisance? 1.1 The Middle Ages and the origins of the Renaissance 1.2 A surge of interest in. .. many changes in their beliefs about the Universe, and the place of human beings and the worth of the individual within it 1.1 Middle Ages and origins of the Renaissance : In Europe, the term Middle