Examine how Shakespeare explores the role of women in Hamlet. What might the response of a modern audience be to this aspect of the play?

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AS English Literature Coursework: Examine how Shakespeare explores the role of women in Hamlet. What might the response of a modern audience be to this aspect of the play?

Gertrude and Ophelia, the only two women in Hamlet, reflect the general status of women in Elizabethan Times. Women were suppressed by the males in their lives (brothers, fathers, and partners) and were always inferior. Ophelia and Gertrude have little or no power due to restricted legal, social and economic rights that were found in Elizabethan society. The male characters in Hamlet reflect this sexist view point, represented by Hamlet's judgement that "frailty, thy name is woman". This view was not uncommon in Shakespeare's time and heavily influenced Shakespeare to present women the way he does in Hamlet. In a critical essay, Judith Cook1 noted that in many of Shakespeare's plays major women characters 'die because of direct association with the fate of a tragic hero'. This could be seen as Shakespeare trying to convey women's fate being a 'by-product' of the fate of men- men are superior.

On the other hand, Ophelia is crucial in understanding Hamlet as a character and gives an insight into different