Compare and contrast Shakespeares presentation of women in Hamlet and Measure for Measure and in the light of critical thinking.

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Compare and contrast Shakespeare’s presentation of women in Hamlet and Measure for Measure and in the light of critical thinking.

Hamlet was first performed in 1601 to 1602 during the reign of Elizabeth I.  During the time that the play was written it was said that Elizabeth I was not in good health. There was no actual heir to the throne so there was always a possibility that there would be a fight over who would be the next ruler and take over the throne. In the beginning of Hamlet a similar storyline is used after Old Hamlet’s death causes changes to the heirs of the throne and the question of who will take over his role on the throne. In comparison when Measure for Measure was first put on in 1603, James I would have probably gone to see it so Shakespeare may have based the Duke character on him to flatter him. James I had published a book which outlined things that were most important to be a successful ruler. A monarch was advised by him which could be the purpose of in the last scenes from Measure for Measure when the Duke shows that he will obey the New Testament’s approach to morality by tempering justice with mercy.

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 During the Elizabethan era in the 1600’s women were treated in a different manner and were not looked at as equal to men. Within a marriage a women was expected to obey her husband and a husband were expected to be the head of the family household, bring their families up in a good way and treat their wives with respect. Women were said to have needed this sort of masculine guidance as they were spiritually weaker. It may have been Shakespeare’s purpose to use Gertrude getting re-married so soon after the death of her husband, Old Hamlet, ...

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