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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page research paper that investigates how Shakespeare's use of tone in these plays demonstrates his opinion of honor and the Elizabeth gender responses to it. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khado12n.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
in each play, the modern student can discern the weightiness of the role that a womans honor held in Elizabethan society. It is clear that for a woman to be
dishonored is catastrophic and tragic, as she becomes ostracized from polite society. Naturally, the topic of a womans honor relates to honor among the men who feel compelled by honor
to defend her name. While Shakespeare does not directly assault the presumptions of his age, the way he treats this societal emphasis on female purity, i.e. his tone, conveys the
thematic message that, first of all, the societal focus on virginity does not necessarily equate with the finest characteristics of womanhood. Furthermore, it is also clear that Shakespeare feels that
a womans honor should be judged on her character, rather then on circumstance. In Twelfth Night, Shakespeare pictures two women of far different character -- Viola and Olivia. Both
women are of the same social standing, both are grieving, believing their brothers to be dead. However, Viola situation is much more severe than Olivias, as she is shipwrecked far
from the safety of her home. Nevertheless, Viola does not indulge in bemoaning her fate, but rather quickly concocts a plan to safeguard her honor by assuming the disguise of
a boy. Olivia, on the other hand, is given to extravagant gestures that are designed to emphasize the degree of her grief. She proposes to scorn all men till she
has mourned her brother for seven years (Taylor, 1997). Viola, as Cesario, castigates her by telling her "you are too proud...My lord and master loves you. O, such love/Could be
but recompensed though you were crownd/ The nonpareil of beauty" (Twelfth Night, 2002). The tone of this passage is clear. It indicates that "honor" can be carried to extremes
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