Shakespearean Literature

Life isn't exactly fair but, thankfully, in today's day and age,  most countries have established a consistent set of human rights like, take for example, the right to an education. Can you imagine living your life without any rights; you might feel powerless and insignificant. You might even feel oppressed, having to constantly live your life while abiding to a higher force of power. In other words, you might  feel very similar to how the women of the 1590s might have felt.

Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with Shakespearean literature, the mid 1590s was when Shakespeare's well known play, "Romeo and Juliet," was written. At the time, the rights of women were pretty much nonexistent and, as a result, this was reflected in Shakespeare's writing; an example of which, would be how the majority of the female cast in Romeo and Juliet are virtually powerless, in comparison to the male cast, with very little influence regarding important decisions. Now, there have been many debates regarding the sexism in Shakespeare's plays; some think that the exploitation of the issue of sexism was strictly for comedic value, while others think that the plays accurately reflect Shakespeare's mindset, in regards to the rights of women.

Now, what do you think?

 Is Shakespearean literature evidence enough that Shakespeare might not have respected the rights of women or, are they simply a parody of how women were treated at the time?

 Post your thoughts in a comment, below!

I hope you all enjoyed reading my second blog entry,

and I hope you all have a good weekend!