Elizabethan Women Roles

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In my essay I will be talking about what Shakespeare's women were like, whether men undertook the role of women in Elizabethan plays and why, and whether things have changed today. In Elizabethan times, if women performed on the stage it was judged as unseemly to undertake such a role and women were only granted the legal right to act in 1660. Before that date, young boys at the age of 13 to19 were employed to take female roles. The young men would wear layers of clothes to conceal their bodies. Preparation would take a lengthy amount of time, and it was much harder than just hiring a woman. The actors would wear periwigs as they were fashionable in those days. The makeup that the actors used was lead-based, and highly poisonous. As a result…show more content…
Women in Shakespearean plays have always had important roles, sometimes the leading role. Whether their characters were invented to add fire and energy to the storyline or stabilize it, they are there for a reason. Shakespeare's women normally played important roles that built up his stories. Some of Shakespeare's women are stronger than others, and their effect is different in each play. Shakespeare's women appear to have the same character in some plays but in others they have completely opposite personalities. An example of this is, in ''Macbeth'', Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband to get what she wants, money and power, but in ''Romeo and Juliet'', Juliet only wants to be with her true love. Lady Macbeth and Juliet do show a few of the same traits as they are both fighting for what they desire most. Juliet and Lady Macbeth both hide a deep secret, Juliet hides her relationship with Romeo and Lady Macbeth hides the murder that she…show more content…
By contrast nowadays in movies, Hairspray (John Travolta) and, Mrs. Doubtfire (Robin Williams) use men to play woman's roles. They now use nontoxic makeup applied by professionals, wigs and clothes to disguise the actors' bodies and faces. But, movie directors normally hire women instead of men since women have gained more respect in the acting world. Jennifer Lawrence, one of the highest paid actress in the world discusses the issue that she has with her salary and how she has a lower pay compared to that of her male co-stars. Emma Watson another well known actress in 2014 joined the United Nations to fight for women's
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