Michael Gorski

ERH 321WX-01

Short Assignment on The Merchant of Venice

25 February 2015

Help Received: EasyBib to Cite

Part A.

Kaplan brings together five different beliefs concerning the treatment of women and protocol for marriage during the Shakespearian and early modern English time periods. She highlights the patriarchal idea of that dominated that culture through Juan Luis Vives, Thomas Becon, and Thomas Smith. This view that a woman was a man’s property and treated as lesser humans generally accepted in culture during this time period. This reveals itself in a practical way through the beliefs of Smith and Niccholes concerning marriage relationship. Kaplan also observes a radical view in the form of Cornelius Agrippa and Alexander Niccholes’ view on the treatment of women. During the early modern English time period these were accepted cultural ideas and Kaplan presents an all-encompassing grouping of evidence to display these concepts.

The first and most common cultural belief of early modern English viewed women as lesser creatures in comparison to men. The dynamic between men and women in society was one of dominance. The man was in charge of the household and made the decisions. Vives states several characteristics of a woman’s role in this culture and primary one being inferiority. “To Vives, women’s inferiority necessitates their subordination to fathers and husbands (Kaplan, 312).” Women were least respected members of society. Major components of Vives’ opinion were, “wife does not even own her body (312, Kaplan)” and necessitates “silence in the presence of others (Kaplan, 312).” Vives reflects the traditional Catholic teachings and opinions that have women imprisoned by their gender. Becon’s approach adheres to the stringent guidelines that Vives upholds. He represents the dominant view of culture during this time period. “Wives should stay at home, bear with their husband’s bad behaviors, and seek to hide and extenuate his flaws rather than reveal them with chiding (Kaplan, 312).” Becon’s views only differ slightly from the views of Vives, in that he believes the child, regardless of gender, should have consent when it applies to marriage. Even with minute differences, the opinions and beliefs of the both Vives and Becon reflect the culture’s attitude and treatment of women during the early modern English time period. This patriarchal mindset translates into the patriarchal view of marriage during the time period.

Kaplan mentions the protocol for marriage concerning the views of Smith. Smith advocated for a strong male role in the marriage and that woman’s property becomes the property of the man upon being wed. He also states that woman’s life be separate from the man’s public image. “Smith prescribes a strict separation of the wife’s private sphere from the husband’s public one, but he argues that the English woman’s lot compares favorably to that of her European sisters (Kaplan, 315).” Smith reflected the prominent cultural belief of this time period that women were beneath the man.

Kaplan also observes radical opinions that clash with the concept of male superiority. Agrippa’s view is that women are superior to men and does not conform to the mainstream cultural standard. Also, she observes another clashing opinion concerning male superiority, but was not uncommon during this time period is seen in the opinions of Niccholes concerning marriage. Niccholes argues against the shallowness of marriage and that men should be relentlessly pursuing their prospective wives. This was a common practice for a man to pour out gifts for this woman he was courting. Niccholes reveals a part of culture that is rarely viewed. The focus was on the patriarchal dominance and subordination of women, but men valued courtship and exhausted money, time, and effort into the process.

Kaplan analyzes the treatment of women in early modern England through the beliefs and opinions of five different authors. She highlights the most prevalent cultural idea of male superiority in the male and female relationship through the ideas of Becon and Vives. The patriarchal protocol for marriage is described in the opinions of Smith. She also brings to light the lesser-known and recognized aspects of culture. This is seen in her description Agrippa’s belief that women are superior to men. Niccholes’ opinions concerning marriage also highlight radical and unknown concepts. Overall, Kaplan highlights common belief that men were superior to women that dominated the culture of early modern England.

Part B.

            Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice challenges the cultural opinions and beliefs of his time period, early modern England, concerning women’s role and treatment in society. The common and prominent view of women was that they were subordinate to men. The man was the lead role in the relationship. Shakespeare questions this throughout the course of the play through two female characters, Jessica and Portia. Their actions and interactions with other characters challenge the male superiority and cultural customs that accompanied the patriarchal mindset. Shakespeare’s plays continuously challenge the main facets of cultural belief during his time period and The Merchant of Venice seeks to questions the notions of women’s role as lesser creatures in early modern England.

The first character that Shakespeare utilizes to confront the concept of a woman being submissive is Portia. There are several instances that would be viewed as controversial by the audiences of Shakespeare in early modern England. The first is when Portia disguises herself as a man to act as a lawyer to defend Antonio against Shylock. According to Kaplan’s mention and description of Stubbes’ view, a woman cross-dressing was viewed as trying to seize a man’s authority. To the people of early modern England, Shakespeare’s depiction of cross-dressing would shock his audience and shatter many cultural ideas. Not only did she cross-dress, she argued against the opinions of a man and proved him wrong. During this time period, women were not allowed to speak out in public. The man acted as the voice between his wife and the public and for Portia to speak openly in a court further shatters cultural barriers. Portia’s superior logic defeats Shylock and causes him to lose the case and forfeit money. This instance alone destroys multiple cultural notions and challenges patriarchal beliefs.

The second instance concerns Portia tricking Bassanio into giving her his ring. Portia is disguised as a man at this point in the play and undermines her husband’s authority very deceitfully. Women were required to submit fully to their husbands, but here Shakespeare challenges that notion. Portia is questioning Bassanio’s faith to their marriage and a woman questioning her husband was looked down upon during this time period. Shakespeare utilizes Portia and more specifically these two instances to challenge the status quo claiming that men are superior to women and women are the lesser creatures.

The second character that depicts the challenging of male superiority seen in The Merchant of Venice is Jessica. She blatantly disregards the authority of her father and disowns his beliefs, steals from him, and leaves to be a Christian man, Lorenzo. Not only was she a female, but also she is still an unmarried child in Shylock’s household. Culturally, this was viewed as disrespectful, because the parents more often than not chose the husband for their daughter. For her to make this decision and without her father’s consent is a major violation of mainstream ideas and is another instance of Shakespeare challenging the societal traditions man being superior to female.

Shakespeare’s plays were revolutionary during the early modern era in England. He always sought to challenge long established traditions. The Merchant of Venice challenges the cultural notion that women are lesser creatures and therefore below men in societal ranking. Through many female characters, Portia and Jessica to be very specific, he blatantly attacks these notions and challenges the crowd to rethink long-established tradition. The specific instances fore mentioned highlight the concept that Shakespeare was always questioning mainstream ideas and The Merchant of Venice challenges women’s treatment and societal role in early modern England heavily.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, and M. Lindsay. Kaplan. The Merchant of Venice: Texts and           Contexts. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002. Print.

Michael Gorski

ERH 321WX-01

Short Assignment on Henry V

11 February 2015

Help Received: EasyBib to cite; Consulted Mr. Griffin concerning a citing issue

Part A.

Hodgdon provides a perspective concerning Shakespeare’s view of politicians and leaders and its connection with Niccoló Machiavelli’s The Prince. She focuses on the concept of self-concealment and “the assumption that politics is a deceitful practice (Hodgdon, 309).” The connection between actors and how politicians use deceitful tactics to ensure their audience or followers believe who they are is central to Hodgdon’s argument. She focuses on two excerpts from Machiavelli’s The Prince that highlight concepts central to her argument. Hodgdon utilizes these two excerpts to argue that Machiavelli’s The Prince has connections with Shakespeare’s cultural environment concerning politics.

Hodgdon provides a brief background on Machiavelli’s The Prince and his reasoning behind writing it. Machiavelli spent time as a government servant and The Prince is based on his observations while holding this position. He brings to light a cynical view concerning politics. Most people viewed their politicians and leaders as these great and flawless men, but in reality, politics was not always what the public viewed it as. Machiavelli argues that this deceitfulness was a necessity for any successful leader. Shakespeare adopts this policy in Henry V and seeks to enlighten people as to the true nature of their leaders. The concept of self-concealment during Shakespeare’s time period was very relevant. People in positions of authority during Shakespeare’s time were idealized and people did not understand the darker side of politics. People believed their leaders to be gods amongst men without any faults.

Machiavelli believes this cynical view of politics, in which leaders find it necessary to put on a fake persona, is not bad. He states that it is necessary for them to act this way. He goes on to highlight many of the things that Shakespeare highlights in Henry V. “For there is such a distance between how men do live, and how me ought to live, that he who leaves that which is done, for that which ought to be done, learns sooner his ruin than his preservation (Hodgdon, 310).” Machiavelli believes that these are necessary characteristics for being a good leader. He does not think that good leaders need to be completely evil but it is a tactic to be utilized at certain times.

During the 16^th and 17^th centuries, in which Shakespeare lived, the most leaders were viewed as the direct line to God. Particularly in England, their belief was that God directly appointed king or queen and questioning their authority was heresy. People revered their leaders and in reality they were normal people. Most politicians had bad habits and skeletons in their closets. The ability for them to project themselves as something they were not contributed heavily to how good or bad of a leader they were. Hodgdon is highlighting a reality between the writings of Machiavelli and Shakespeare’s culture.

Part B.

            Shakespeare’s Henry V reflects the principles of Machiavelli’s The Prince throughout the course of the play. The character that illustrates this principle of the necessity of deceitful politics is King Henry. Shakespeare uses King Henry to enlighten the people of England of the humanity of their rulers. It was common knowledge during Shakespeare’s era that kings and queens were directly appointed by God. If anyone were to question the authority of the king or queen, it was viewed as questioning the authority of God. Another group of characters that accurately displays this perception versus reality concept are Nym, Bardolph, Pistol, and the Boy. The speech the boy makes concerning his superiors displays Hodgdon’s self-concealment argument. Shakespeare is revealing the humanity of rulers as well and arguing that utilizing deceitfulness is necessary for a politician through the example of King Henry.

In Henry V, King Henry provides the perfect example for this concept of politics being a deceitful business that requires dark tactics. Throughout the play, there are many specific instances in which Henry employs deception to achieve his goals. The first major instance is when he disguises himself as a regular soldier to wander the camp and discover the opinion of his own soldiers concerning himself. This example not only highlights the deception, but it alludes to the idea of self-concealment introduced by Hodgdon. In this scene, we see Henry convincing certain men that he is someone else to accomplish a task. Machiavelli identifies this as a necessary characteristic of being a good politician and Shakespeare uses it to reveal the reality of rulers of his era.

Along with deception being part of a ruler’s arsenal, Machiavelli also highlights the fact that most rulers have vices. No ruler is perfect and Shakespeare makes this very clear in King Henry’s speech to the governor of Harfleur. He gives the governor an ultimatum concerning their surrender. The option is surrender and they will be treated with grace and mercy or they do not surrender and he promises a darker outcome. Henry goes into great detail concerning the consequences of not surrendering. These consequences include placing dead babies on spits, raping women, etc. To the citizens of Shakespeare’s time, these consequences would have come across as barbarian in nature, but Shakespeare was revealing the reality of warfare and being a good ruler. This scare tactic led the French to surrender at Harfleur and it was an effective.

There are several instances that display Hodgdon’s self-concealment in the interactions between Nym, Bardolph, Pistol and the Boy. The speech made by the boy in Act Three Scene 2 accurately displays this self-concealment metaphor. He comments on how these three men that he has served under are all cowards and thieves that project themselves as noble heroes of the crown. There are other scenes where Shakespeare alludes to the lies of Nym, Bardolph, and Pistol.

Throughout the course of the play, Shakespeare displays this concept of self-concealment presented by Hodgdon. The ability for rulers to act deceitfully and utilize their vices was a reality for most politicians. Machiavelli affirms this in The Prince by explaining that politicians must adopts this false persona to be effective rulers. Shakespeare enlightens the people of his time period to this reality through many examples in his play. These include the actions of King Henry and Bardolph, Nym, Pistol, and the Boy. These all display the concept that reality is different from what people perceive it to be and Machiavelli’s idea that politicians and rulers are different from the how the public views them.

Works Cited

Machiavelli, Niccoló. “From The Prince.” 1513. The First Part of King Henry the Fourth: Texts and Contexts. By William Shakespeare and Barbara Hodgdon. Boston: Bedford, 1997. 309-13. Print.

Shakespeare, William, and Claire McEachern. The Life of King Henry the Fifth. New York, NY: Penguin, 1999. Print.