The Battle of the Sexes

By: Samantha Mock

Battle of the Sexes

• Throughout all of Shakespeare’s plays the battle of the sexes has been a common theme

• In Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Comedy of Errors there are a couple that shows the theme of battle of the sexes

Taming of the Shrew

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"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;If wealthily, then happily in Padua."

"No shame but mine. I must, forsooth, be forcedTo give my hand, opposed agaisnt my heartUnto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleenWho wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure"

•The battle of the sexes is between Katarina and Petruchio he has to tame her and he tries to make himself above her

•Katarina sticks up for herself and causes conflict

The Taming of the Shrew

•"Thus have I politically begun my reignAnd 'tis my hope to end successfully”

•"Forward, I pray, since we have come so far,And be it moon, or sun, or what you please.And if you please to call it a rush candle,Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me."

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Hamlet

• " The lady doth protest too much - methinks "

" I will speak daggers to her - but use none "

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•Hamlet has gotten Ophelia to fall deeply in love with her, once he has seen his father’s ghost he decides she should no longer love him and that she should go to a nunnery

Hamlet• " What a piece of work is man!

how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world - the paragon of animals!  "

" This is the very ecstasy of love "

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•Ophelia is torn between the love she still feels for Hamlet and the abuse that he has exposed her to

Much Ado About Nothing• Claudio and Hero plan

to get married but a trick by Don John makes Claudio think Hero has cheated on him, thus leaving her at the alter

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O Hero! What a Hero hadst thou beenIf half thy outward graces had been placedAbout thy thoughts and counsels of thy heart!But fare thee well, most foul, most fair, farewellThou pure impiety and impious purity.For thee I’ll lock up all the gates of love,And on my eyelids shall conjecture hang To turn all beauty into thoughts of harm,And never shall it more be gracious.

Much Ado About Nothing

• Beatrice and Benedick bicker and fight madly but even though they battle constantly then end up secretly falling in love

“The savage bull may, but if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the bull’s horns and set them in my forehead, and let me be vilely painted, and in such great letters as they write ‘Here is good horse to hire’ let them signify under my sign ‘Here you may see Benedick, the married man.”

“What should I do with him—dress him in my apparel and make him my waiting gentlewoman? He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a man, I am not for him.”

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The Comedy of Errors

• The Battle of the Sexes is shown in The Comedy of Errors through romantic joust and confusion

"The pleasing punishment that women bear."

The Comedy of Errors• Luciana and Adriana show the

battle of sexes during the time period. Luciana says Adriana should obey and do the will of a man because they are more important. Adriana thinks she should be just as important as a man.

Adriana: "Why should their liberty than ours be more?" Luciana: "Because their business still lies out o'door." Adriana: "Look, when I serve him so, he takes it ill." Luciana: "O, know he is the bridle of your will." Adriana: "There's none but asses will be bridled so." Luciana: "Why, headstrong liberty is lash'd with woe."

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Works cited"NovelGuide: The Taming Of The Shrew: Top Ten Quotes." Novelguide: Free Study Guides, Free Book Summaries, Free Book Notes, & More. 21 May 2009 <http://www.novelguide.com/tamingoftheshrew/toptenquotes.html>.

"Famous Hamlet Quote by William Shakespeare - The lady doth protest..." Find famous quotes, funny, movie and motivational. 22 May 2009 <http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/hamlet-quotes/hamlet-quote-the-lady-doth-protest-04.htm>."NovelGuide: The Comedy of Errors: Top Ten Quotes." Novelguide: Free Study Guides, Free Book Summaries, Free Book Notes, & More. 27 May 2009 <http://www.novelguide.com/TheComedyofErrors/toptenquotes.html>.

"SparkNotes: Much Ado About Nothing: Important Quotations Explained." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. 27 May 2009 <http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/muchado/quotes.html>.