ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHT POET AND OTHERS

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Bonus!In Shakespeare’s time, who played the role of women in plays?
A
Young male actors
B
Older female actors
C
Young girl actors
D
Puppets
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -During the Elizabethan era only men were allowed to act in the theatre until 1660-it was judged to be unseemly for a woman to undertake such a role. Young boys were therefore hired to act in the female roles. Elizabethan Women’s clothing was extremely elaborate and was constructed with many layers of clothing.

Detailed explanation-2: -While men held almost absolute authority, married women had virtually no rights as citizens. “Women differed from the men in their ability to be witnesses, make wills, act as guardians for their own children, make contracts, and own, buy, and sell property” (Wiesner 4).

Detailed explanation-3: -At the age of 30, Hughes made theatre history by becoming the first woman known to perform on an English stage, when on 8 December 1660, she played the role of Desdemona in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, in a production by Thomas Killigrew’s new King’s Company at their Vere Street theatre.

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