FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHT POET AND OTHERS
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
because theaters were too dirty and dangerous
|
|
|
because it was against the law for women to be onstage
|
|
|
because women did not like the theater
|
|
|
because women were busy being mothers
|
Detailed explanation-1: -This is because when Shakespeare was writing for the early modern stage, young men and boys performed all the women’s parts. Numerous English theatregoers considered seeing women on the public stage for the first time a pivotal moment, including the civil servant and diarist Samuel Pepys.
Detailed explanation-2: -Women were not allowed to be on the stage because it was considered “dangerous.” Men played male characters as well as female characters! “The Greeks believed that allowing women to perform publicly would be too dangerous and that having men portray them neutralized the danger.” (Source) So what about the Romans?
Detailed explanation-3: -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-4: -Theatre during the Renaissance was very much defined and constricted by the culture of the age. Directors were forced to comply with somewhat radical values and even their casting of roles was affected. Female actors did not appear on stage until the mid 1600’s because acting was not deemed a credible profession.
Detailed explanation-5: -Elizabethan England was highly patriarchal in attitudes and structure. Women were not allowed to claim any independence but were considered subservient to their male relatives, whether husbands, brothers, or fathers. During this era, social advancement for women was almost impossible.