1. A Midsummer Night's Dream
Laertes on the surface is protecting his sister from a romantic relationship with a brooding prince, however some modern audiences have interpreted this dialogue as Laertes not wanting his sister Ophelia to fall into the arms of Hamlet so he can have her to himself. ... This is furthered by his father's active role in preventing Ophelia from reciprocating with Hamlet, it is clear that they do not want Ophelia to be with the vengeful prince due to his state of mind and actions. ...
As the knight completely gives in for control by the lady and falls asleep, "he saw pale Kings, and Princes" (37) in his nightmare where "they cried, 'La belle dame sans merci Hath thee in thrall" (39-40) and he faces the reality that he was fooled by his temptations and the lady completely overpowers the strong and manly knight. ...
Topic Question: Queen Elizabeth turns up on stage at the end of Shakespeare in Love and says 'I know something of a woman in a man's profession'. Yet she makes no order for this to change nor does she more than mildly rebuke those who think that a woman on the stage is the 'beginning of the end'. She appears to be as trapped in the constraints of her gender as 'Thomas Kent'. Explore the issues of gender as it is portrayed within the film. "The way societies think about and treat women is often considered a means of measuring how civilised they are&quo...
