She plays with the idea of role swapping in "The Carnival of Venice" and the conformity required by western society. ... The use of figurative language in "The Carnival of Venice" shows the construction of gender in society. ... In "The Carnival of Venice" the roles of man and woman are reversed. ... However, Harwood furthers this idea by describing the woman "as pale as death" suggesting that working within the confines of the domestic domain has slowly robbed the woman of her identity and life. ... Two poems that explore these issues are "The Carnival of Venice," and "Long after Heine." ...

• Word Count: 1112
• Approx Pages: 4

It can be inferred from the text that Venice (and Cyprus) were extremely patriarchal at the time that the play took place. ... Secondly, Desdemona can be said to be a very brave person, who would not be afraid of death. ... As Venice was evidently even more patriarchal and socially conservative than we are today, it must have been even more taboo at the time of the play. ... This is a young woman speaking in front of established older gentlemen who control the city of Venice. ... She has plenty of courage, and no reason to fear death. ...

• Word Count: 1219
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Around A.D. 700, Christian religion saw witchcraft as denouncing the Catholic Church and began to question "heresy-, a rejection of the church, and, "began a long campaign to stamp out heresy [and] [b]eginning in the 1000's, religious leaders sentenced heretics to death by burning- (World Book, 2002 p. 372). ... Nadel (1952) notes that if there is a case of witchcraft where there is a death or something unimaginable, it is said, "a few evil individuals among the men (whom no one can name) have betrayed their own sex and become the helpers of a woman witch [and] men are never blamed or a...

• Word Count: 3282
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

In the play "Othello," Shakespeare presents us with another male dominated society where women are inferior. Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca are rejected by their partners, but love them completely and unselfishly. All three women are in unbalanced relationships, feeling more for their self-centered m...

• Word Count: 4504
• Approx Pages: 18