Author: JOHN QUING

Pizan emphasizes virginity and chastity as some of the hallmarks of good character as there was widespread agreement among people in the 1400s, particularly of men, that the perfect woman should consist of these traits. As Pizan is appealing to a largely male audience, she wants to use ideas that they are familiar with in order to better sway their negative opinions on women. To add on, virginity and chastity juxtapose the characterization of prostitution and fornication commonly bestowed on women bymen. Furthermore, virginity and chastity also juxtapose the overlooked corruption of men. Pizan gives multiple examples of bitter men who spoke of women as vile creatures who did nothing but sleep around when they themselves slept with numerous women in their youth. Thus, by emphasizing virginity and chastity as some of the hallmarks of good character, Pizan subtly throws shade at hyprocritical men who criticize women for their actions when they had done the same or even worse. Continue reading “Consider Pizan’s emphasis on virginity and chastity as some of the hallmarks of good character in her work.”

What is the role of death in the play? Why does Hamlet spend so much time thinking about and/or discussing it?

In the play, death serves as a catalyst to further the plot. For instance, the play is set into motion with the death of Hamlet’s father, Hamlet’s inner conflict results in his indecision of killing Claudius, and conflict arises when Hamlet mistakenly kills Polonius. In all of these instances, death furthers the plot by providing a new direction for Hamlet to follow in order to ultimately achieve his goal. For example, the conflict between Laertes and Hamlet, which arose due to Hamlet killing Polonius, further the plot to bring Hamlet to the situation in which he is able to finally kill Claudius before succumbing to death himself. The reason why Hamlet spends so much time thinking about death can be attributed to his fascination. Such as in the case of the scene of Yorick’s skull, Hamlet is fascinated by the notion that the skull, now a piece of the earth, had once been a person who entertained him as a child. Furthermore, Hamlet’s thoughts often turn toward death as he lays it down as one of his options for escaping his miserable reality. Thus, the role of death in the play is to provide Hamlet with the incentive to keep pursuing his revenge and to exist as an escape route and subject of fascination for Hamlet’s mind.