Shakespeare’s Comic
Heroines:
A new type of woman:
Witty and Wise
Queen Elizabeth:
Shakespeare’s inspiration?
The Virgin Queen on the
Topic of Marriage:
“I would rather be a
beggar and single
than a queen and
married”
“I should call the
wedding-ring the
yoke-ring.”
I shall never have a husband who will sit all day by the fire.
When I marry it will be with a man who can ride, hunt, and fight.
Favorite Occupation
of Shakespeare’s Comic
Heroines
therefore . . .
The men often say the comic heroine is:
Shrewish Proud
Disdainful
Cursed with a fury
scornful
And . . .
“WISE”: the double meanings
#1
“WISE”: the double meanings
#2
Wise Guy
“WISE”: the double meanings
#2 (continued)
WISEACRE
“WISE”: the double meanings
#2 (continued again)
AND ….
Wise
___________
“WISE”: the double meanings
(summary in pictures)
Athena,
Goddess of
Wisdom
Tina Fey,
Goddess of
Gotcha
“WISE”: the double meanings
(summary in words)
The Shakespearean comic heroine is
“wise” in both senses of the word,
and so,
WISE and WITTY
Meg
from Hercules
•
•
•
Independent
Quick-witted
MORE than a romantic interest
Hercules: Uh, so how'd you get
stuck with the...
Meg: Pinhead with hooves?
Well, you know how men are.
They think "No" means "Yes"
and "Get lost" means "Take me,
I'm yours."
[Hercules doesn't understand]
Meg: Don't worry, maybe
Shorty here can explain it to ya.
Hermione
from Harry Potter
series
•
•
•
•
Smart
Self-Reliant
Stands up for herself
Know-it-all
"Just because you've got
the emotional range
of a teaspoon doesn't
mean we all have."
Olive
Penderghast
from Easy A
• Clever
• Courageous
• Noble
“I started piling on lie
after lie. It was like
setting up Jenga.”
Anti-Type:
Elle Woods
from Legally Blonde
• Narrow-minded
• Simplistic
• We laugh AT her not
WITH her
"Exercise gives you
endorphins. Endorphins
make you happy. Happy
people just don't shoot
their husbands. They
just don't!"
Beatrice, Much Ado
Like the others, she’s
Witty
and
Wise