Abstract 

The role of women in Renaissance is mentioned highly. But “did women have a renaissance” is a question that is been asked even today. Broadly speaking in the Renaissance when the political systems changed from the medieval feudal systems, women of every social class saw a change in their social and political options that men did not. Women lived the life of the underlying sex. The plays of Shakespeare can be used as a window upon Renaissance society.

A careful study of Shakespeare’s plays shows that his Renaissance women break the typical stereotype of the day about the limitations of their abilities to operate in a man’s world. Many of the females solve problems that male characters were unable to solve and this sense serves as subtle mentors. Even when England was ruled for half a century by Queens, women had almost no legal power. Women were supposed to be seen and not heard. Women were excluded from any position of meaningful authority in any realm of society. Women were often valued for their physical features. In the Renaissance, the beauty of women is more praised and esteemed than any other beauty. The only positive demand of the women was that she should be beautiful. (more…)