English Coursework
Compare the presentation of female power in the two texts. Focus on Act 2 and Scene 2 and section 4 of, ‘Of Mice and Men’.
I am going to be analysing how female power is represented in both ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’. First of all in the play ‘Macbeth’, Lady Macbeth is seen as the more dominant woman between her and her husband. Whereas, in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ Curley’s wife is less dominant and less adamant and actually listens to her husband, most of the time. However, she is slightly two-faced. Whereas Lady Macbeth is more dominant in a patriarchal society as she controls her husband. Although, women were supposed to be seen as inferior people to their husband, Lady Macbeth was quite unusual. They both may live in different times but they both face similar problems with their spouses. This could show a matriarchal relationship for Lady Macbeth, and shows how women were seen as possessions.
The novel and play are very different as the play ‘Macbeth’ concentrates on speech and how Lady Macbeth uses speech against people. Plays rely on speech to convey emotions and roles to the audience which really demonstrates the character. For example, “looks like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it”. This quote shows how speech is important in plays because the reader would have to infer the speech, therefore this shows that speech is emphasised more, than Lady Macbeth’s body language. In addition to, Shakespeare uses soliloquy to express Lady Macbeth’s thoughts. In which her evil manipulative side is shown. Whereas, a novel is more descriptive, in terms of body language a quote to show this is, “lashes her body”. In this quote Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife and what she is doing to inform the reader. The word ‘lashes’ describes her body movement and what/how she does move to help the reader. Thus body language is more significant in a novel than in a play.
To begin with, Lady Macbeth is an ambitious woman who is thirsty for power. For example
I am going to be analysing how female power is represented in both ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’. First of all in the play ‘Macbeth’, Lady Macbeth is seen as the more dominant woman between her and her husband. Whereas, in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ Curley’s wife is less dominant and less adamant and actually listens to her husband, most of the time. However, she is slightly two-faced. Whereas Lady Macbeth is more dominant in a patriarchal society as she controls her husband. Although, women were supposed to be seen as inferior people to their husband, Lady Macbeth was quite unusual. They both may live in different times but they both face similar problems with their spouses. This could show a matriarchal relationship for Lady Macbeth, and shows how women were seen as possessions.
The novel and play are very different as the play ‘Macbeth’ concentrates on speech and how Lady Macbeth uses speech against people. Plays rely on speech to convey emotions and roles to the audience which really demonstrates the character. For example, “looks like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it”. This quote shows how speech is important in plays because the reader would have to infer the speech, therefore this shows that speech is emphasised more, than Lady Macbeth’s body language. In addition to, Shakespeare uses soliloquy to express Lady Macbeth’s thoughts. In which her evil manipulative side is shown. Whereas, a novel is more descriptive, in terms of body language a quote to show this is, “lashes her body”. In this quote Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife and what she is doing to inform the reader. The word ‘lashes’ describes her body movement and what/how she does move to help the reader. Thus body language is more significant in a novel than in a play.
To begin with, Lady Macbeth is an ambitious woman who is thirsty for power. For example