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Have an idea for Subject of the Month?
March 2016
Selectors: Judith Arnold & Cindy Krolikowski
March is Women's History Month, and it is the time when the Wayne State University Library System, in collaboration with the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) and the Detroit Public Library (DPL), is hosting the traveling exhibit, "First Folio! the book that gave us SHAKESPEARE," from the Folger Shakespeare Library. In honor of these two events, the Subject of the Month display for March 2016 is combining a celebration of women with a focus on Shakespeare. The display in Purdy-Kresge Library features books about Shakespeare's women characters, women who portray Shakespeare's characters on the stage, gender in Shakespeare's plays, and visual images of Shakespeare's women.
Shakespeare's Heroines: Ophelia
From Heath, Charles. The Shakespeare Gallery: Containing the Principal Female Characters in the Plays of the Great Poet. London: C. Tilt, 1840. Print. Image scanned and digitized by WSULS Digital Publishing.
Ophelia
There’s Rosemary, that’s for Remembraunce.
Pray loue remember: and there is Paconcies, that’s for
Thoughts.
Hamlet, Act IV [First Folio (1623) text]
Shakespeare's Heroines: Juliet
From Heath, Charles. The Shakespeare Gallery: Containing the Principal Female Characters in the Plays of the Great Poet. London: C. Tilt, 1840. Print. Image scanned and digitized by WSULS Digital Publishing.
Juliet
O sweare not by the Moone, th’inconstant Moone,
That monethly changes in her circled Orbe,
Least that thy Loue proue likewise variable.
Romeo and Juliet, Act II [First Folio (1623) text]
Shakespeare's Heroines: Lady Macbeth
From Heath, Charles. The Shakespeare Gallery: Containing the Principal Female Characters in the Plays of the Great Poet. London: C. Tilt, 1840. Print. Image scanned and digitized by WSULS Digital Publishing.
Lady Macbeth
Heere’s the smell of the blood still: all the per-
fumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand…
Macbeth, Act V, Scene 1 [First Folio (1623) text]
Books from the Catalog
Shakespeare and Women by
Shakespeare and Women situates Shakespeare's female characters in multiple historical contexts, ranging from the early modern England in which they originated to the contemporary Western world in which our own encounters with them are staged. In so doing, this book seeks to challenge currently prevalent views of Shakespeare's women-both the women he depicted in his plays and the women he encountered in the world he inhabited. Chapter 1, 'A Usable History', analyses the implications andconsequences of the emphasis on patriarchal power, male misogyny, and women's oppression that has dominated recent feminist Shakespeare scholarship, while subsequent chapters propose alternative models for feminist analysis. Chapter 2, 'The Place(s) of Women in Shakespeare's World', emphasizes the frequently overlooked kinds of social, political, and economic agency exercised by the women Shakespeare would have known in both Stratford and London. Chapter 3, 'Our Canon, Ourselves', addresses theimplications of the modern popularity of plays such as The Taming of the Shrew which seem to endorse women's subjugation, arguing that the plays-and the aspects of those plays-that we have chosen to emphasize tell us more about our own assumptions than about the beliefs that informed the responses of Shakespeare's first audiences. Chapter 4, 'Boys will be Girls', explores the consequences for women of the use of male actors to play women's roles. Chapter 5, 'The Lady's Reeking Breath', turns tothe sonnets, the texts that seem most resistant to feminist appropriation, to argue that Shakespeare's rewriting of the idealized Petrarchan lady anticipates modern feminist critiques of the essential misogyny of the Petrarchan tradition. The final chapter, 'Shakespeare's Timeless Women', surveys the implication of Shakespeare's female characters in the process of historical change, as they have been repeatedly updated to conform to changing conceptions of women's nature and women's social roles, serving in ever-changing guises as models of an unchanging, universal female nature.
Call Number: WSU Access ID & password requiredISBN: 0198186940Publication Date: 2005-08-04
The Bernhardt Hamlet by
Critics regarded Sarah Bernhardt's interpretation of Hamlet in 1899 as the revelation of Shakespeare's tragedy in France. The Bernhardt Hamlet is the first to investigate that production and to explain its context and its impact upon the cultural life of the time. Bernhardt's most significant innovation was her rejection of romantic sensibility in favor of the revenge tradition. In assuming a male role, she remained within the theatrical tradition of travesti that came to full fruition in the nineteenth century. Classically trained, the 54-year-old Bernhardt refashioned the Hamlet inheritance with insight, vigor, and originality.
Call Number: PR 2807 .T27 1996 (Purdy-Kresge Library)ISBN: 0820423351Publication Date: 1997-04-01
As She Likes It by
As She Likes It is the first attempt to tackle the enduring question of how to perform those unruly women at the centre of Shakespeare's comedies. Unique among both Shakespearan and feminist studies, As She Likes It asks how gender politics affects the production of the comedies, and how gender is represented, both in the text and on the stage.
Call Number: WSU Access ID & password requiredISBN: 0415096960Publication Date: 1994-09-08
Shakespeare's Domestic Economies by
Marriages and Families in the 21st Century provides an in-depth exploration of a traditional field of study using a new and engaging approach. The text covers all the important issues – including parenting, divorce, aging families, balancing work and family, family violence, and gender issues – using a bioecological framework that takes into account our status as both biological and social beings. An accessible writing style coupled with numerous student-friendly pedagogical features help readers come to a multilayered understanding of “what makes families tick,” while also challenging them to reevaluate their own assumptions and experiences. Key features: " Uses a bioecological model that takes into account our status as both biological and social beings " Employs a strengths-based approach that focuses on family processes rather than structure in evaluating families’ optimal health and happiness " Incorporates discussion of neuroscience, medicine, and biopsychological research throughout " Explores a wide diversity of family relationships, integrating issues of ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, and gender " Focus on my Family boxes profile real families who wrote essays in their own words about their diverse experiences " How Would You Measure That? sections encourage students to think critically about and analyze research design and conclusions " Helps students analyze their own families’ strengths and attempt to build on those through psychometrically sound self-assessments and Building Your Strengths exercises " Engaging and accessible writing style incorporates contemporary, real-world examples with important theory and research " Instructor’s manual, test bank, PowerPoint lecture slides, and useful web links, as well as student self-test questions, available at www.wiley.com/go/howe
ISBN: 0585436274Publication Date: 2002-01-01
Shakespeare's Heroines by
First published in 1832, Shakespeare's Heroines is a unique hybrid of Shakespeare criticism, women's rights activism, and conduct literature. Jameson's collection of readings of female characters includes praise for unexpected role models as varied as Portia, Cleopatra, and Lady Macbeth; her interpretations of these and other characters portray intellect, passion, political ambition, and eroticism as acceptable aspects of women's behaviour. This inventive work of literary criticism addresses the problems of women's education and participation in public life while also providing insightful, original, and entertaining readings of Shakespeare's women. This Broadview Edition includes a critical introduction that places Shakespeare's Heroines in the context of Jameson's literary career and political life. Appendices include personal correspondence and other literary and political writings by Jameson, examples of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Shakespeare criticism, and selections from Victorian conduct books.
Call Number: PR 2991 .J3 2005 (Purdy-Kresge Library)ISBN: 1551113244Publication Date: 2005-01-01
Electronic Journals (March 2016)
- Shakespeare QuarterlyWSU Access ID & password required.
Shakespeare Quarterly is a refereed journal produced by Folger Shakespeare Library in association with George Washington University. - Shakespeare StudiesWSU Access ID & password required.
An international volume of essays, studies and reviews dealing with the cultural history of early modern England and the place of Shakespeare's production in it.
Databases (March 2016)
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new windowSearch MLA for references to articles, book chapters, and dissertations related to Shakespeare and women, as well as other literary topics.
WSU Access ID & password required.
Websites (March 2016)
- Shakespeare's Unruly WomenInformation and resources featured in a 1997 exhibit at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
- When Romeo was a WomanFrom the Folger Library's Shakespeare Unlimited series, this podcast features an interview with Lisa Merrill, a scholar who writes about the American actress, Charlotte Cushman, who portrayed male characters.
- Shakespeare's Evolving Attitudes Towards WomenA story from BBC reporting on scholar Tina Packer's study of women in Shakespeare. Features images and video.
Videos (March 2016)
These videos feature an age range of actors reading Shakespeare. The first two are from a series published in The Guardian Culture Channel on YouTube in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The third video is from The Sonnet Project New York.