KS3 / KS4 English Literature - Women in Shakespeare

This film is from the series Shakespeare Themes available on BBC Teach.

An exploration of different examples of how women are portrayed in Shakespeare’s plays.

In Shakespeare’s day women had very little power or status, but were an integral part of society.

In ‘Othello’ women are portrayed as innocent victims, while in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ they are possessions of their husbands and fathers.

But in ‘Macbeth’ women are portrayed as strong, powerful and ambitious.

Teacher Notes

This clip could be used as an introduction to looking in more detail at the role of women in Shakespeare’s plays.

Students could take one of his plays and find examples of the influence female characters have on the plot.

Students could explore the different kinds of female characters in Shakespeare’s plays.

This could be linked to a study of gender inequality, and the difficulties faced by females in positions of power and influence throughout history.

Curriculum Notes

This clip will be relevant for teaching English Literature at KS3 and KS4/GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Also 3rd and 4th level in Scotland.

This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC, CCEA and SQA.

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