Stream Dr Kate Flaherty's session at the 2022 Bell Shakespeare National Teacher Conference with the Teacher Membership.
Runtime: 70 mins
In Shakespeare’s plays there are far fewer female roles than male, and female characters have less to say. Some say Shakespeare should be ‘cancelled’ for being sexist, while others wonder what the appeal is for 21st century students.
Using Lady Macbeth and Juliet as key examples, Dr Kate Flaherty invites us to take a closer look: to investigate their use of antithesis and other exquisite tricks of language to get what they want. We also ponder how Shakespeare dreamt up such powerful, articulate female characters in a time when women had almost no legal rights and little political agency. Kate will show how helping students to better understand language and historical context can break open the ‘familiar strange’ in Shakespeare’s female characters.
