At thirteen and fourteen years of age, females in modern society are just barely finishing middle school, looking forward to high school. Education can potentially continue for the rest of their lives, but usually only lasts until the early to mid-twenties. Education of Elizabethan girls was typically ending at the age of thirteen or fourteen. "By the e

The driving force behind Macbeth is his wife, known only as Lady Macbeth. On his way home from a battle against Norway, Macbeth comes across three witches. The women prophesize three things, one of which is that Macbeth will succeed the current king, Duncan. As soon as Lady Macbeth reads the letter from her husband detailing the predictions of the witches, she resolves to "pour my spirits into thine ear / And chastise with the valor of my tongue" (Macbeth 1. 5. 25,26). She feels that she must take charge of the situation, because Macbeth's "nature / Is too full of the milk of human kindness" (Macbeth 1. 5. 14,15). She tells Macbeth to leave it to her, that she will take care of it. When it comes time for the planning of who should do what, Lady Macbeth tries to force her husband into performing the murder by threatening his manhood. She says "to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man" (Macbeth 1. 7. 55,56), implying that unless Macbeth kills Duncan, he is not a true man. When this woman resorts to belittlement, she does a good job of it. Not only does she attack Macbeth's manhood, she calls him a coward. She says she does not want him living "a coward in thine own esteem, / Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would'" (Macbeth 1. 7. 46,47) Toughness is another quality associated with this determined woman. When she speaks of promises, she tells of how far she would go in order to keep a promise. If necessary, she would have taken her own child and "dashed the brains out had I so sworn" (Macbeth 1. 7. 63). Shakespeare has shown Lady Macbeth as an instigator and a planner. This is quite different from the strength shown in other characters, which isn't so outspoken.

An exemplary instance of relationship equality is depicted in the play Romeo and Juliet. Being from opposite (feuding) houses, Romeo and Juliet were never meant to discover each other. Juliet allowed Romeo to kiss her, even though she was engaged to another man. Before they realized what they were getting into, they had fallen in love. According to Juliet, Romeo was "Too early seen unknown, and known too late" (Romeo and Juliet 1. 5. 147). She understood that what had happened was not right, but knew in her heart that she was in love. Romeo surprised Juliet in the night by climbing over the garden wall and listening to her talk about him. They expressed equal amounts of love, and promised to trade vows as soon as possible. The next day, Juliet's nurse confirmed that Romeo had set up an appointment with Friar Laurence for them to be married that afternoon. It would be highly unusual for a nurse to assist in such an undertaking. She risked losing her job. Juliet, still engaged to Paris, went to the church and wed Romeo. In the same day, there was yet another fight between the Montagues and the Capulets. Tybalt killed Mercutio, and Romeo killed Tybalt. Juliet was devastated over the death of her cousin, but still very much in love with Romeo. When Romeo was exiled, Juliet's parents saw her crying hysterically, and thought it was because of the death of her cousin. Originally, when Paris asked Capulet for the hand of his daughter, Capulet's response was that they would "Let t

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2166
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)