• Dr. Poonam Wadhwa

The corpus of study in the present paper is concentrated upon Shakespearean breed of feminism as enunciated through female characters of Shakespeare’s plays in general; whereas particularly it centres around the portraiture of Portia in “Merchant of Venice”, Cordelia in “King Lear” and Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth.” Many of the female characters in Shakespeare’s plays are endowed with pluck, mettle and power. Shakespeare created these female characters in an age when women were not allowed to perform on stage and all the female roles were being enacted by male characters. The concept feminism did not exist in his life time for approximately three hundred years following his death. Women in Shakespearean plays have always had important roles, many a times the leading roles. Whether they create the main conflicts and base of the plays or bring up interesting moral and cultural questions, they are put in challenging situations. Very often they surpass their male-counterparts. Here attempts have been made to perceive Shakespeare’s women on contemporary attitudes. Whether they are mothers, ingénues, unruly or ambitious women, they are all women discovering how to find their way in the world which is a pretty tough world. At many places Shakespeare’s women want the same things as the men. Shakespeare wrote his ladies to be fierce, fascinating, multifaceted and fun characters which are more than a lot of 21st century feminists can claim. These female characters serve as a guide to Renaissance women, teaching them to be strong, independent intelligent and yet still wisely conform to the system presenting a uniquely Shakespearean breed of feminism

Renaissance, Patriarchal setup, Puritan Ideals, Strong women, Adhering to norms, Reforming system from within

"SHAKESPEAREAN BREED OF FEMINISM: CHARACTERS OF PORTIA, CORDELIA AND LADY MACBETH", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 9, page no.261-267, September-2018, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1809187.pdf

"SHAKESPEAREAN BREED OF FEMINISM: CHARACTERS OF PORTIA, CORDELIA AND LADY MACBETH", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 9, page no. pp261-267, September-2018, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1809187.pdf