Shakespeare’s Comic Heroines: A new type of woman: Witty and Wise In previous literature, all the way back to the Greeks, women had been troublesome and tragic, disregarded and put on a pedestal, worshipped and tolerated, but before Shakespeare, none had the combination of wit and wisdom we see over and over in Shakespeare’s comic heroines.

Shakespeare’s comic heroines love to poke holes in the clichés of male privilege, Shakespeare’s comic heroines use their wit to challenge men and the patriarchal prejudices of men, such as the blocking character and the villain. She’s the one who can match the villain’s sneer with scorn, and complicate the conventional pieties of papa. Therefore . . . therefore . . .

The men often say the comic heroine is: Shrewish Proud Disdainful Cursed with a fury scornful In having all of these delightful qualities, the comic heroine stands in contrast with the female ingénue, who appears to be more typically feminine. Nevertheless, it is the comic heroine who gets all of the good lines, the big laughs, the wry chuckles, and top billing. And so she is often said to be . . . And . . .

Wise, as in . . .

“WISE”: the double meanings (summary in pictures) Athena, Goddess of Wisdom Tina Fey, Goddess of Gotcha But in Shakespeare’s time, as in ours there is another meaning to that word, and often the first thing that we think of when we hear the word “wise” is: thoughtful and intelligent. Perhaps sympathetic and prudent and open-minded. The Shakespearean comic heroine is wise in both senses. Thus she is best prepared to to oppose the villain’s sneers and daddy’s clichés. In her wit is truth-telling; she’s sarcastic but also right, and so we all love her. She’s sarcastic but right, and so we all love her.

There’s a lot of her in the sitcom characters we love best, such as . . . Robin Scherbatsky from How I Met Your Mother. As Beatrice does, she rejects traditional roles, such as getting married and having kids. Robin often drinks scotch, smokes cigars, and is an avid gun fan.

Penny, who loves Leonard, but makes fun of him and of Sheldon, and who the guys go to when they have a real-life problem, such as how to drink liquor or catch a fish.

Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare’s inspiration? Elizabeth the First was the Queen of England when Shakespeare was born, and still Queen of England when Shakespeare was almost done writing plays. This “Armada Portrait” portrays, in the background, the defeat of the Spanish Armada (29 July, 1588), just about the time when Shakespeare first arrived in London. The Spanish Armada put on the sea the largest concentration of firepower ever seen to that time and was an existential threat to England… She was a commanding presence, a political genius, and a fun person (loved riding, dancing, fireworks, and plays) -- she was also witty and wise.

The Virgin Queen on the Topic of Marriage: “I would rather be a beggar and single than a queen and married” “I should call the wedding-ring the yoke-ring.” She assumed the throne, aged 25 & two months. Parliament was worried that great trouble would befall if there was no heir to the throne, and they thought what she needed above all was a husband, to give her an heir (preferably a boy, and to guide and direct her). It was a real worry, and Elizabeth acknowledged their concerns, but she valued her freedom, and her freedom of choice. And she made jokes about it.

Beatrice, Much Ado She’s Witty and Wise

In this play, Shakespeare gives his comic heroine an appropriate partner: Benedick Here played by Kenneth Branagh

Beatrice and Benedict They are almost the same person: both blessed, as their names indicate. Beatrice as in the Beatitudes; Benedict, as in a Benediction.