Simulation in Shakespeare’s Plays: Men, Women, and Power in Society

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the plays of Shakespeare from the perspective of “Simulation” which is a social theory of recent era presented by the French theorist, social critic, and sociologist, Jean Baudrillard. In this research paper Baudrillard’s conceptual framework of “Simulation” (1994) is used to highlight the survival strategies of females in Shakespearean age. Simulation highlights the contrast between appearance and reality and it shows the contradiction between male and female, rich and poor, powerful and weak. For Shakespeare’s plays of contrasts and contradictions, a new kind technique for textual analysis is used which focuses on “foregrounding contradiction rather than effacing it” (Belsey, 2001, p.125). The study is very useful and significant as it points outrecent and current angles in selected Shakespeare’s plays. It highlights the struggles and troubles of women for survival in a patriarchal society.