Kurzfassung oder Klappentext. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wird die Herleitung der These beschrieben. Diese beiden Werke werden aufeinander bezogen. The deduction of the female sexual threat. French's Gender Principles.

Sexuality and Sexual Desire in Antony and Cleopatra. Initially, Antony and Cleopatra can be seen as a story of two powerful lovers kept apart by the trials and tribulations of war, although looking further into the play, one can identify that it is a story of the strong sexual tension between the lovers Antony and Cleopatra. In Early Modern England, sexual intercourse was not intended to be an activity used for pleasure, but instead was meant simply for reproduction. It was important that women maintained their chastity until marriage, at which time they could take part in the act of sex.

Shakespeare reflected Elizabethan standards of heterosexuality in his plays by emphasizing the importance of marriage, and particularly the importance of remaining chaste until marriage. Just as Shakespeare highlighted the importance of pre-marriage chastity, he also referenced the importance of sex within marriage, and particularly the role of sex in the consummation of marriage. This represents an important plot point in Romeo and Juliet. With regard to representations of same-sex desire, all plays were subject to official censorship, and Shakespeare would have been in trouble if any of his plays or poems had depicted homosexuality directly. A certain amount of same-sex eroticism was built in to all Elizabethan drama, because female parts were taken by boys.