Dowden's essay.

VIII--THE WOMEN OF SHAKESPEARE

1. _Introductory_--Variety of characters and pronounced individuality.
Different types represented. Not peculiar to his age, but timeless.

2. _The Women of Intellect_--Portia: the woman of wisdom and learning.
Is she Shakespeare's highest female type? Beatrice: the fine lady, of
wit and high spirits. Readings--Portia: the casket scene and the court
scene from the Merchant of Venice. Beatrice: first and last scenes from
Much Ado.

3. _The Women of Sentiment_--Juliet: woman of the South; romantic and
intense. Desdemona; woman of the North; modest, tender, self-restrained.
Readings--Juliet: Act iii., Scenes 2 and 5, of Romeo and Juliet.
Desdemona: Act iv., Scene 2, of Othello.

4. _The Women of Imagination_--Perdita: simplicity, dignity, and
sweetness. Miranda: ethereal, unsophisticated, and ideal.
Readings--Perdita: Act iv., Scene 4 (the shepherd's cottage), of the
Winter's Tale. Miranda: Act i., Scene 2 (the island), of the Tempest.

5. _The Women of History_--Lady Macbeth: power of intellect,
determination, devotion to her husband's career. Princess Katharine:
charming and coquettish. Readings--Lady Macbeth: Act i., Scene 8, from
Macbeth. Katharine: Act v., Scene 2 (beginning "Fair Katharine"), from
Henry V.

6. _Women of Various Types_--Illustrative readings from As You Like It
(Rosalind), Hamlet (Ophelia), King Lear (Cordelia), Taming of the Shrew
(Katharine).

BOOKS TO CONSULT--E. Dowden: Transcripts and Studies. L. Lewes: Women of
Shakespeare. Mrs. A. B. Jameson: Characteristics of Women. Wingate:
Shakespeare's Heroines on the Stage.

The club members could add interest to this meeting by recalling the
famous actresses they may have seen, and comparing their presentations
of Shakespeare's women. For example, Mary Anderson as Juliet, Ada Rehan
as Katharine, Ellen Terry as Portia, Modjeska as Rosalind, and Julia
Marlowe as Ophelia.

IX--SHAKESPEREAN PROBLEMS

1. _His Personality_--How much education had Shakespeare? Did he reveal
himself in his plays? What were his personal characteristics?

2. _Characteristics of His Work_--Did he plagiarize? If so, was he
justified? Was his meaning always clear to himself? See Richard Grant
White on this point. Is his broad humor defensible? Discuss Taine's
criticism on this point.

3. _Estimate of Shakespeare in His Own and Later Times_--What did his
contemporaries think of him? Why was he ignored in the later