Department or Program
English
Abstract
This project interrogates William Shakespeare’s use of wit in his comedies, both as a tool to safely critique power structures and a transportive verbal skill that creates utopian communities for female characters. Many of Shakespeare’s comedies feature female characters whose wit is celebrated by the men around them but is never truly understood despite the innate truths about oppression and power that lay just under the surface of their words. I utilize queer and feminist theory on wit, utopia, and ethics to propose that feminist wit, in the case of Shakespeare, is a survival tool that actively creates eroticism and visibility between characters. My project starts with Kate from The Taming of the Shrew. She, I argue, begins Shakespeare’s investigation of wit as a tool for critiquing patriarchy. The following section focuses on Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing where feminist wit is further developed. Beatrice not only uses wit to critique patriarchy, but also to unravel patriarchal consumption, and create mutual love with Benedick. Finally, feminist wit is perhaps most effective in the case of Rosalind and Celia from As You Like It. Queer utopia begins for these two women in the forest of Arden and is continued through their shared wit into their everyday lives in a patriarchal society.
Level of Access
Open Access
First Advisor
Adkison, Katie
Date of Graduation
5-2025
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Recommended Citation
Hynes, Eva Rioux, "“Better a Witty Fool Than a Foolish Wit”: Feminist Wit in Shakespeare’s Comedies" (2025). Honors Theses. 486.
https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/486
Number of Pages
91
