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Seven Plays by William Shakespeare with Transgender Characters: plus Hamlet
Seven Plays by William Shakespeare with Transgender Characters plus Hamlet Author:William Shakespeare The plays in this book include some of the most popular that Shakespeare ever wrote: As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, Cymbeline, and Hamlet. Seven of these plays by Shakespeare all feature crossdressed or transgender characters, both women in ... more »men's clothing and men in women's dress. Only one, featuring Falstaff, could be construed as a comic device. The Elizabethan sensibility did not include the modern conception of "transgenderism," indeed at that time, all roles on stage were played by men and boys. So, one might claim that all of Shakespeare's plays were transgender. These seven, however, have explicit crossdressing, sometimes through most of the play. Hamlet is added to this collection, although Shakespeare did not write a transgender character into the play. Nevertheless, Hamlet is included with these others to honor the two dozen or more actresses who have played the title role on stage, from Sarah Siddons to Sarah Bernhardt.« less