人教高中英语高二下UNIT19-4（在线收听）

                                                                                SHAKESPEARE’S HEROINES
         One of the most famous young women from Shakespeare' s plays is Juliet, in Romeo and Juliet. A fight between their two families makes it impossible for Romeo and Juliet to get married. However, they marry each other in secret. The only way to be together is to move to another city. To do so, Juliet has a plan. First, she takes a drug that makes her appear to be dead. When she wakes, a friend will help her escape from the tomb. Unfortunately, not only her family believe that she is dead, Romeo thinks so too. He is so sad that he kills himself. When Juliet wakes up and finds Romeo dead, she kills herself too.
          At the beginning of the play Juliet is just a little girl. Meeting with the handsome, intelligent and charming Romeo, she immediately falls in love with him. Neither Romeo nor Juliet is interested in any of the violence between their families. To them love is the most important thing. Loving Romeo, Juliet grows up showing amazing courage. From being a girl guided by duty, she becomes a loyal young woman of strength and self-determination.
          Portia, in The Merchant of Venice, is a woman quite different from Juliet. While Juliet can be seen as a character of passion and imagination, Portia stands out for her intelligence. It is her sharp mind and debating skills that make Portia the heroine of the play.
          Portia is intelligent, rich and beautiful. Handling the court case gives her the opportunity to show that she can be creative. Not only does she know the rules of the law very well, she can also apply them in new ways and play with the meaning of words. Anybody can break the rules, but few people have Portia's skills to make the law work for her.
          Although there are many more women in Shakespeare's plays who deserve to be admired, there is one who should never be forgotten. She is not known for her passion, nor for her intelligence. Instead, she is known for the goodness of her heart, her feelings of love and caring.
          In King Lear, Cordelia is Lear' s youngest and favourite daughter. Lear, the old king of Britain, decides to divide his country among his three daughters. First, however, he puts them through a test, asking each to tell him how much she loves him. The two oldest daughters are dishonest. They use beautiful words to win their father's trust. But Cordelia remains silent, saying that she has no words to describe how much she loves her father. This makes Lear very angry with her. Only towards the end of the play does King Lear learn who is his truest daughter.
          Being honest with her father has made her lose his love, her part of the country and a lot of money, but Cordelia does not care for all that. She remains loyal to her father despite his cruelty towards her, and can even forgive him. Her main characteristics are devotion, kindness and honesty. Although Cordelia' s role in the play is rather small, she shines as the heroine of goodness and wisdom, and has earned a place in the hearts of all readers of King Lear.