Discuss the ways in which femininity is presented in Hamlet.

First I would discuss with the student what 'femininity' means, and who in the play this word might relate to.Femininity= womanliness/feminine qualities, so obviously relates to the women in the play: Gertrude and Ophelia.I would raise the question of whether male characters may possess femininity, leading us to think about Hamlet. Why do we think of Hamlet as a feminine character? ("'Tis unmanly grief" - Claudius, for e.g.)Then discuss how something can be 'presented', i.e. through actions or speech/description (e.g. the way in which Ophelia talks, or the way in which Hamlet talks about Gertrude).Once the student had unpacked the question, we would move on to look at a few key scenes, such as the scene where Laertes gives Ophelia advice, the bedchamber scene, Ophelia's flower scene, potentially one or two of Hamlet's soliloquys.Presentations of femininityGertrude: betrayal/incest/treachery are linked to being a woman"Frailty thy name is woman" - Hamlet links betrayal (of his mother) to all womenOphelia:Virginity/chastity - Laertes and Polonius both make it clear that Ophelia is valuable for her marriage potential, not for her actual substance as a personMadness: expressed with flowers (key symbol of the feminine), presented as a distinctly feminine type of madnessHamlet: his weakness/madness is linked to the feminine"'Tis unmanly grief"(Contrast to Laertes, Hamlet's foil, the pinnacle of manliness)Come to the conclusion that femininity, though presented in many ways (as clear from above), it is presented in an overwhelmingly negative light.