What is Shakespeare's view of men in his plays?

In my observation, Shakespeare's general view of men, is that they are warlike, fickle, and dishonest, but frequently subject to great bursts of nobility, honesty, and honor, when given the right opportunity.

In most cases, youth is given the attribute of passionate, intense living and aged men are almost always deeply introspective and brooding. Young women are almost always fervent and romantic, whereas aged women are almost always bitter and bound by tradition.

These may have been his impressions of the culture around him, or of his personal experiences. Either way, I think it would be fascinating to see a full psychological assessment based on his writing.

I agree that women in Shakespeare plays are generally mentally strong. They are also more interesting. I think that the men are often portrayed as the playthings of women. (There is an element of homosexuality, but I don't get the sense that it was ever presented in the same way that we understand it in contemporary times.)

Perhaps, King Richard is an exception, but even then it was the women who were in control.

In answer to your question, physical strength and a macho sensibility were important to Shakespeare. But, it seemed to have an element of oafishness about it in most cases. Certainly, Hamlet comes off as flawed while the women are presented as the real doers.

Um, yankit, you have that backwards. All his FEMALE characters were played by men, as actresses were seen as prostitutes.

That's a really good question.

I don't know. If he were alive, I could ask him. Hmmm...now I really want to ask him...

Hi HippyChix
Shakespeare sees men as angels yet not?

Hamlet:
What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how
infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and
admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals—and yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me.

That seems the measure of the man
:)

i remember a piece of trivia that all his characters were played by women actors since men viewed acting as a less than manly art form.

Always blind. Love blindly, being jealous blindly, taking revenge blindly and dying blindly.

Shakespeare shows men to be venal and inadequate, easily manipulated by their female counterparts. Macbeth, for example, is motivated by greed, but to act upon his lust for power he needs to be persuaded by Lady Macbeth.

Likewise, in The Merchant of Venice, Portia uses a woman's wisdom to bring sanity into men's crazy dealings.