Gender study is one of the most select areas of modern research in nearly all branches of knowledge, that is, politics, history, sociology and of course literature. Feminist criticism has been phenomenal in closely studying works of literature. The modern era, which tries to usher in a world of equality for all, is highly concerned with the political, economic and social equality and freedom of women. In this article, four plays (Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, The Winter’s Tale and Cymbeline) of William Shakespeare have been selected for the purpose of gender analysis. The article tries to explore the family in Shakespeare’s times, the status of women and the social hierarchy in Elizabethan times. Shakespeare’s plays highlight many more issues of gender and identity that are of universal importance. This article also explores how gender roles were predetermined in the Elizabethan society and how a woman was expected to behave accordingly.

性别研究是几乎所有知识领域（即政治，历史，社会学以及当然是文学）的现代研究领域中选择最多的领域之一。女权主义批评在认真研究文学作品方面是惊人的。试图建立一个人人平等世界的现代高度关注妇女的政治，经济和社会平等与自由。在本文中，有四个剧本（《十二夜》，《驯悍记》，《冬天的故事》和《辛比林》威廉·莎士比亚（William Shakespeare）曾被选作性别分析之用。本文试图探讨莎士比亚时代的家庭，伊丽莎白时代的妇女地位和社会等级。莎士比亚的戏剧突出了更多具有普遍意义的性别和身份问题。本文还探讨了在伊丽莎白女王时代社会如何确定性别角色，以及如何期望女性表现出相应的行为。