William Shakespeare depicted lost princes and princesses in both The Winter’s Tale and Cymbeline. Neither play’s plot can be resolved until these lost heirs to the throne can be found. However, both plays employ dramatic irony by…

Portia is generally considered the de facto heroine of William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, while the play’s second-most prominent female character, Shylock’s daughter Jessica, is largely ignored in feminist criticisms of Merchant…