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In university, I played three of Shakespeare's interesting female lead characters.Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Rather than marry Demetrius, the man her father has chosen for her, after arguing her case, she runs away with Lysander, the man she loves. Her father begs the Duke, Theseus, to use the full weight of the law to make her comply and she is told that if she does not marry Demetrius her punishment will be death. Like other strong female characters in Shakespeare, Hermia stands up to her father, and even the most powerful man in their world. She does this with logical argument and remains calm while doing it. She then courageously runs away with her lover. Her strength lies in her calm assertiveness and her determination to control her own destiny rather than hand it to the men around her.
Lady Macbeth in Macbeth
Lady Macbeth is thought of as a very strong woman. She certainly exercises power over her husband, Macbeth, in the first half of the play, as she encourages him to murder Duncan. She uses her sexuality, she taunts him and mocks his lack of courage. She appeals to his sense of obligation towards her. She comes in more strongly as he wavers and finally he goes ahead with it. She seems like a strong woman but psychologically, she is not strong enough to deal with her guilt. Their marriage falls apart and they become estranged. She suffers terrible nightmares and finally commits suicide.
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Ariel in The Tempest
Ariel an Elemental Being of the higher order, identified with the upward-tending elements of Air and Fire, and with the higher nature of man; and he has made Caliban an Elemental Being of the lower order, identified with the downward-tending elements of Earth and Water, and the lower nature of man.
The identification is too detailed to be fanciful. The very name of Ariel is borrowed from air, and he is directly addressed: "Thou, which art but air." The identification with fire is not less complete: when describing the lightning Ariel does not say that he set the ship a-fire, but that the ship was "all a-fire with me": —
Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin,
I flamed amazement: sometime I'ld divide
And burn in many places.
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