Being A King is A Man’s Job, Right? Maybe not.
Honor, power, and respect—these are three of the most common themes in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. Many of the pivotal characters in this play, because they display honor and have earned respect from their peers, have a certain air of power around them. The characters do not just earn honor, power, and respect through their actions. In Macbeth, to maintain honor, power, and respect, men and women must conform to their societal mold, but members of each gender display attributes from the opposing gender.
To understand how these characters display qualities of their opposing gender, one first must understand the societal mold that each gender has. Kimbrough well describes how gender
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According to Lady Macbeth, to be a man, one must be brave and hold to their word, even if they had agreed to perform an act as heinous as murder. Though Macbeth loses the respect of his fellow lords when the fact that he has committed this crime is unearthed, he gains power and a sense of honor through his guilt. Not only does he feel empowered, so does Lady Macbeth. But, according to society, she should not be able to fathom, let alone mastermind such a treasonous murder scheme. This stereotype is present when Lady Macbeth asks Macduff about the ruckus when they discovered the murder of Duncan and Macduff tries to shield her from what has happened: “O gentle lady, / 'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak. / The repetition in a woman's ear/ Would murder as it fell.” (2.3.861-864). Macduff is assuming that Lady Macbeth cannot understand or handle the details of a murder, even though—unbeknownst to him—she devises the assassination herself. Men are thought to be able to handle news like this better because they would be emotionally numb. But, many murders later, Macduff finds that his wife and son have fallen victim to Macbeth’s paranoid lethal rampage, and finds that he cannot toss aside the sadness of these deaths like he did
4. Theme - Gender Roles Throughout this play, many characters equate cruelty and violence with masculinity; Lady Macbeth questions her husband’s masculinity in order to manipulate him to help her achieve her ambitions--goals that she cannot have as a woman. In an attempt to manipulate and convince Macbeth to follow through with Duncan’s murder, she mocks his worries, asking him “Hath it slept since? /
Lady Macbeth is the wife of Macbeth from the tragic play by William Shakespeare. Macbeth is estimated to have been played for the first time in 1606. Lady Macbeth is one of the few and only woman we hear from in the play, except for the recurring weird sisters and a few comments from Lady Macduff. Being the female who draws the most attention to herself, Lady Macbeth would not only be a fascinating role to play, but she is an interesting character to analyse as well. Considering the typical stereotype of a woman and how she should portray femininity, Lady Macbeth would not be the most feminine of her kind. In the time period of Macbeth, a woman was the weaker sex, physically and emotionally, and it would be their significant other or father
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
A prominent theme in William Shakespeare’s novel Macbeth is the idea of universal masculinity. Throughout the play, Shakespeare utilizes male gender stereotypes to present conflicting views on the definition of manhood. Macbeth tells the reader about a man who allows both societal pressures inflicted upon him by his wife and his intense ambition to drag Macbeth into a spiral of committing obscene acts of violence. Characters often associate being a man with courage, cruelty and power. This pervading caricature of a “man” is evident to the reader throughout the play. Lady Macbeth, for instance, goads Macbeth about his masculinity to the point of murder. Additionally, Malcolm and Macduff’s rigid discussion on revenge reveals a defined notion of “true” masculinity. Perhaps the culmination of rigid gender stereotypes is evident in Macbeth's pondering of the legitimacy of the hired murderers' manhood. Clearly, Shakespeare upholds male gender stereotypes throughout Macbeth.
Power is a theme used by Shakespeare throughout the play Macbeth. The plot involves Macbeth trying to gain more power. Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan so that he will become king in his place. Macbeth also is persuaded to kill anyone who threatens his chances of being king, including Banquo. Power is used by certain characters in the play to influence others. One such character is Lady Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, she is a strong-willed character. She takes on the role of a dominant male. She has great influence over her husband, who appears to be weaker than she is. It is her influence that convinces Macbeth to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth is the dominant partner at the beginning of the play, she persuades Macbeth to achieve his goal, and she plans the murder of Duncan.
Gender roles in Macbeths society automatically expect men to be physically and emotionally stronger than women, however, lady Macbeth plays as a juxtaposition to Macbeth; encapsulating the emasculating woman prototype. She wants to abandon all her feminine qualities as she recognises that the characteristics she wants are not acceptable for females. She asks the spirits to "unsex" (1.5 46) her and to fill her "from the crown to the toe, top-full/ Of direst cruelty" (1.5 46). It is in gaining these ‘masculine’ characteristics in Lady Macbeth ultimately attacks Macbeths biggest insecurity- his masculinity. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious and power hungry than Macbeth, and uses him as a vice for her own power conquests. It is at times when he doubts what is right and wrong for his own ambition, that Lady Macbeth uses her power of manipulation to call his manhood into question. At first, Macbeth suggests that killing the King would make him less a man and would cause him too loose his humanity, however, he changes his mind as Lady Macbeth proposes that a real man keeps promises and acts on his ambitions: "When you durst do it, then you were a man;/ And, to be more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more the man" (1.7 54-56). Macbeth therefore murders Duncan to prove that he would be defeated neither by his fear
... truly seen as a character when he discovers the just previously murdered Duncan. He shows utter shock at the sight of the deceased Duncan and is first to question Macbeth about the suspicious act, including the death of the servants. Macduff provides Macbeth with paranoia that is evident through the rest of the play and Macduff continues to show his loyalty to Duncan even after the murder by making it his goal to ensure the rightful king is crowned. Macbeth is told by the witches to beware of Macduff, but also that he may not be harmed by anyone “born of woman”. Macduff is therefore destined to slay Macbeth and end the conflict that Macbeth has created with his ambition as his was “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb. The heroic Macduff through bravery and fate is able to withstand the prophecy and kill Macbeth honoring his family, morals and all of Scotland.
Masculinity is a topic that is debated often in our society. Today, men are expected to be strong, wise and protective. Although the idea of manhood was different when this play was published, many of the concepts are similar. This theme in Shakespeare’s Macbeth is illustrated by persuasion, power and the lead characters several spontaneous actions.
Although I do not intend here to resolve the question of gender in Macbeth (actually, I hope to provoke further thoughts on interpretation), I do wish to note that Shakespeare has forcefully bound the cultural problem of violence to the promulgation and validation of the roles a community assigns by sex. Read the play; attend a performance; consider the moral and ethical implications bound up in the plot of a would-be king who sheds true manhood even as he fulfills the masculine ideal.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, he uses the theme of manhood to create motives for characters to act like a man. This is seen in many occurrences in Macbeth where characters try to act like men for certain reasons. Characters that apply this action are Macbeth, the first murderer, Macduff, and Young Siward. These actions are seen throughout the play, and play a key role in the development of the performance.
Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatically shows what can happen when our common gender roles are broken. He shows the power that people can have over others when they aren’t acting the way they’re expected to.
Why is it that women are portrayed to be lesser than men? The story of Macbeth and the story of Adam and Eve are very comparable. While the three witches tempt Lady Macbeth, Eve is induced by the Devil in disguise as a serpent. Both these female characters convince their “superior” lovers to do something sinful. In the case of Macbeth, killing King Duncan, while in the case of Adam and Eve, eating from the tree of knowledge.
Shakespeare, one of the most famous play writers in history, wrote Macbeth in 1606. Many women were not allowed to perform in plays during that time period; however, Shakespeare did have very few females act out roles in his play (Shakespeare: Sample). Shakespeare viewed his women as strong-willed individuals (“Macbeth.” 227 ) when in reality they were often gone unrecognized (Women in Anglo). The character, Lady Macbeth, was a frightening, ambitious woman. Lady Macbeth often wished to “unsex herself” to carry out the killing of King Duncan on her own as her husband showed no manly characteristics to do it. Women during the Anglo-Saxon time period however, were way different then the way Shakespeare viewed his women during his time period.
Gender is evidently out of its traditional order within the play, and thus the three chosen exemplar characters to showcase this are Lady Macbeth, the Witches, and Macbeth. In saying this, Lady Macbeth is a clear example of how the traditional characteristics of a woman are non-existent as they are taken over by masculinity and strength. The witches challenge their womanhood due to the power they hold and attributes they have, all while Macbeth challenges his gender as he shows femininity through weakness and fretfulness.
.... The theme of masculinity being displayed throughout the play, particularly by Macbeth himself, reinforces his position in terms of importance. This revolving notion can be justified through the manner in which the audience views Macbeth’s own urge for power- over femininity and also for the throne; thus slowly developing a setting for the preceding plot. Once again Macbeth is also imperative in regards to the story line, as he is the figure in which Shakespeare tends to propose certain principles and consequences.