Androgyny In Macbeth Essay

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Androgyny was first mentioned in Plato’s Symposium: People used to be spherical, man and woman use to be attached back to back, but Zeus separated them as a punishment for defying gods(Neel). In modern literature, Virginia Woolf have used the idea of androgyny several times in her work, A Room of One’s Own. She said, “It is when this fusion takes place that the mind is fully fertilized…... one meant by manwomanly, and conversely by woman–manly, by pausing and looking at a book or two” (Woolf). Androgyny does not mean homosexual, it is a combination of both traits from the feminine and the masculine. Woolf thought a great litterateur should possess these traits, she mentioned in her works, Coleridge, Keats, and Shakespeare are all to be so (Woolf). Androgyny is used in many of Shakespeare’s play, for example,Viola in Twelfth Night, and Portia from The Merchant of Venice. In Shakespeare’s play they have all been cross-dress to better play the role. Macbeth, one of William Shakespeare’s tragedies have also been implanted with the idea of Androgyny.
In the tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare applied the thought of Androgyny deep in to the play. Androgyny is seen in the two major characters from the play, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth. It is shown with Macbeth’s lack of manliness, and Lady Macbeth’s frightening characteristics. The lack of manliness shown in Macbeth caused Lady Macbeth to unsex herself. Lady Macbeth is forced into androgyny by Macbeth, who lacks manliness and causes her to abandon some of her femininity while ultimately gaining traditional traits related to men.
Throughout the entire play, Macbeth’s lack of manliness was often questioned by Lady Macbeth. And because of this lack of manliness that exist in ma...

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...he is not a cold blooded creature, she does have feeling towards people who are close to her. “Help me hence, ho!” (2.3.135), these are the words that she said right before she fainted; Many people thought she is just acting, but perchance she is not. She cannot withstand seeing the face so much like her father that is covered in blood. Lady Macbeth’s feminine traits are noticeable in the play, although she wishes to unsex herself but there are still some feminine traits that remained in her.
Traits that was seen in Macbeth throughout the play are sometimes more feminine than masculine and the ones in Lady Macbeth are viceversa comparing to Macbeth. Because of the feminine traits in Macbeth are once in a while more stood out than the masculine ones, Lady Macbeth is been force to take the dominion, pushing Macbeth to his success of getting what he deeply desire.

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