...Macbeth and Gender John J. Armes, M.Ed. Ashford University June 4, 2018 Dominance; This theme occurs in so many of William Shakespeare’s plays because it is vital to the creation of conflict within a storyline. The Plot of Macbeth would have never advanced if the foresight given by the witches did not make Macbeth willing to take power away from Duncan and become king himself. Many of Shakespeare’s female characters have also been willing to obtain power; however, achieving power was not as easy as it was for men. Women were not put into leadership roles as easily as men were; they had to seek them out. Lady Macbeth from Macbeth is a the perfect example of a woman who took action to control her own life and the lives of those around...
Words: 1860 - Pages: 8
...Shakespeare’s Macbeth explores the thought, behavior, values, and power in the relationships between men and women. Each of these themes are portrayed in Macbeth through the role of gender. Gender can be seen through certain characters such as Lady Macbeth specifically in Shakespeare’s soliloquies. These soliloquies reveal the true characteristics of Lady Macbeth, and they also exemplify the reasoning behind the character's’ behavior toward others. The role of gender is portrayed through the actions of Lady Macbeth because of her desire to act superior and take control of all situations. When Shakespeare first introduces Lady Macbeth, it is clear that she often manipulates people for her own benefit. One of Lady Macbeth’s most...
Words: 645 - Pages: 3
...MacBeth has many themes, for example the corruption that comes with power and kinship versus tyranny, disloyalty, and a major one, gender roles. Back in William Shakespeare's day, women were told what to do by their husbands so in the story, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth defies the gender roles of society tells Macbeth what to do. Lady Macbeth made the analogy that if she would have made a promise to macbeth,of killing her baby that she would have followed through with it and not question it like macbeth is about killing the king. She not only forced him, she manipulated him or brain-washed him into doing it. After she helped him with the murder of Duncan, she started to lose her mind, she sred sleep walking and got so crazy and lost...
Words: 346 - Pages: 2
...Gender Roles in Macbeth Macbeth has proven to conform and challenge the gender norms of his time. He is seen as submissive in his marriage. He is seen as a strong, warrior. He is seen as an easily manipulated and convincible person.Throughout the play, and further research, he confirms all of these statements. Macbeth may be the man of the house, but he is not the dominant spouse. For example: Macbeth is told he will be a king, as a result Lady Macbeth is making a plan to kill Duncan. Macbeth, after talking with Duncan, decides he doesn’t want to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth hears this and replies with “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (1.7.49). Implying that he is weak and will never be a man unless he does this. Lady Macbeth to...
Words: 413 - Pages: 2
...In the Elizabethan Era gender roles were strictly defined and maintained by those in high society. Throughout Macbeth, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a slow demise to insanity as they attempt to . In addition to motifs like blood, hands, and nature, Shakespeare uses gender reversals to convey the importance of congruency within genders. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth uses gender role reversals to show the character’s progression to insanity, this is to inforce the notion that men and women need to stay within their predetermined roles. Men are typically viewed as ruthless and carouse, but the men in Macbeth are seemingly gentle and value life; however, the women, especially Lady Macbeth, are the opposite of demure and very headstrong....
Words: 1038 - Pages: 5
...Not so Lady Macbeth Gender roles play a huge part in history as women have always been seen as soft, very primitive, and especially proper. Lady Macbeth challenges these gender roles to an extreme as her character is highlighted as a power thirsty and sinister woman who will do anything to get to the crown. In the traditional gender roles of Elizabethan society by being characterized by Shakespeare as a very sinister woman who will goes as afar as murder and treason to obtain her darkest desires. The Elizabethan times took place during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign on the English throne. During this time period, prosperity was extremely rapid, which resulted in gender roles being exemplified even more than before. Men were the obvious superior to women and treated them like objects. Women typically...
Words: 633 - Pages: 3
...Domestic, submissive, and passive─these are the qualities associated with women during seventeenth century England. The roles of men and women within society remain somewhat consistent for the entirety of the seventeenth century England. Women in society play the mother role whereas men take on the warrior role; however, the dismissal of gender specific characteristics in literature often contradicts the gender roles throughout the 1600s. For example, Macbeth includes several characters that fail to possess the qualities typically associated with their gender. The subversion of gender roles in Macbeth becomes particularly evident during the planning of Duncan’s murder and then in the overthrow of Macbeth. These two events highlight the sharp...
Words: 1503 - Pages: 7
...William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, takes place in 11th century Scotland, and has its own portrayal of that society. Although it may not be entirely accurate, the society that Shakespeare develops has distinctive gender roles and societal expectations for each gender. In this society lives Macbeth, a military nobleman trusted by the king who eventually becomes king himself, but through a murder encouraged by his wife, Lady Macbeth. His reign is tainted with inhumane acts such as murdering the family of his former friends, and hiring assassins to kill one of his friends. At the conclusion of the play, Lady Macbeth dies from unknown causes, Macbeth is murdered by Macduff, another nobleman, and Scotland rejoices because Macbeth’s reign of terror...
Words: 1547 - Pages: 7
...The Manipulation of Gender Performance and the Gendered Body by Shakespeare’s Volumnia and Lady Macbeth In both Coriolanus and Macbeth, powerful women exploit their power over important male figures through their manipulation of gender roles and performance. In “Identity-Formation and the Breastfeeding Mother in Renaissance Generative Discourses and Shakespeare’s Coriolanus,” Victoria Sparey compares the symbolic relevance of breast milk and blood in Shakespearean literature to explain the immense power Volumnia holds over her son Coriolanus. Ralph Berry argues the sexual motivation behind Volumnia’s control in his article “Sexual Imagery in Coriolanus.” Berry states that “from Volumnia, we derive a strong impression of the interlinked impulses of sex and power” (316). Lady Macbeth’s character and influence over her husband is explored thoroughly in William T. Liston’s "Male and Female Created He Them": Sex and Gender in "Macbeth." Liston outlines the ways Lady Macbeth manipulates both her husband’s masculinity and her own femininity to achieve her personal ambitions. Although Sparey and Berry examine the motives and character of Volumnia and Liston recounts the ambitious incentives of Lady Macbeth, this paper will focus on the performance of gender and how it is used to manipulate the masculine body, the feminine body, and to overcome the societal boundaries set out for individuals at the time of Shakespeare’s writing. Using Judith Butlers concept of gender performativity, Volumnia...
Words: 2146 - Pages: 9
...Blind Leading the Blind In MacBeth, Shakespeare writes about a greedy, power-hungry man who murders the king to fulfill his selfish desires. MacBeth was one of King’s Duncan’s noblemen and honorable general. However, after he is claimed as the Thane of Cawdor and Glamis, he believes a prophecy by three witches that he will become King and, along with his wife, decides to murder King Duncan in an attempt to gain more power. Although MacBeth grew uncertain about going through with the assassination, his wife, Lady MacBeth, manipulates and deceives him to follow through. As a king, he becomes a tyrant and starts to kill anyone who he felt threatened his position on the throne, including one of his good friends, Banquo and the family of MacDuff. Throughout his reign, the MacBeth’s guilty consciences take a toll on them and eventually lead to both of their downfall. Furthermore, MacBeth’s reign does not last long when MacDuff gets revenge against the tormentor by killing him in the end. As a result, King Duncan’s son, Malcolm, becomes king. Through the use of symbolism and characterization, William Shakespeare, in MacBeth, depicts how one’s desire to gain power causes others to change gender roles to create deception within an environment. In MacBeth, MacBeth’s horrific murders proved how strongly he desired to gain power. Desire means to have a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. When a person desires something, he or she becomes...
Words: 2516 - Pages: 11
...strived to be accepted as manly, and Shakespeare's Macbeth is no exception. Shakespeare's Macbeth (1623) is about a man named Macbeth and his journey to gain power and his struggle to keep it. In the play Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches on the moor. The witches make a prophesy that Macbeth will be King of Scotland and that Banquo's blood line will rule Scotland even though he will not be King. Macbeth later kills Duncan, the current King of Scotland, and becomes King himself. Macbeth orders for Banquo and his son to be killed, but Fleance escapes. The longer Macbeth is king the more suspicious he becomes of the people around him and the more worried he is about securing his blood line as the ruler of Scotland. The play concludes with Macduff killing Macbeth, and Malcolm (the rightful heir and son of Duncan) becomes King. In Macbeth the definition of a true man can best be seen through gender stereotyping, reversal of gender roles, and the depiction of men who uphold the manly virtue. One of the most important views on being a true man is that of Macbeth's. This view can best be seen in the scene when Macbeth is talking to the murderers about killing Banquo. Macbeth asks the murderers if they are men. Naturally they respond, "We are men, my liege" (3.1.90.). But that is not good enough for Macbeth. He agrees that they are men because they are of the male gender: "in the catalogue ye go for men" (3.1.91). But for Macbeth manhood is not given to one at birth; manhood is a...
Words: 1086 - Pages: 5
...their traditional gender norms. For example, in spite of being the ideal male warrior that “Odysseus the great soldier” is, he, like many of the female characters, weaves his way through conversations to solve his problems. For instance, in book five, Kalypso the nymph, who is keeping Odysseus captive, says: “’though you wanted her forever, that bride for whom you pine each day… can I be less desirable than she? Less interested? Can mortals compare with goddesses in grace and form’ To this the strategist Odysseus answered: ‘My lady goddess, here is no cause for anger. My quiet Penelope… would seem a shade before your majesty.’” (Bk. 5 ln 218-226)...
Words: 683 - Pages: 3
...From shamming ones feminine acts to discriminating because of gender, Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, is infused with quotes that reveal how each character portrays gender roles. Determined to become King, Macbeth kills anyone that gets in his way. Lady Macbeth has an important role in Macbeth's actions; throughout the play she provokes him to do specific tasks when he fears that he has gone too far. The theme of gender is a prominent theme that exposes the personalities of the different characters and forwards the plot of the play. Characterization is an essential element to help the viewers connect with the characters and further the understanding of the story. To begin with, at the beginning of the play when Lady Macbeth fears that her husband might not be up for the brutal task of killing another person, she says, “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top – full of direst cruelty” (1.5.40-42). This quotation shows that Lady Macbeth wants to become more cruel. Lady Macbeth is saying she wants to be stripped of her femininity to become more masculine because in her mind to be cruel is a more masculine trait that her husband lacks. Secondly, Lady Macbeth states that she would be cruel enough too kill her own child in order for her husband to advance to become king. Lady Macbeth says, “I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done this” (1.7.56-59). Again this...
Words: 416 - Pages: 2
...William Shakespeare's play “Macbeth“, Shakespeare shows the challenges of the ideas of traditional gender roles, like power, masculinity, and leadership. In act 1 there is a quote that I believe is a good example for my thesis. Lady macbeth finishes reading the letter of the witches prophecy and then says “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/Make thick my blood“ (1.5.47-54). she is calling the "spirits" to make her into a man that she believes her husband can't be. She refuses to act how her society suggests she should. Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as ruthless and evil instead of obedient and nurturant, which is how females are usually seen as....
Words: 600 - Pages: 3
...March 2015 Macbeth is written during the reigning of king James I. A time when a man was expected to be strong, brave, gallant and the head of his home. A lady was to be found weak, waiting for her husbands next command. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do not fit into their stereotype or gender roles, they display characters of role reversal. Macbeth is the opposing stereotype of what a man should be. In this time period men where known for their strengths, bravery, greediness and sometimes murder. To the public and his friends Macbeth seemed to be a man in control of his wife and household but behind closed doors he was all the characteristics a man should not be. Macbeth displayed characteristics more suitable for a woman such as; self doubt, worried, fear and guilt. “I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on’t again I dare not” (Macbeth Act II, Scene II page 35). Macbeth is persuaded by his wife to kill Duncan even when he objects and has doubts. In the beginning of the play Macbeth allows his wife to make the majority of their decisions. Who he should kill and what guest they invite to the party in order for him to become king. This shows his character to be weak and void of leadership. Stereotypical when you hear the name Lady Macbeth you think etiquette, elegance, meekness, soft spoken and gentle. Lady Macbeth is quite the opposite. Her characteristics in the play are empowering, greedy, fearless, evil and murderous. Not only does Lady Macbeth display characters...
Words: 555 - Pages: 3
