The Influence Of Masculinity In William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Register to read the introduction… In order to manipulate Macbeth and get him to do certain actions, Lady Macbeth simply makes comments testing his masculinity such as "When you durst do it, then you were a man . . ." (Shakespeare 43). In the passage, Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan because the murder will prove himself being a man. Lady Macbeth constantly uses Macbeth being a male against him. Mark Lugris states “Influenced by his wife, Lady Macbeth, the general kills the reigning King and steals the throne,” (Lugris). Lugris’ statement best explains the reason Macbeth murders Duncan. Without his wife’s influence, Macbeth probably wouldn’t have killed Duncan. Mahatma Gandhi states “Man's nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature,” (Gandhi). Gandhi’s statement applies to Macbeth’s situation because, like the quote states, Macbeth is not essentially evil; however, his love for his wife influences his decisions; furthermore, the only reason Lady Macbeth has influence on Macbeth is because of her constant testing of his manhood. Lady Macbeth is able to have influence on Macbeth and his decisions because she uses his manhood against him. Throughout the play Macbeth, Macbeth’s attitudes and goals change all because of his strive for power. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is loyal, and trustworthy. Towards the end of the play, however, Macbeth is power-hungry, delusional, and disloyal. Macbeth …show more content…
The factors, gender and power, evolve into conflicts amongst the characters. Such conflicts include, Macbeth killing Banquo, and Lady Macbeth influencing Macbeth. Gender and power are the key elements of the