How do you see medieval rulers? Are they strong and manly or weak and feeble? An important theme in Macbeth is the relationship between gender and power, Merriam-Webster’s dictionary merely says that manhood is “the condition of being a human being; or qualities associated with men.” Evidently, the ideas of what really constitutes manhood are vague at best. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses varying interpretations of manhood presented by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in order to debate the meaning of manhood and present his idea of true manhood. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the characterization of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is used to challenge masculinity, but acknowledge it’s importance. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is characterized as
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Macbeth also implies that she is a masculine soul inhabiting a female body. This seems to link masculinity to ambition and violence. Also, Lady Macbeth does not challenge Macbeth when he claims that a woman like her should only give birth to boys. She manipulates him by questioning his manhood. Soon after learning of the witches’ prophecies, Lady Macbeth calls on spirits to make her more like a man. “Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the’ access and passage to remorse” (I.v.47-51). This quote shows that Lady Macbeth believes manhood is fundamentally based on determination, a lack of remorse, and ruthlessness. Throughout the rest of the play, Lady Macbeth persists to her characterization of manhood, and frequently uses it to spur Macbeth into proving his manhood by ruthlessly killing those who stood in the way of Macbeth’s bid to become ruler of Scotland. Before murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth reprimands Macbeth in that fashion, saying, “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” (V.vii.56-58). Lady Macbeth is saying that Macbeth’s determined claims of being a man are all meaningless unless he takes action to demonstrate it. From this excerpt, it …show more content…
An example of this happens before Macbeth kills Duncan, where Macbeth questions whether or not he should murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth, with her masculine attributes, forces Macbeth to do it by saying his hope was drunk, and that he was afraid to “be the same in thine own act and valor … And live a coward in thine own esteem” (I.vii.39-51). The actions taken by Lady Macbeth show how masculinity can be a negative influence, by forcing Macbeth to do something that he probably doesn’t want to, that causes a spiral into their eventual downfall. In the middle of the play Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo, not the most masculine way to go about killing someone, but, this shows that Macbeth is trying to be masculine and by killing Banquo. His strive for masculinity shows that he is stuck in this downward spiral caused by masculinity, which underlines Shakespeare’s objection to masculinity. Because Lady Macbeth persisting to her idea of manhood, and use of it to spur Macbeth into proving his manhood, both characters collapse at the end of the book. Lady Macbeth commits suicide because of guilt from previous actions that she was able to do by possessing masculine traits and Macbeth’s masculinity causes him to become physiologically unstable, a bad ruler and lead to his death by Macduff. Throughout the play, Macbeth is Shakespeare’s representation
Macbeth also implies that she is a masculine soul inhabiting a female body. This seems to link masculinity to ambition and violence. Also, Lady Macbeth does not challenge Macbeth when he claims that a woman like her should only give birth to boys. She manipulates him by questioning his manhood. Soon after learning of the witches’ prophecies, Lady Macbeth calls on spirits to make her more like a man. “Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the’ access and passage to remorse” (I.v.47-51). This quote shows that Lady Macbeth believes manhood is fundamentally based on determination, a lack of remorse, and ruthlessness. Throughout the rest of the play, Lady Macbeth persists to her characterization of manhood, and frequently uses it to spur Macbeth into proving his manhood by ruthlessly killing those who stood in the way of Macbeth’s bid to become ruler of Scotland. Before murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth reprimands Macbeth in that fashion, saying, “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” (V.vii.56-58). Lady Macbeth is saying that Macbeth’s determined claims of being a man are all meaningless unless he takes action to demonstrate it. From this excerpt, it …show more content…
An example of this happens before Macbeth kills Duncan, where Macbeth questions whether or not he should murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth, with her masculine attributes, forces Macbeth to do it by saying his hope was drunk, and that he was afraid to “be the same in thine own act and valor … And live a coward in thine own esteem” (I.vii.39-51). The actions taken by Lady Macbeth show how masculinity can be a negative influence, by forcing Macbeth to do something that he probably doesn’t want to, that causes a spiral into their eventual downfall. In the middle of the play Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo, not the most masculine way to go about killing someone, but, this shows that Macbeth is trying to be masculine and by killing Banquo. His strive for masculinity shows that he is stuck in this downward spiral caused by masculinity, which underlines Shakespeare’s objection to masculinity. Because Lady Macbeth persisting to her idea of manhood, and use of it to spur Macbeth into proving his manhood, both characters collapse at the end of the book. Lady Macbeth commits suicide because of guilt from previous actions that she was able to do by possessing masculine traits and Macbeth’s masculinity causes him to become physiologically unstable, a bad ruler and lead to his death by Macduff. Throughout the play, Macbeth is Shakespeare’s representation