The Theme Of Manhood In Macbeth

William Shakespeare's tragic play Macbeth is as intriguing as it is murderous. It was written in the 16th century, set in Scotland during the 11th century. The tragedy of Macbeth is a story of courage and honor. It gives an interesting mix of love and evil, and has a good storyline. This tragedy portrays how the main character, Macbeth, transforms from a said war hero to a murderer. Macbeth is filled with many themes hidden under the surface of the text, or the performance. A major underlying aspect of Macbeth's decisions, as well as other characters, fall under the theme of manhood; what it means to be a man. Over and over again in Macbeth, characters discuss and debate about manhood. From the witches to the Macbeths themselves, it revolves around whether they are man or not.
The biggest definition of what it means to be a man in his play actually doesn't come from Macbeth, believe it or not. The biggest definition on manhood comes from Lady Macbeth herself. Lady Macbeth is Macbeth's wife, but she certainly wears the pants in the relationship. Lady Macbeth argues that

Previously Macbeth has been filled with uncertainty about whether he should take the crown from Duncan or not. From this speech there is no uncertainty that Lady Macbeth is clearly willing to do whatever is necessary to seize the throne for her husband and her. Lady Macbeth has strength and a strong sense of purpose. This drive of her is contrasted with her husband’s uncertainty. Lady Macbeth is the man behind Macbeth; her ambition to do such thing is strong enough to drive her husband forward. This touches on the theme of masculinity by “unsexing”, it suggests that her womanhood will be vanished. The sense that Lady Macbeth has the man gender role the relationship deepened when Macbeth was uneasy about going through with the murders and Lady Macbeth told him that he needs to “be a man” and get on with