ipl-logo

Theme Of Gender Roles In Macbeth

556 Words3 Pages

William Shakespeare 's Macbeth is one of his most famous, bloody and suspenseful plays. In this five-act play, Shakespeare makes many comments on how the men and women in the show are thought to act. In the 11th century, men and women had very specific roles in society, but some of these characters challenge the characteristics of what is thought to only be of one gender. Shakespeare uses the complex theme of gender roles throughout the play to show the stereotypical characteristics of what men and women are thought to have. Gender roles are first mentioned when Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to make her more of a man so that she can murder for herself. “Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe …show more content…

Lady Macbeth feels like she has to convince Macbeth to kill before he gives up, so she thinks that threatening his masculinity will work. Another time gender roles are brought up is when Malcolm calls Macduff womanly because he is crying and that he should seek revenge to be a man. Macduff responds with, “Oh, I could play the woman with mine eyes / And braggart with my tongue (4:3:237-238)!” Macduff is embarrassed when seen crying because men were thought to not be emotional. Even today, men are taught that crying is for women. Macduff now feels as if he has to kill Macbeth for revenge. He also feels like he has to prove that he is masculine to Malcolm. In the end Lady Macbeth. Macbeth, Malcolm, and Macduff all make comments about gender roles and how genders should act in society. It is very interesting to read this play because people have been questioning gender roles in society a ton recently, so it is fascinating to see what Shakespeare wrote 400 years ago. Shakespeare uses the complex theme of gender roles throughout the play to show the stereotypical characteristics of what men and women are thought to

Show More
Related

  • Women In Macbeth

    965 Words  | 4 Pages

    Women, Power and the Devil; although many may incline to believe this to be the feminist holy trinity, it is, in fact, men's worst fear. Going back from second-century Christian theologian Tertullian who claimed women to be the gate of Hell (2) to a notorious American businessman who recently accused this presidential candidate of being the Devil himself (Volk and Sullivan,"Trump calls Hillary Clinton ‘the devil’"), men have always been prone to demonize women in order to prove their unfitness to govern. Shakespeare is no stranger to this thought pattern which he explores in his 1606 play, Macbeth. Indeed, Shakespeare's vile portrayal of Lady Macbeth and the Witches in the play stems from the medieval demonization of women. Through his choice

    Read More

  • Pursuit Of Power In Macbeth

    729 Words  | 3 Pages

    Well Lady Macbeth, who is dead set on having absolute power, disagrees with that. She convinces Macbeth to kill, to cover up the murders, and tries to convince him that these murders will get them to the top. Lady Macbeth calls upon the witches and states, “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty” (Macbeth Act 1 Scene 5 lines 31 and 31). This shows that while in the pursuit of power, Lady Macbeth wanted it so much that she asked the witches to “unsex” her and make her more like man. But along with that you see the theme of gender roles are uncertain which ties into Lady Macbeth leading Macbeth in this pursuit of power, also giving him the ambition that she wants him to

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Stereotypes In Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1514 Words  | 7 Pages

    This study will focus on the way in which Shakespeare crafts his play and uses dramatic devices in his portrayal of Lady Macbeth in order to confront the gender stereotypes of the time, femininity and the natural order of society. During the early 17th century there was a substantial fear that if women were liberated from their domestic, maternal roles, the historically patriarchal society would unravel. With prevailing challenges of gender such as “When you durst do it, then you were a man” Shakespeare uses the character of Lady Macbeth to transgress the natural limits concomitant with her sex. In order to be able to answer the research question, it is vital to concretely establish the contemporary gender roles and the context of the play.

    Read More

  • Masculinity In Macbeth Essay

    1372 Words  | 6 Pages

    but is then cast aside by her husband at the end. Shakespeare thus presents masculinity in both a positive and negative light. In Act 1, Shakespeare presents Macbeth with admired masculine qualities countered with Lady Macbeth criticising his idiosyncrasies. Lady Macbeth’s definition of a man is disparate to others’.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1183 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the popular play Macbeth, Shakespeare compares the gender stereotypes portrayed to those different pre-existing ideas from other generations such as the 1900’s, the 50’s, and even today 's society. Macbeth has plenty of examples of the exaggeration of gender roles that clearly differentiate male and female by construing their proper roles as polar opposite or complementary. Examples proving that there are gender stereotypes in Macbeth pertain to characters such as Lady Macbeth, The Witches, and Macbeth himself. In Macbeth, the many different stereotypes of gender roles from throughout the century to today’s society have been displayed in many aspects of the play. With examples of the exaggeration of gender constructs pertaining to the male

    Read More

  • Role Of Masculinity In Macbeth

    434 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this time a man’s masculinity was all that he had and for someone to question it would have almost forced the man to prove himself. In the twenty first century this same idea of being a masculine man still exist. If someone questions a man’s masculinity they most often seek to prove them wrong or prove that they are hyper masculine. In reality Macbeth had no choice to be aggressive because aggression and violence are what identified someone as being a true man, without these traits Macbeth would have been demasculinized. His pride, self-worth, and ambition would not allow that to happen, therefore, to prove himself as a man he killed his friends to meet his own self desires and ended up paying the price for his ambitious

    Read More

  • Violence And Masculinity In Macbeth

    402 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a strong correlation between violence and masculinity. In the play, Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth constantly battle the challenges of manhood. This can be supported by Lady Macbeth and her “unsex me speech” (Act 1.5.47-61). During the play Macbeth, characters tend to dwell on issues of gender and their roles in society.

    Read More

  • Masculinity In Macbeth

    834 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the beginning Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth was a ruthless and masculine woman. She showed the audience that, mentally and emotionally, she was stronger than Macbeth. Although as the story started to continue the audience began to see that she was becoming mentally insane. Throughout the story there was also evidence of shakespeare showing the more masculinity you had the more cuel you became.

    Read More

  • Rebellion Against Femininity In Macbeth

    787 Words  | 4 Pages

    It’s no surprise, that Shakespeare’s Macbeth was clearly constructed as a rebellion against femininity roles of the time. During the Elizabethan era, women were raised to believe they were inferior to men since men obtained desired masculine qualities such as strength, and loyalty, whereas women were viewed as figures of hospitality (1; 6; 28-31). Obviously, not being tempted by the luxury of subservient women, William Shakespeare rebuked this twisted belief, applying that women deserve more respect than their kitchen tables.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Gender Roles

    818 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout all of macbeth, gender roles are present in all of the halls of Macbeth's castle. It is extraordinary how William Shakespeare has molded and set examples of the male masculinity struggle and to uphold it, while on the other side how women must be treated as fragile birds. Shakespeare uses gender roles ironically to portray the complexity of the characters he has created. With all of human characters, the witches on their own face gender roles in the way of their appearances.

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Roles In Shakespeare's Macbeth

    998 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare believes that Gender roles shouldn’t be the stereotype of any relationship because the roles can be switched, and them being switched can cause a lot of trouble. When a woman thinks for men it ends up pretty bad. The play Macbeth shows that when a man follows a women's word because they love them, that's when

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Macbeth And The Great Gatsby

    1959 Words  | 8 Pages

    “Come, you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts,/unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of dire cruelty” (1.5.41-44). Lady Macbeth is the personification of male dominance, ruthlessness and violence. She hopes that she could take control of all action. She yearns to be a man and her implication is that she is more masculine than Macbeth. Her drive and violent nature is more akin to men and their masculinity.

    Read More

  • Essay On Women In Macbeth

    851 Words  | 4 Pages

    The women in Macbeth are presented by Shakespeare to be powerful and ambitious which was unlike the typical views during Jacobean times. The playwright portrays Lady Macbeth and the witches to be highly influential to male characters in the play, which again contrasts the contemporary views to that time. Their ambition and power are demonstrated through the perversion of nature. This highlights the evil and immoral side, they possess. Shakespeare, however, presented Lady Macbeth and the witches to be manipulative and cunning, rather than violent like Macbeth was during the play.

    Read More

  • Macbeth And Medea Analysis

    1655 Words  | 7 Pages

    Paul Vu Dr. Elizabeth C. Ramírez THTR 475A.03 2 May 2017 Macbeth and Medea: Breaking Expectations Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Medea by Euripides are known for their powerful critiques on the social expectations of women. Women during the time of Elizabethan and Greek theatre were often stereotyped and considered the weaker sex. Men were depicted as strong individuals who supported and protected women. However, both Shakespeare and Euripides broke expectations by portraying strong and iconic female characters in their respective plays. The idea of a strong female character was often unheard of during the time of Elizabethan and Greek Theatre.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Gender Roles Essay

    1476 Words  | 6 Pages

    Men were supposed to act as strong fighters, while women were locked in the domestic sphere. These gender roles are prominent in the character developments of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At first, Macbeth is a strong, heroic solider that shows unbounded courage in battle and loyalty to his king. As the play progresses, he becomes cold, ruthless, and miserable. Lady Macbeth takes on a “manly” role, which is surprising because of how patriarchal the society is.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Gender Roles In Macbeth

Open Document