StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

William Shakespeares Macbeth - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
William Shakespeare's Macbeth has been recognised as one of the most important tragedies in world literature which deals with the protagonist's noxious and unchecked ambition for the crown of the nation and the heroine's desire for power and position. Whereas the great tragedy by Shakespeare engages several essential concepts and themes, critics have often been stimulated by the playwright's representation of gender and power in the play…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.6% of users find it useful
William Shakespeares Macbeth
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "William Shakespeares Macbeth"

Download file to see previous pages

Thus, there are spectacular evidences all through the characterisation and the plot of the play which suggest the importance of the Elizabethan culture in the representation of 'gender' in Macbeth. Therefore, a paradox of sexual confusion and gender roles is evident at the heart of the play. "'Macbeth, a virile warrior-hero, is at the same time an 'unfinished man' who murders because he has been convinced by his wife that only through violence will he achieve a state of heroism. His manhood, displayed in the utterly 'masculine' form of bloodshed, is not self-determined or innate, but rather infused into him by Lady Macbeth.

" (Sch'rkhuber, 2007, p. 75). Therefore, this paper analyses Shakespeare's representation of 'gender' in Macbeth and compares it with the representation of 'gender' in the 21st Century referring to current literature, media, and poetry. One of the central concerns of the critics of the play Macbeth has been the author's representation of feminism in the play which is noted for the reversal of gender roles. Thus, one finds that the playwright has been interested in representing females as dominating their counterparts and the major characters and themes of the play depict the difference in the sexual representation of males and females.

Whereas both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are obsessed by the same passion of ambition, the playwright represents its effect differently in males and females. Lady Macbeth, the chief representative of females in the play, evidently violates the natural law concerning gender roles and the character of Macbeth enhances the reversal of gender roles in the play. "Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are fired by the same passion of ambition. However, while Macbeth is presented as violating moral law, Lady Macbeth seems to violate natural law: she is unfeminine.

By eliminating in herself and her husband tenderness, pity and vulnerability to feeling - human qualities her culture tends to associate with women - Lady Macbeth becomes half man herself. Through his efforts to be supreme among all men, Macbeth re-enacts the ambivalence of his sexual identity: the more he tries to prove his masculinity, the greater his fusion with Lady Macbeth." (Sch'rkhuber, 2007, p. 75). Therefore, it is palpable to a careful reader of the tragedy that Lady Macbeth makes an essential attempt to assume masculine characteristics which can make herself a stronger person.

In addition, she also disparages her male counterpart, Macbeth, by attacking his own masculinity. "Macbeth shows a reversal in gender roles. The play questions what constitutes masculinity and femininity. It is important to Macbeth to be seen as a strong, powerful man. Lady Macbeth taunts him and mocks his sexuality to force him to get the courage to kill Duncan." (Thacker, 2008). In a careful analysis of the representation of feminism and masculinity in the play, one recognises that there is an evident reversal of gender roles by the playwright which can be comprehended as an attempt to identify with the contemporary Elizabethan culture.

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“William Shakespeares Macbeth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/performing-arts/1534506-william-shakespeares-macbeth
(William Shakespeares Macbeth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
https://studentshare.org/performing-arts/1534506-william-shakespeares-macbeth.
“William Shakespeares Macbeth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/performing-arts/1534506-william-shakespeares-macbeth.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF William Shakespeares Macbeth

The Relationship between Gender and the Woods in Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Tempest

The witches of macbeth and Prospero of The Tempest resemble each other in the fact that they were the prime plotters of all events and incidents that happened in the woods of the respective plays.... They did not facilitate macbeth in his way of accomplishing the milestones they predicted he would.... They predicted the fortune for macbeth.... If macbeth was destined to enjoy all ranks they predicted for him, he would have attained them whether or not he practically indulged in such activities that would lead him to attaining them....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Witches' Influence on Macbeth

This story of William Shakespeare demonstrates how inordinate ambition can corrupt a good man such as macbeth.... For how easy it was for the Witches to influence macbeth to take the path towards perdition by just appealing to his lust of power, that the once a loyal general became a heath.... The Tragedy of macbeth is a classic story penned by William Shakespeare that depicted how a man will fall into self-destruction with his excessive greed and inordinate ambition....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

The Tragedy of Macbeth by Shakespeare

Author Carolyn Asp in 1981 brought upon the attention of sexual stereotyping regarding the characters in Shakespeare's macbeth.... In her paper entitled “Be Bloody, Bold and Resolute”: Tragic Action and Stereotyping in macbeth, Asp discussed the obvious sexual stereotypes of the male and female characters as well as how they relate to the effectiveness of the plot and of the play itself.... The Tragedy of macbeth is a story about the rise of a king and the fall of a tyrant....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Greed, Power and Ambition in the Tragedy of Macbeth

Name Class Instructor Date Greed, power and ambition in the Tragedy of macbeth The Tragedy of macbeth is a classic story penned by William Shakespeare that depicted how a man will fall into self-destruction with his excessive greed, lust for power and inordinate ambition.... hellip; Although there were several factors that led to macbeth's self-destruction that includes his unfettered ambition and the machination of Lady macbeth, it was the weakness of his character that made him fall prey to the prodding of the witches who led him into self-destruction with his murderous spree beginning with the assassination of the King (Duncan), to murdering his friend Banquo, to the massacre of Macduff's wife and children in a gratuitous act of violence whose only motivation is revenge....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Macbeths Failure: Fate or Free Will

macbeth's fate plays a very important role in his failure.... macbeth is destined to fail if the witches' prophesies are considered as macbeth's fate (“macbeth's Destiny”).... One such play that leaves it up to the audiences to decide the role of fate and free will in the failure of its characters is macbeth by William Shakespeare.... The events in macbeth's life occur partly because of the witches' prophesies and partly because of his free will....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

The tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare and recent historical events

Four hundred years ago, in 1606, William Shakespeare wrote one of his most famous playwrights The Tragedy of macbeth.... … Both macbeth and the Venezuelan caudillos are strongly ambitious characters that use any means to achieve their goal: power.... For example, macbeth, at the beginning of the play, considers killing King Duncan, so that the prophesy he has been told will become truth: "Are less than horrible imaginings:/My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical" The tragedy of macbeth by William Shakespeare and recent historical events....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Macbeth

The artistic style of the passage, its relation to the entire play, the… The main characters, macbeth and Lady macbeth appear in this passage and through their conversation the complete plot of the play macbeth The passage for a critical analysis here is from macbeth, Act Scene V11, lines 35 to 59.... The main characters, macbeth and Lady macbeth appear in this passage and through their conversation the complete plot of the play come to light, exposing the complexity of it along with the hidden motives of the characters....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Text and Film Adaptation of Macbeth

The paper "Text and Film Adaptation of macbeth" aims to some similarities and differences between macbeth the film and macbeth the text.... Initially, readers come to hear of the name macbeth in the account of wounded soldiers in a battlefield by the captain's story.... As seen, the death of macbeth is described by two different expressions.... The first impression that strikes a reader's mind is that macbeth is a capable brave warrior but promptly, this impression is complex especially at a point when readers come to learn of his encounter with three witches (Rank 45)....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us