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Gender Roles In Macbeth

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Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s, an immensely well known and respected playwright’s from the 1600’s, most popular and deeply analysed plays. The drama explores a variety of complex themes, and human vices such as greed, ignorance, and ambition while also famously challenging a variety of typical gender norms for the period. Shakespeare underlines the consequences of acting off spontaneous and impulsive thoughts through the characterisation of characters such as Macbeth, who’s transgressive actions led him to his unfortunate demise. Shakespeare warns the audience of the repercussions of being overly ambitious through the brutal death of Macbeth witnessed in Act 5 scene 8. Starting his journey on the stage, Macbeth is presented as a noble …show more content…

Some consider Lady Macbeth to be the catalyst of the tragic events in the play, advocating that Macbeth would have never gone through with the murder if it weren’t for her persistent persuasion. This evil manipulation is present in the quote “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” (Act 1, Scene 7). Lady Macbeth insults her husband’s masculinity with the intent of inciting the violence necessary to fulfill her vicious ambitions. In addition to her manipulations, Lady Macbeth makes her desires clear when she calls out for evil spirits to ‘unsex me here’, which ultimately makes her capable both mentally and physically, to commit the fierce murder that soon follows. This is observed in the quote “Come you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull/ Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, / Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse” (Act 1, Scene 5). Shakespeare masterfully showcases the effects Duncan’s murder had on the minds of both Lady Macbeth and her husband through various hallucinations and mental breakdowns later in the performance. These negative side effects in turn, position the reader to view the consequences an excess of ambition can have, developing into traumatic emotions such as guilt, and

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