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The Tragedy of Macbeth: Gender, Power, Cruelty, and Masculinity.
William Shakespeare’s sexuality has been a “hot buttom” issue in the academic world for a long time. Even though this is believed because of a collection of sonnets that puts in doubt if the famous writer did or did not have an affair with a young man; it may also find a supporting argument with continuous gender role bending amonghis plays. The recurring theme is presented in several of his works such as The Tragedy of Macbeth, Othello, the Moor of Venice, and King Lear. All of these plays contain characters who defy the “natural behavior” of their respective sexes. Shakespeare, who is assumed to have born in 1564 in Stratford, England; married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. It is believed that Shakespeare started towrite compilations of sonnets during the beginning of 1590s; yet his Fist Folio was printed postmortem in 1623. It has around 900 pages, 154 sonnets, 38 plays, and two epic poems. Bard--as it is commonly called Shakespeare--is known for his realistic and human characters. The Tragedy of Macbeth is a great example of it. The story start with two brave warriors who defeat the Thane of Cawdor andNorwegian troops against their attack to Scotland and its King. Macbeth and Banquo, as the warriors are call, hear by mistake three witches on the woods. They prophecize that Banquo will be the father of a dynasty and that Macbeth will the Thane of Cawdor and King. When Macbeth founds out that as a gift for his bravery and loyalty King Duncan of Scotland has honor him by giving him the title of Thane ofCawdor; he believes the prophesy is real and therefore he will be crown King. Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to not leave it up to fate, but instead, kill King Duncan so that the position would be open. Macbeth doubts and his moral sense tells him not to murder his King, yet he does. King Duncan’s dead and his sons flea away from Scotland. From then on Macbeth keeps on fighting for the crownthat the “won” which means he kills Banquo and Macduff -who was another servant of the Duncan-’s family. The play ends with Lady Macbeth committing suicide, Macduff killing Macbeth and Malcom, King Duncan’s oldest son, coming back to Scotland to reign. There are many themes that have been detected on the play. Some of them are: fair and foul, power and ambition, kingship and tyranny, and genderrole bending. The Tragedy of Macbeth portrays the power bestow to masculinity, the view of female as meek, how gender role changes throughout the play as well as the different conceptions on masculinity. The Weïrd Sisters, as the witches of the play are known, are special characters. Their appearance in the play is scanting yet exact. They initiate the plot and feed it when it is required withoutbecoming a cliche. Shakespeare primarily separates them from the other characters with their speeches. The witches’ sort of wicked-childish words fall into a rhyming couple that seems ridiculous and absurd. Yet the Weïrd Sisters are possibly the most evil characters in the play since they act amoral about the situation they cause with their words to Macbeth. In fact, they seem to be enjoying allthe death and sorrow. They have the great power of foretelling the future; representing fate itself. This makes their role on the play crucial as for without them there would have been no plot. Secondarily, Bard distinguishes them by inserting storms and lightening to their scenes. These highlights the moments when they show in the play and by being a repetitive factor reminds the audience ofprevious entrance. Their physical aspect also differentiate them since these three women have beard and by this confusing Banquo and Macbeth about their sex. Witchcraft in the 17th century is described by the Associatedcontent’s literary analysis on Lady Macbeth as “female rule, ordain by the devil, and destroys the Elizabethan system of order by embodying chaos itself.” These are exactly what the...