The Thin Gender Line in Macbeth Essay - 975 Words

The Thin Gender Line in Macbeth Some people would do anything to get what they want. The characters of Macbeth are no exception. Shakespeare creates people who either strive for, or abuse authority. The men and women in Macbeth have varying degrees of guilt, power, and integrity. In order to compare the genders in Macbeth, one must understand how women were treated in Shakespeares time. The great Queen Elizabeth I died three years prior to the writing of Macbeth, and yet her reign made little difference on the matter of womens rights. At the time of Queen Elizabeths death, almost everyone of both sexes agreed that the female intelligence was less than that of the male (Fraser 4). Women were†¦show more content†¦Witchcraft fascinated Renaissance audiences - it figures in many plays, directly or indirectly (Wills 35). King James I was obsessed with witchcraft. Many of the conspiracies on his life involved witchcraft in some way (Wills 42). Women accused of witchcraft were often hanged or burned at the stake. Shakespeare was catering to his audience by using the weird sisters. He uses the witches to provide comic relief. They test Macbeths integrity, and he fails. There are two Macbeths: pre-murder and post-murder. In the beginning Macbeth is the epitome of the honorable man. His conscience is clear despite what he has done in battle. Duncan refers to him as valiant cousin, worthy gentleman (Waith 63). Macbeth allows himself to be manipulated by the weird sisters and his wife. He permits his wifes ambitions to become his own. She questions his masculinity, and he responds by committing a cowardly act: killing the king who is a guest in his home. Macbeth is supposed to be a strong warrior, but in reality he is easily influenced. He is physically strong and courageous, but is mentally weak. The Macduffs are stereotypical of their genders. Lady Macduff is more concerned with her family than with political affairs. Like a wren, she will fight, her young ones in her nest, against the owl (4.2.12-13). She is angry with her husband for placing the needs of the country over the welfare of theirShow MoreRelatedViolence and Its Forms1776 Words   |  8 Pagessomething we desire to see as an audience, yet simultaneously a majority of people would never commit the atrocities found in â€Å"Macbeth.† There exists a thin line between acceptable violence and violence that turns an audience away from sympathizing with a character. In this essay we will evaluate the differences between the various forms of violence found within â€Å"Macbeth,† and analyze why the audience can accept some acts of violence, while deeming others inhumane. The clearest breeds of violenceRead MoreSong of Hope by Kath Walker2251 Words   |  10 Pageswe for example, she begins the poem by saying, â€Å"Look up, my people†. This makes it feel more tailored for whomever the poem is directed to. be more specific - consider further your well chosen quote.  The poem also has a rhyming pattern of ‘not rhyme line’, B, B, C lower case. Also, there is intertextual referencing to the ‘Dream Time’. This poem is much like a story, and very symbolic. In the first verse if you should call it that, it is symbolizing the act of looking up to explain hope. It questionsRead MoreLooking for Richard Transcript11989 Words   |  48 Pagescast names in there and Ill be eternally tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop me a line. You wont hurt my feelings. Honest. Swing on back to Drews Script-O-Rama afterwards for more free movie scripts! Looking For Richard Script Our revels now are ended. These our actors, as I foretold you... ... were all spirits and are melted into air... ... into thin air. And, like the baseless fabric of this visià ³n... ... the cloud-capp d towers... ... the gorgeous palacesRead MoreSelected Topics24764 Words   |  100 Pagesan understanding of how impulse buying behaviour may affect the wealth of investors on the stock market. We conduct ordinary least square (OLS) technique to analyse the possible relationships between Impulse Buying and Age, Frequency of Trading, Gender and Impulse Rating within the framework of a general aim that inferencing relationships and estimating to the general population. Methodology: There is a need to employ more sophisticated techniques to the data in order to reap the full benefitsRead MoreProject Managment Case Studies214937 Words   |  860 Pagesthat its future growth could very well be determined by how quickly and how well it implemented project management. For the past several years, line managers had been functioning as project managers while still managing their line groups. The projects came out with the short end of the stick, most often late and over budget, because managers focused on line activities rather than project work. Everyone recognized that project management needed to be an established career path position and that some