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Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 7 of the play. In this scene, Macbeth has just said that he doesn’t want to kill Duncan and Lady Macbeth begins to talk him around.
Read this extract from Act 1 Scene 7 of the play. In this scene, Macbeth has just said that he doesn’t want to kill Duncan and Lady Macbeth begins to talk him around.
LADY MACBETH
LADY MACBETH
Was the hope drunk
Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dressed yourself? hath it slept since?
Wherein you dressed yourself? hath it slept since?
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale
At what it did so freely? From this time
At what it did so freely? From this time
Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard
Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard
To be the same in thine own act and valour
To be the same in thine own act and valour
As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that
As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'
Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'
Like the poor cat i' the adage?
Like the poor cat i' the adage?
MACBETH
MACBETH
Prithee, peace:
Prithee, peace:
I dare do all that may become a man;
I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none.
Who dares do more is none.
LADY MACBETH
LADY MACBETH
What beast was't, then,
What beast was't, then,
That made you break this enterprise to me?
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And, to be more than what you were, you would
And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man.
Be so much more the man.
Starting with this extract, how does Shakespeare present gender in Macbeth?
Starting with this extract, how does Shakespeare present gender in Macbeth?
In your answer you should:
In your answer you should:
· Look at gender in the extract above and
· Look at gender in the extract above and
· Look at gender in the play as a whole
· Look at gender in the play as a whole
Plan:
Plan:
P1: Introduction about gender and outline brief argument
P1: Introduction about gender and outline brief argument
P2: Focus on Lady Macbeth and her deceptive ways
P2: Focus on Lady Macbeth and her deceptive ways
P3: Focus on Macbeth and his role as victim
P3: Focus on Macbeth and his role as victim
P4: Conclusion of argument, and modern vs Jacobean context
P4: Conclusion of argument, and modern vs Jacobean context
Throughout the play Shakespeare toys with the stereotypical roles of each gender in Jacobean England and most noticeably seems to reverse these roles at several key points in the play. While the traditional roles are seemingly apparent at the beginning, with Macbeth being a valiant soldier and Lady Macbeth being a ‘Lady’, the gender roles of both become increasingly ambiguous and indistinct as the plot develops. This fact is somewhat subtly highlighted in the witches’ iconic opening line “Fair is foul and foul is fair” which establishes a setting where nothing is as it seems, including the typical roles of each gender. The decisions made by Macbeth, which were undoubtedly under the powerful influence of women, and the damaging consequences to these actions are central to this tale of a tragic, ‘brave’ hero and the message Shakespeare was trying to get across. He seems to argue that women should not be given too much power as that power can have a detrimental impact on a man’s life, especially a well-respected soldier like Macbeth was.
Throughout the play Shakespeare toys with the stereotypical roles of each gender in Jacobean England and most noticeably seems to reverse these roles at several key points in the play. While the traditional roles are seemingly apparent at the beginning, with Macbeth being a valiant soldier and Lady Macbeth being a ‘Lady’, the gender roles of both become increasingly ambiguous and indistinct as the plot develops. This fact is somewhat subtly highlighted in the witches’ iconic opening line “Fair is foul and foul is fair” which establishes a setting where nothing is as it seems, including the typical roles of each gender. The decisions made by Macbeth, which were undoubtedly under the powerful influence of women, and the damaging consequences to these actions are central to this tale of a tragic, ‘brave’ hero and the message Shakespeare was trying to get across. He seems to argue that women should not be given too much power as that power can have a detrimental impact on a man’s life, especially a well-respected soldier like Macbeth was.
In this extract, Lady Macbeth is berating Macbeth, insulting his masculinity as she labels him a “coward” and asks if he is “afeard” of killing the King. This is like a personal attack on Macbeth, who at the beginning of the play is established as a ‘brave’ soldier whose sword ‘smoked with bloody execution’, yet Lady Macbeth is accusing him of being a weakling and a ‘coward’ and therefore questioning his entire ego. Her aggressive tone, which is evident by her use of multiple rhetorical questions, makes it clear she is the more powerful person in this relationship. This verbal attack incidentally comes soon after she says, “Such I account thy love” which is her way of saying that Macbeth doesn’t “love” her if he doesn’t kill the king. This use of emotional blackmail is especially effective as it is clear that Macbeth is very much in love with his wife, shown in Act 1 Scene 5 when he addresses her as “my dearest.” And while the pronoun ‘dearest’ shows that Lady Macbeth was precious to Macbeth, it also has the connotations of expensive, which Lady Macbeth certainly was to Macbeth in the play, costing him his sanity and ultimately his life! It is clear in the play that Lady Macbeth exerts her power through lies and manipulation. By asking Macbeth, “ What beast was't, then, that made you break this enterprise to me?” she is clearly gaslighting him in a bid to convince him to kill Duncan, and we know this because in Act 1 Scene 5, she asked when Duncan would be leaving the castle, Macbeth said “in the morning, as he purposes” and then she said “Never shall the sun that morrow see.” So she was the one who suggested the murder, yet her deceptive ways manage to convince Macbeth that he had suggested it. Lady Macbeth even encourages Macbeth to lie and manipulate when she says “look like th’ innocent flower but be the serpent under it.” But it would seem as though to Macbeth, his wife is actually the serpent, tempting him to do the evil deed, just like in the Bible with Adam. In the play however, Macbeth seems oblivious to his wife’s true feelings about him, and his subservience to her is what leads to his downfall. Lady Macbeth has an influence on Macbeth that no one else in the play, apart from the witches, had on him. The way she ridicules him and humiliates him to his face is almost unexplainable to the Jacobean audience, given the status of Macbeth in society at the time. She even directly questions his manliness when she says, “When you durst do it, then you were a man” Even though Macbeth had more than proven himself as a worthy man, when he killed the Norwegian King by “unseaming him from the nave to th’ chaps,” his wife still questions his willingness to kill, which no one else would have dared done.
In this extract, Lady Macbeth is berating Macbeth, insulting his masculinity as she labels him a “coward” and asks if he is “afeard” of killing the King. This is like a personal attack on Macbeth, who at the beginning of the play is established as a ‘brave’ soldier whose sword ‘smoked with bloody execution’, yet Lady Macbeth is accusing him of being a weakling and a ‘coward’ and therefore questioning his entire ego. Her aggressive tone, which is evident by her use of multiple rhetorical questions, makes it clear she is the more powerful person in this relationship. This verbal attack incidentally comes soon after she says, “Such I account thy love” which is her way of saying that Macbeth doesn’t “love” her if he doesn’t kill the king. This use of emotional blackmail is especially effective as it is clear that Macbeth is very much in love with his wife, shown in Act 1 Scene 5 when he addresses her as “my dearest.” And while the pronoun ‘dearest’ shows that Lady Macbeth was precious to Macbeth, it also has the connotations of expensive, which Lady Macbeth certainly was to Macbeth in the play, costing him his sanity and ultimately his life! It is clear in the play that Lady Macbeth exerts her power through lies and manipulation. By asking Macbeth, “ What beast was't, then, that made you break this enterprise to me?” she is clearly gaslighting him in a bid to convince him to kill Duncan, and we know this because in Act 1 Scene 5, she asked when Duncan would be leaving the castle, Macbeth said “in the morning, as he purposes” and then she said “Never shall the sun that morrow see.” So she was the one who suggested the murder, yet her deceptive ways manage to convince Macbeth that he had suggested it. Lady Macbeth even encourages Macbeth to lie and manipulate when she says “look like th’ innocent flower but be the serpent under it.” But it would seem as though to Macbeth, his wife is actually the serpent, tempting him to do the evil deed, just like in the Bible with Adam. In the play however, Macbeth seems oblivious to his wife’s true feelings about him, and his subservience to her is what leads to his downfall. Lady Macbeth has an influence on Macbeth that no one else in the play, apart from the witches, had on him. The way she ridicules him and humiliates him to his face is almost unexplainable to the Jacobean audience, given the status of Macbeth in society at the time. She even directly questions his manliness when she says, “When you durst do it, then you were a man” Even though Macbeth had more than proven himself as a worthy man, when he killed the Norwegian King by “unseaming him from the nave to th’ chaps,” his wife still questions his willingness to kill, which no one else would have dared done.
Macbeth responds to this by saying, “I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none” This is his way of saying that he has already done what he needs to do to become a man: he has served loyally to the king and killed many in his name. His reference to those doing more as being ‘none’ is him sticking to his masculinity and implying that a true man is loyal to the King. Earlier in this scene, he says that he has bought “golden opinions from people.” The adjective ‘golden’ clearly shows that Macbeth values those opinions and he is effectively treasured by those in the society. He is as high as he can be in the great chain of being and he has come to accept that, but his wife’s ambition forces him to do the terrible deed, something he clearly didn’t want to do. He repeatedly references that killing Duncan is “against nature” which is quite telling, as while nature refers to the natural order in which he shouldn’t have tampered with, it also symbolises his own nature, which Lady Macbeth describes ‘as being too full of the milk o’ human kindness. The use of the word ‘milk’ has strong connotations to femininity and it essentially portrays Macbeth as being too soft, completely disregarding his ruthlessness in the battlefield at the start. His decision to go against his nature (and his masculinity) is what leads him to killing the king. The witches also have a massive impact on Macbeth throughout the play, and they were arguably controlling him. After seeing the witches, Macbeth says that the thought of murder “shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered.” This means that his masculinity is so shocked by the idea of betraying his king that he doesn’t think he can act on it. So here we know that Macbeth is trying to stick to his manly nature, yet the influence of these powerful women effectively forces him to do something against his will. In fact, it could be argued Macbeth was under the influence of the witches from the very beginning, as his first line in the play is ‘so fair and foul a day I have not seen’ which is paraphrasing what the witches said at the beginning of the play. Also, after he kills Duncan, Macbeth anxiously tells his wife, ‘Me thought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more! Macbeth hath murdered sleep.”’ The use of the third person, with Macbeth referencing himself as ‘Macbeth’ not ’I’ – and the inclusion of the inverted commas that indicate speech – imply that it was someone else who said that to him. Surely this is the witches, casting their spells on the wind, and doing to Macbeth exactly what they did to the sailor they referenced in Act 1 Scene 3. The fact that Macbeth spends the rest of the play suffering the fact that “sleep shall neither night nor day hang upon his penthouse lid” is another incidence of women (in this case the witches) dominating and controlling Macbeth’s actions.
Macbeth responds to this by saying, “I dare do all that may become a man; who dares do more is none” This is his way of saying that he has already done what he needs to do to become a man: he has served loyally to the king and killed many in his name. His reference to those doing more as being ‘none’ is him sticking to his masculinity and implying that a true man is loyal to the King. Earlier in this scene, he says that he has bought “golden opinions from people.” The adjective ‘golden’ clearly shows that Macbeth values those opinions and he is effectively treasured by those in the society. He is as high as he can be in the great chain of being and he has come to accept that, but his wife’s ambition forces him to do the terrible deed, something he clearly didn’t want to do. He repeatedly references that killing Duncan is “against nature” which is quite telling, as while nature refers to the natural order in which he shouldn’t have tampered with, it also symbolises his own nature, which Lady Macbeth describes ‘as being too full of the milk o’ human kindness. The use of the word ‘milk’ has strong connotations to femininity and it essentially portrays Macbeth as being too soft, completely disregarding his ruthlessness in the battlefield at the start. His decision to go against his nature (and his masculinity) is what leads him to killing the king. The witches also have a massive impact on Macbeth throughout the play, and they were arguably controlling him. After seeing the witches, Macbeth says that the thought of murder “shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered.” This means that his masculinity is so shocked by the idea of betraying his king that he doesn’t think he can act on it. So here we know that Macbeth is trying to stick to his manly nature, yet the influence of these powerful women effectively forces him to do something against his will. In fact, it could be argued Macbeth was under the influence of the witches from the very beginning, as his first line in the play is ‘so fair and foul a day I have not seen’ which is paraphrasing what the witches said at the beginning of the play. Also, after he kills Duncan, Macbeth anxiously tells his wife, ‘Me thought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more! Macbeth hath murdered sleep.”’ The use of the third person, with Macbeth referencing himself as ‘Macbeth’ not ’I’ – and the inclusion of the inverted commas that indicate speech – imply that it was someone else who said that to him. Surely this is the witches, casting their spells on the wind, and doing to Macbeth exactly what they did to the sailor they referenced in Act 1 Scene 3. The fact that Macbeth spends the rest of the play suffering the fact that “sleep shall neither night nor day hang upon his penthouse lid” is another incidence of women (in this case the witches) dominating and controlling Macbeth’s actions.
Shakespeare definitely raised serious questions in this play about the devastating effects of giving women too much power. King James was definitely afraid of this, as at the time society was very much misogynistic under his reign. While the modern audience would probably view Lady Macbeth as a woman whose power should be admired, the Jacobean audience would certainly be worried by the thought of giving women too much power, therefore Shakespeare went at lengths to show that this power resulted in the downfall of even the strongest men. The whole play represents the catastrophic consequences of doing the unnatural, whether that is going against the natural order, listening to the supernatural or going against the normal gender roles. All of these lead to this tale of a tragic hero, and Shakespeare’s audience would definitely have been reassured by this.
Shakespeare definitely raised serious questions in this play about the devastating effects of giving women too much power. King James was definitely afraid of this, as at the time society was very much misogynistic under his reign. While the modern audience would probably view Lady Macbeth as a woman whose power should be admired, the Jacobean audience would certainly be worried by the thought of giving women too much power, therefore Shakespeare went at lengths to show that this power resulted in the downfall of even the strongest men. The whole play represents the catastrophic consequences of doing the unnatural, whether that is going against the natural order, listening to the supernatural or going against the normal gender roles. All of these lead to this tale of a tragic hero, and Shakespeare’s audience would definitely have been reassured by this.
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