Examples Of Femininity In Macbeth

Works of literature can be inspired by the historical events taking place around the time the work is made. The different beliefs surrounding certain ideas, structures of the government, and even the social issues around the world can all serve as inspiration for a writer. Writers have used their own observations of the world as inspiration for their work for centuries, including Shakespeare. In Macbeth, the characters and theme of the play were crafted in the way they were due to beliefs around masculinity and femininity in 17th century Scotland, the evolving entertainment tastes of the general public, and the many political issues in the English and Scottish governments at the time. One of the themes throughout Macbeth is the ideas surrounding

The male characters in Macbeth all carry a sense of masculinity with them that they often used to reject femininity. There is a masculine warrior mindset when it comes to these characters and they want to separate themselves from femininity as much as possible. Even when terrible things happen such as families being slaughtered, characters are told to convert their grief to anger (Lutz 195). Throughout most of Macbeth, “the play’s male characters consistently espouse a masculinity that disavows or rejects femininity or effeminacy. Macbeth’s tragedy, in this view, is that he cannot fully separate himself from femininity in the way his masculine warrior ideology demands” (195). The ideas surrounding masculinity and femininity in 17th century Scotland were ones that said men should show little weakness and take what they want. These ideas greatly affected the characters of Macbeth, because the male characters have a sense of masculinity that

The people wanted spectacle, and if Shakespeare’s text needed to be altered in order to achieve it, then altered it was” (Weber