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Masculinity And Femininity In Macbeth Seizing The Dagger

504 Words3 Pages

In the two interpretations of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth Seizing the Dagger (Fuseli) and Macbeth (Goold 2010), the thematic idea of masculinity and femininity is depicted. Throughout Macbeth, this theme has been evident. However, in the scene where Lady Macbeth returns the daggers this is particularly evident. She has already corrupted Macbeth after he told her about his prophecy, and she already successfully convinced him to murder the king he was loyal to. The painting specifically displays the theme in this scene through the size and placement of the characters, while the film uses language and movement. These elements build our understanding of Macbeth, and display the theme directly. Another element shared by both of the interpretations is darkness, as it is used to convey the eeriness of the situation. …show more content…

She towers over the seemingly small and frail Macbeth, whose face appears to display utter terror. Upon a closer look, we can see Macbeth is being ordered to silence himself, similar to when Lady Macbeth says “These deeds must not be thought/ After these ways; so, it will make us mad.”(Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2 Lines 45-46). While the painting seems to use physical appearance to display the rather abusive relationship between the two characters, the film uses language to display distaste and disdain. A prominent example of this is when Lady Macbeth utters “Infirm of purpose” (Macbeth Act 2 Scene 2 Line 68). The way she speaks and moves toward Macbeth in this production shows her untraditional role as the masculine figure in their

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Lady Macbeth calls to the spirit to rid her of her feminity and fill her like a man, one with deadly cruelty. This shows how the female qualities Lady Macbeth possessed kept her back by her delicacy to commit such churlish crimes. After Lady Macbeth was stripped, she was later able control Macbeth's actions and take the lead in Act 2, Scene 2. "Why worthy thane, you unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things," She continues to call his actions weak so unlike

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Masculinity has been a heated debated topic over the past years. Not just america or europe, but our whole society. Men tend to think that entering manhood is a good thing, but most don’t know it can be just as detrimental to our society. Men have certain characteristic when it concerns to masculinity and when doing so it can have a range of effects. So, how do men identify themselves masculine and how do they define themselves that way?

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Macbeth’s understandable distress is seen as an effeminate breakdown. His inability to move on from and accept death makes him a coward in the eyes of his wife, and like any man, hearing such an insult from his life partner struck him deeply. Hearing such an attack pushes Macbeth to do as his wife tells him, ignoring his own emotions, solely because he wants the comfort of being seen positively again. This desire is shown in a further interaction with Lady Macbeth. As said by the lady herself, “My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.”

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Lady Macbeth believes that being kind, loyal and worried about the outcome of actions are all acts that are questionable in terms of one’s masculinity. She very cunningly uses masculinity to manipulate him and get her

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This is also backed up by “Unsex me here”, Lady Macbeth is willing to sacrifice her femininity so that Macbeth can become king. This all begs the question of whether Lady Macbeth is willing to disregard all the stereotypes of being a woman and lose her moral principles over ambition. “As bad as them; I see the dagger still, And on the blade is bitterness and blood, Which I didn’t have before.” This uses metaphoric language to depict to us that Macbeth is being corrupted by the idea of murder, he is being plagued with the idealistic rules that manhood is defined by raging ambition and willingness to do evil things for what the desire. However, Macbeth is questioning these things as he does not want to defy his morals.

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The movie represents the love of their relationship with kisses and hand holding. The mix between the love and manipulation is displayed when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth enter the dining room holding hands, after agreeing to kill King Duncan. An argument can be made that only Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth in their relationship. However, when Macbeth becomes King, the movie displays Lady Macbeth being manipulated by Macbeth through fear. The fear and horror on her face when Macbeth announces to her the murder of Banquo represents their relationship cracking.

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In their defence they often reference to her small talks with Macbeth, where her opinions often surpass his (1; 7; 72-74). But, it’s clear that Lady Macbeth is no feminist lady. Throughout the play, she is viewed by the audience as a selfish female character, consumed with ambition to successfully bring the witches prophecy of Macbeth becoming king into reality. Unlike, Macbeth who tends to carry out his deeds holily, Lady Macbeths ambition completely disgraces the definition of feminist, believing regicide of faithful leader King Duncan is the way to gain power. Macbeths strong values, belies and attitudes of King Duncan, created a series of doubts towards Lady Macbeths idea, since.

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Lady Macbeth is calling to the spirits to assist her murderous ideations and to do that make her less of a women and more like man which will then fill her with deadly cruelty. This supports how she feels, about needing to be manly to commit these horrible

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Her ambition is not only for herself but also for Macbeth. Nevertheless, with all her fervor, she wants him to be as strong as her. “Make thick my blood./Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/That no compunctious visitings of nature/ Shake my fell purpose/Come to my woman’s breasts,/And take my milk for gall” (1.5.44-49). Lady Macbeth never wavers in her goal.

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