The Four Views Of Manhood In Shakespeare's Macbeth

A tale of treachery, tyrants, and tragedy, Shakespeare’s Macbeth is full of warnings of the consequences of power without limits. Although there was actually a man named Macbeth who killed a king named Duncan in Scotland, Shakespeare’s rendition is quite different from the real history. However, it has become very famous and offers many opportunities for discussion. In the story, Macbeth rises to power via a road filled with violence, guilt and evil when he adopts the view of manhood advocated by his wife. The idea of what it means to be a man appears several times throughout the play, revealing the views of several different characters on this topic. Four selections from the play which relate to the idea of manhood will be studied, first by

At first Macbeth’s is that a man must have boundaries, contrary to his wife’s opinion that the more he dares to do, the more of a man he is. After he adopts this way of thinking and murders Macduff’s family, Macduff shows Malcolm that a man must not only be able to fight but also to feel. Malcolm, who has already shown that he understands that a king (and thus a man) must have character, learns from this view by the end of the play. The views of manhood that all four of these characters hold are similar in many ways to the view that Shakespeare’s culture would probably have held. However, Macbeth’s first opinion along with Malcom’s and Macduff’s views encompass even more than the Elizabethan culture’s view as they include qualities involving character. Each character’s view of what it means to be a man plays a large part in their actions and in the outcome of their lives in the play. Macbeth adopted a wrong view which changed the course of his life for the worse and resulted in his death by the hand of Macduff, a more honorable man who was fighting for Malcolm who had the potential to be a wiser king. Finally, what can we learn from this? As a young person, especially in our culture which promotes doing whatever makes you feel good, it is a good encouragement and warning to be true men and women by abiding within the boundaries God has given us and to keep His greater goal in mind above the world’s goal of pleasure. Macbeth’s words are very true, “I dare do all that may become a man./Who dares do more is none” (Shakespeare