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Comparison Of Masculinity In Macbeth

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Alternative characters in the play contrast Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's twisted perception of a man by allowing their emotions and not giving in to traditional gender roles. When taking a look at masculinity in Macbeth, MacDuff’s is an aforementioned character. Shakespeare gives MacDuff phrases, which contrast the misguided ways of Macbeth and his Lady, and also show that there is hope in masculinity. It is obvious that MacDuff is Shakespeare's ideological adaptation of a real man. MacDuff knows himself and he performs his duties, as he knows he must and settles his feelings with the stability a man needs. As he is told to take the news of their murders “like a man.” He retorts, “I shall do so, / But I must also feel it as a man” (4.3. …show more content…

He falls pathetically in cowardice when faced with a real man, who he knows he is no match against, but also exclaims that he is feeling fired up and ready to take on MacDuff. Perhaps this is true for an individual like Macbeth who is so pathetic and confused. He has no consciousness of himself as he squanders his
Pajdakovska 6 potential in an attempt to prove he is something he is not. Macbeth’s hyper-masculine “true male” life comes to an end by the sword of MacDuff, the true man, not afraid of emotions and fighting for justice.
By the end of the play, it is notable how hyper masculinity deteriorates the main characters of the play. The characters of Macbeth inhabit a world of darkness and uncertainty as hyper-masculine ideologies are introduced to them. As one reads throughout the play, it’s easy to pick up on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's excellent job at portraying the personification of humanity’s identity crisis with gender. Without proper gender roles, humanity begins to deteriorate, so the struggle that takes place in this play is of significant concern. With the creation of the Macbeths, Shakespeare diminishes everything that what was considered to be human nature. Macbeth becomes unstable because he cannot please such an unsatisfied woman, so he feels the need to take on an artificial hyper-masculine role but because of this is too torn to

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