Christina James
Ms. Berryman
Academic English III, Period 1
21 December, 2015
Relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in The Tragedy of Macbeth In relationships, the power given to both partners must be balanced in order to have any success. Once one person feels they are above the other one, chaos and anger might result. Back in the Elizabethan era, men and women had two completely different roles in society, the roles of women were very limited. Men were superior and were considered as leaders, while women were expected to be housewives and mothers. Women were seen as the weaker sex, and were not allowed to do half the things men could like working, voting, or even acting on stage. Women were never treated they way they should have been, and this is due to men acting exceedingly better than women. With no equality in a relationship, it can lead to disagreements, and irritability, which can result in a split in the partnership. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare highlights the division of Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s relationship, to suggest that excessive ambition leads to downfall. Although it was uncommon for women to be treated as an equal in a relationship during this time period, many people had a relationship where there was equality. Shakespeare began Macbeth’s relationship with parallelism. When Macbeth first found out about his prophecy- to become King- he immediately sent a letter to his wife informing her. Shakespeare addressed the letter to
Instead of Macbeth being Thane of Glamis, he is a high-class chef of a well-renowned restaurant in the middle of London. The environment in Shakespeare Retold has changed from a Shakespearean era to the 21st century. Both Macbeth and Joe have high positions that will eventually lead to their downfall. Both the play and the film emphasize on the same values and they demonstrate how ambition and greed drive a human to their insanity and madness. For example, in Shakespeare Retold, Joe was introduced as a kind, jovial person who as a chef himself taught his fellow cooks how to properly make food. His desire to secure his throne, in this case, the main chef, made him disoriented and was breaking plates, and burning food, something he wouldn't do before. The loving aura changed and it was just filled with chaos, in which the environment was not a place where his workers wanted to be. The change of scenery from the kitchen to an ominous night was effective in such that viewers could see that it meant something bad was about to happened. Lastly, at the end of the film, the kitchen in a highly renowned restaurant was not as luminous as before. The lights were turned off by Joe, and this is where we could see that he was beginning to shut himself down.
In the modern 21sr century, the roles and behaviors expected of individuals remains analogous despite gender. This ideology stems from the preceding movement in equality, which preaches that differences of sex appear insignificant. Despite this notion, there remains distinct differences in the physical and psychological makeups of both men and women. In most cultures, certain duties remain associated with specific genders. With this in mind, Shakespeare’s Macbeth heightens the supernatural evil possessing Lady Macbeth as she condones murder for her own selfish ambition, while in Shakespeare’s time women were regarded as peaceful and full of feminine sympathies. This anachronism with the reality of Shakespeare’s day, illustrates the immense sense of wickedness and abnormality emphasizing her character’s influence on her husband and the plot of the play. In contrast, Macbeth appears to some extent a more acceptable evil due to a greater compliance with the gender standards and moral transition during the Shakespearean era. Shakespeare utilizes numerous literary intentions in order to express these diverse levels of evil to provide an element of depth behind the mental reactions and deteriorations of the characters until their final decease into the complete darkness of death.
What is a relationship? Is it a sharing of understanding and trials with another human being, a connection between a man and a woman emotionally and sexually, or could it be, just simply, a compassion or love intertwined between two souls? These aspects of relationship and more are illustrated in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Macbeth. The way Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship changes drastically throughout the play is an example of how fragile a relationship really is. With one word or action a relationship can erode itself away. This play is a perfect example of a promising relationship that messes with a power greater than themselves and in the end falls into a hopeless swamp with no way out, nowhere to turn.
With social and cultural stereotypes in this era, men were viewed as more powerful while women were portrayed as weak. William Shakespeare tries to interpret the roles between genders by having characters of the opposite sex. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses rhetorical devices to demonstrate Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s switch in traditional gender roles, which arise from the consequences for each character’s actions and speech.
From the beginning of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is viewed as very controlling, strong, and certain; saying that Macbeth ‘Shalt be what thou art promised’. This illustrates Lady Macbeth’s position in the relationship, she is ordering Macbeth to become what the witches have foreseen. We see just how powerful Lady Macbeth is, if she can command her husband to murder the king of Scotland. Her power is also shown in the way she taunts Macbeth, saying he is ‘too full of the milk of human kindness’. This shows how cold Lady Macbeth is, as milk is the food of new born children, she is implying Macbeth is too much like a kind child to murder anyone, which is another method used to spur Macbeth on into killing Duncan. Her coldness and
“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare shows the effect of greed/power on a relationship. Is gaining power more important than a relationship? When Macbeth usurps the throne as King of Scotland, he puts aside his relationships to carry out his work as king, and his relationship with Lady Macbeth is, as a result, impacted. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship shifts somewhat and yet partly remains the same when Macbeth is crowned king of Scotland. Macbeth’s relationship remains the same in that he shows Lady Macbeth respect and continues to use words of love to call her by, but it shifts in that Macbeth becomes more independent and does not confide his plans to Lady Macbeth as he had previously.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare brings about one of the most controversial topic of the gender portrayal in a play. During Shakespearean times, women were considered as the weaker sex, physically and emotionally. On the other hand, men were seen as the dominant sex that is expected to be the head of their households and a strong figure. Unlike this stereotypical representation of men and women, Shakespeare introduces the reversal of gender roles in his play. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the relationship and characteristics of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth diverged from the stereotypical representation of both men and women. The author, William Shakespeare’s use of reverse gender roles which contradicted with the traditional gender roles, is what
his wife. In my opinion he does this so that Lady Macbeth is ready to
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they both in turn take on the role of the
The relationship among Macbeth and Lady Macbeth alters throughout the play Macbeth as they both in turn take on the role of the more dominant character. Their attitude to each other constantly changes throughout the play, although events in the play certainly draw Macbeth and Lady Macbeth apart their love for one another is evident throughout the play. Macbeth shows his love by saying a few compassionate words in his letter to Lady Macbeth about the meeting with the three weird sisters. Lady Macbeth shows that she cares for him by planning the murder of King Duncan so Macbeth can become king. By the end of the play Macbeth doesn’t care about his wife’s health that much, when she dies his taught was she was bound to die one day.
The traditional gender role for men and women is a strict set of expectations one must face and either choose to follow or defy it. In the Shakespearian era women portray as the weaker sex because they display as needing protection as the more fragile, innocent, and dependent sex, whereas men have authority as strong, capable, and honourable beings. However, the traditional gender roles play in reversal in Macbeth by William Shakespeare by having Lady Macbeth, the Three Witches (weird sisters), and Macbeth defy the gender roles that allow women and men to portray in a unique way in society. First, Lady Macbeth is defiant to her role as a woman because she is able to take initiative, deceive others, and commit violent acts. Secondly, the three Witches are in fact sisters which avid them to follow their role as women, however they defy their roles because they manipulate others, have the capability to make independent decisions, and kill without hesitation. Finally, Macbeth defies his roles as a man in the Shakespearian era because he acts cowardly, isn’t able to carry out duties himself, and is disloyal to his companions.
The women in Macbeth, namely Lady Macbeth, contradict these expectations through their commanding, and ambitious tones. During that second half of act one Lady Macbeth is portrayed as the ruling figure in the house. Instead of being a grateful and fulfilling housewife she instead pushes and commands Macbeth to commit assassination. She berates him when he falters and asked if he would rather, “live like a coward in thine own esteem.” (Shakespeare)
Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, begins with the protagonist, Macbeth, being faced with a supernatural prophecy. The temptation of power further corrupts Macbeth as the play progresses, until his murders catch up to him. Despite the time in which a man lives, he is surrounded by opportunity and the constant battle between the loss and acquisition of power. For those deep in search for power often experience the blurring of the lines between right and wrong. In the 17th century, gender roles were strict and unmoving. Men symbolized the power and strength, while the women represented the caring and submissive traits of human nature. Shakespeare utilizes Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s marriage to further toy with the audience’s minds and inverts the gender roles.Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s marriage demonstrates inverted gender roles; but as Lady Macbeth utilizes her influence over Macbeth, her driven attitude leads him down the path of corruption.
In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, gender plays a pivotal role in the development of the overall plot and as the play advances, certain characters, including Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience a reversal in traditional gender behaviors. Additionally, we see gender confusion among other characters that enhances conflict in the play. Originally, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are portrayed in ways that enforce their respective masculinity and feminism in accordance to the society around them. As Macbeth begins to contemplate his decision regarding the killing of Duncan, his marriage becomes the primary driving force behind his action and thoughts in this matter. Although in some cases, male and female roles in this play remain static, the
Essay question 2: Lady Macbeth and Macbeth share similar fates that occur in different ways. In the case of Lady Macbeth we are led to assume that she kills herself due to not being able to manage her anxiety of what she has done. Macbeth dies but not by killing himself but by being slain in battle against Macduff. While both are disheartining, the more tragic death would be Macbeths. Throughout the novel the reader sees the fall of Macbeth, once a great person corrupted by greed.