Macbeth
"Your royal father's murdered," (II.i.101). "Macbeth" is one of William Shakespeare'smost violent plays. There are so many murders in the play that they are hard to keep trackof. Every murder that occurs happens offstage, so the audience never sees any of them,but they do know when a murder is about to happen. There is a trend throughout theentire play, one that is not very obvious to the naked eye. Shakespeare brings up thequestion of manliness throughout the play, and shortly after the subject is brought up, amurder will occur. Manliness has a different definition between the characters though, andMacbeth gives other characters, like Macduff, a bad name. Issues of gender and manliness are frequent problems that dwell in the charactersof "Macbeth". Lady Macbeth is a very strong, free-willed women, and uses thesecharacteristics to manipulate her husband when questioning his manhood. "When youdurst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be somuch more the man,"(I.vii.49-51). Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband, saying that hewouldn't be a man if he didn't kill Duncan. She also tells him that if she were a man thatshe would kill Duncan herself, but she can't
Macduff's eloquent words and complex thoughts give a climax tothe theme of manliness. Macduff revises the previous definition of manliness and bringsforth a new one. Macbeth manipulates the actualtruth to make the murderers question their manhood. Macduff changes the audience's perspective on thedefinition of manliness. Macbeth also blames allof the murderer's hardships on Banquo, saying that if they wanted to better their familyand their social status they would have to kill Banquo. Macduffreflects on his family and the sin that Macbeth has committed, and asks the heavens tohelp guide him through the journey that he is about to face. Macbeth uses manipulation himself when he questions the manhood of the murdersof Banquo, "Not i' th' worst rank of manhood, say't,"(III. Malcolm learns a lessonabout manliness from Macduff and shows his maturity at the end of the play. He also says that he must take time to grieve like all men should. Macbeth shows his last act of manliness when he tries to kill Macduff. Macbeth's definition of manliness is influenced by Lady Macbeth's constantmanipulation. Macduff is obviouslyhurt deeply by the murders of his wife and children, and does agree that he will seekrevenge.
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