In Shakespeare's era, women possessed few political and private rights. Renaissance women were expected to remain silent, avoid political discussions, and stick to the duties of their husbands' households. Men were considered higher morally, intellectually, and physically, and women were...

The association ones' gender has in society has developed significantly over the centuries, however, despite the extraordinary gains of women, men still stereotypically maintain a more powerful and influential image; for those men that lack the gender power, there is a sense of undesirable infe...

The Destruction of MacbethThree factors that are at work to destroy Macbeth are the flaws in his owncharacter, the forces of evil of the Devil represented by the Tree Weird Sisters, and LadyMacbeth. Lady Macbeth is held accountable for the destruction of Macbeth through herpersuasiveness, cruelty, ...

"Your royal father's murdered," (II.i.101). "Macbeth" is one of William Shakespeare's most violent plays. There are so many murders in the play that they are hard to keep track of. Every murder that occurs happens offstage, so the audience never sees any of them, ...

Masculinity"The man, most man, works best for men: and, if most man indeed, he gets his manhood plainest from his soul." ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In the dramatic tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare, masculinity becomes a trait that is manipulated by Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Lady Macbeth ma...

In the play Macbeth, it seems evident that Lady Macbeth is a man trapped within a female body. Her persona is filled with greediness, envy and abhorrence, and she will utilise any person or anything as a tool to accomplish her malevolent goals. Throughout the play we are positioned to view lady Macb...

Shakespeare: Master of the Human Psyche When the plays of Shakespeare are described as "for all time" or "of a timeless quality," they are referring to the accurate description of the human psyche that holds true today. Shakespeare's works were written long ago, and in...

Lady Macbeth Speech This speech is said soon before Duncan is to arrive. The first impression anyone would get from reading it is that she is trying to psyche herself up for something that she needs to do. Lady Macbeth is obviously a strong willed woman and knows what she needs to do but he...

The traditional gender stereotype of masculine is referred to as being strong and robust. Typically males initiate power and demonstrate a strong exterior, while females are typically associated with internal emotions. The idea of manhood in Macbeth is tied to strength, power, physical courage, a...

Shakespeare's Women Shakespeare's female characters have qualities about them that tie each of them together in their stories; they also have differences that contrast. Gertrude and Ophelia are from the play Hamlet, and Lady Macbeth is from the play Macbeth. The women in Hamlet are both u...

Your wife is a happy homemaker and you are an industrious, deeply respected man. No female can override your authority because you are, in essence, the provider. Time elapses, and women begin to join the work force and gain the right to vote. Your value, as a man, has once again shifted, and will ce...

Gender issues are prevalent in Shakespeare's plays Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth. Some of the key characteristics relevant to gender issues are masculinity, feminism, honor, bravery, and ambition. These issues will be examined through the dynamics of three couples, Hero and Claudi...

First Lady Johnson once commented that the 1960's was the first period in American history to offer women the same opportunities as men in utilizing their "abilities and intelligence." It is a time in which women may become independent and self-sufficient. They no longer are bound solely to the ro...

 On one spring day four black widow spiders (two begin male and 2 begin female) went up a tree in couples of the opposite sex. One couple was foreign to America, the other was not. They were all at their sexual prime and to do a mating ritual called sex. When the foreigners were done t...

Margaret Atwood: 'Spotty-Handed Villainesses' (1994) BIOGRAPHY • Born in Ottawa, Ontario, 1939 • Studied at the University of Toronto, then took her masters degree at Radcliffe College, Massachusetts, in 1962 • Canada's most eminent novelist and poet, and also writes shor...

Literary texts are always concerned with the construction of gender and the meaning of belonging to one sex or the other. In the play Othello, by William Shakespeare the gender construction is used to define the roles of men and woman during the time in which the play was written, the Elizabethan er...