Masculinity and Femininity in Macbeth Essay Sample

“There is no wholly masculine man, no purely feminine woman.” - Margaret Fuller

Macbeth by William Shakespeare highlights various topics, one of which is masculinity and femininity, still valid today. Shakespeare’s use of literary devices generates the idea of order as a result of the inner balance of masculinity and femininity. 

Shakespeare uses euphemism and situational irony to demonstrate the resulting chaos of Lady Macbeth’s imbalance of masculinity and femininity. Euphemism is used to describe the balance of her inner masculinity and femininity at the time, present in the line “Come, you spirits / that tend to mortal thoughts, unsex me here.” (1. 5. 40 - 41). There are 2 main details in this quote showing her feminine qualities, and the other explaining how she rid herself of them. Shakespeare did not directly describe the process of eliminating her femininity; instead, he writes the phrase “unsex me here”. From the character's perspective, it helps solidify that presently, her femininity still exists as she cannot bring herself to say what she is demanding. Conversely, Shakespeare also uses this quote to say that the femininity within her will be disposed of in favour of her masculinity. With the lack of femininity in her, Shakespeare is able to prelude chaos as a result of the imbalance of the inner genders. The use of situational irony conveys Lady Macbeth’s inability to accept and “contain” her femininity within herself. Due to her outburst of emotion just before the banquet in act 3 scene 2, Shakespeare is able to show the chaos she endures due to her inability to cognize her femininity. Shakespeare writes a small scene where she is alone and rethinks the path she and her husband have taken to gain power, as well as the unhappiness she feels; “Nought’s had all spent, / where our desire is got without content:” (3. 2. 5). Within the ensuing moment, Macbeth appears and her mood completely shifts. She scolds her husband for being “overly emotional” and overthinking his previous actions, exactly what she was doing seconds before. This scene highlights how Lady Macbeth cannot accept her femininity around others, and when she is alone. The hiding of her emotions is one of the things that eventually overwhelm her, placing her in a vulnerable and disorganized position. Her inability to just accept her emotions encouraged them to be more insistent, leading to her sleepwalking and eventual suicide. 

Shakespeare uses an aposiopesis and a paradox to demonstrate the order resulting from Macduff’s balance of masculinity and femininity. To start, Shakespeare writes that Macduff is able to balance both characteristics within himself. Macduff responds to Malcolm’s comment about repressing his grief at the loss of his family, saying that he “[...] shall do so; / but I [Macduff] must also feel it as man.” (4. 3. 220 - 221). Shakespeare’s use of an aposiopesis in this quote shows Macduff’s acceptance of emotions. When he says “I shall do so;” to Malcolm, Macduff is able to display his inner balance through the fact that he does not push his masculinity away. Contrastingly, he also says he “must also feel as a man.” As Shakespeare showed, through Macbeth, the recognition of emotions is not very “masculine”. However, Macduff’s acceptance and need to experience them “as a man” provides a different perspective of masculinity. Additionally, Shakespeare once again writes about Macduff’s willingness to accept his emotions. Shortly after he and Malcolm find out about their families, they talk about seeking revenge. Macduff says that he “could play the woman with mine [Macduff] eyes, / and braggart with my [Macduff] tongue!” (4. 3. 230 - 231), essentially saying that he can either mourn, or prepare for battle with Macbeth. The fact that he mentions both options reiterates his balance; it shows his awareness of the situation and his ability to accept both genders.

Shakespeare uses euphemism and hyperboles to exhibit Macbeth's behaviour and its outcome, when both genders were balanced, versus imbalanced. Shakespeare uses euphemism in act 1 when Macbeth explains to his wife that her proposal to kill the king would be a mistake, opening up to her about what it takes to “be a man”. During this scene, Macbeth explains that the murder would not bring them to a worthwhile ending, especially if it is only to shorten the process. Shakespeare writes: “[...]: I [Macbeth] dare do all that may become a man, / who dares do more is none.” (1. 7. 46 - 47). Macbeth defends himself by saying that he is already a man and does not need to change anything to prove that. Shakespeare does not explicitly mention the act of murder when writing this line, his exclusion of the word further shows Macbeth’s current balance. Next, Shakespeare begins to display the inner chaos, Macbeth later loses himself to, through a hyperbole. During the banquet, Macbeth shuts out his surroundings and becomes unaware of the chaos around him while organizing his emotions after seeing Bnanquo’s ghost. Shakespeare writes “Why so, being gone, / I am a man again.” (3. 4. 107 - 108) when he returns to reality. This hyperbole emphasizes his return to “internal order” as well as his obliviousness to his surroundings. Apart from this, the line shows his “overload” of emotions by him giving in to his feminine side too much to be “balanced”; as well as him getting over it, showing his masculinity. Finally, the use of another hyperbole in the line “Thou wast born of a woman; / [...] / brandish’d by man, that’s of a woman born.” (5. 7. 11-13) emphasizes the fact that young Siward, whom Macbeth was addressing, was born from a woman despite only being raised by a man. Shakespeare is able to present Macbeth’s negation of femininity when he invalidates childbirth, a sign of femininity, because an apparition told him he would never be defeated by a man born of a woman. In addition, young Siward was still a child, and Macbeth’s decision to kill him showed his overbearing masculinity and lack of sensitivity. This imbalance resulted in Macbeth’s inner turmoil, leading to his irrational decisions. Overall, this line and its following events are able to show the lack of empathy Macbeth shows, especially towards people he does not deem “powerful''. Macbeth’s irrational decisions guided by his dominating masculinity eventually led to his downfall, death.

Therefore, Shakespeare’s use of literary devices exhibit Lady Macbeth’s inability to accept both her inner genders leading to chaos within her mind, resulting in her death. The balance and acceptance of masculinity and femininity are necessary in oneself, and enables Macduff to maintain order, empowering him to overthrow the king. Macbeth’s gradual disregard for his femininity exhibits the “tipping of the scale” and eventual loss of his femininity as a whole, thus, his ignorance led to his downfall. Balancing between a person’s masculinity and femininity humanizes them, and allows them to play their role in their home, community, and society. The equality and coexistence of masculinity and femininity in a person is what brings order within themselves; and the disregard of one side results in inner turmoil, a catalyst to the destruction of order around them.