Gender and Shakespeare

Paper Summary:

This paper explains William Shakespeare advocates a balance between feminine and masculine elements within every human being for the purpose of creating a more ideal society. It claims that when an imbalance between masculine and feminine impulses occurs within either a society or a powerful individual, dangerous elements are released and the world becomes potentially chaotic. The paper reviews this phenomenon in a few of Shakespeare's works.

From the Paper:

"Full masculinity and murder are conjoined in the play's ideology, but not in a positive way. Lady Macbeth states that for Macbeth to be fully masculine, he must be a murderer: "When you durst do it, then you were a man." (I.7) His embodiment of strength and masculinity also means that Macbeth is marginalized by his society after the world shifts to peacetime. King Duncan appoints his own son Malcolm to be king of Scotland, ignoring the fact that without Macbeth, Duncan would have never been able to hold onto his crown. "We will establish our estate upon/Our eldest, Malcolm." (I.6) Duncan's establishment of the royal bloodline honors the feminine virtue of familial loyalty--in contrast Lady Macbeth says she would kill her own child for her husband, demonstrating that she believes in the need for valor and heroism, rather than loyalty to children."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Shakespeare, William. "King Lear." Shakespeare homepage. [23 Apr 2006] http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/lear/index.html
• Shakespeare, William. "Macbeth." Shakespeare homepage. [23 Apr 2006] http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/macbeth/
• Shakespeare, William. "Othello." Shakespeare homepage. [23 Apr 2006] http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/othello/index.html
• Shakespeare, William. "The Winter's Tale. Shakespeare homepage. [23 Apr 2006] http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/winters_tale/

More papers on Gender and Shakespeare:

• Analytical Essay # 130350 : "Gender and Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"
• Term Paper # 142893 : "Elizabethan Women and Shakespeare"
• Book Review # 119138 : "Gender in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra"

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