Macbeth Masculinity Quotes

In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth kills the original king, in order to become king himself. All throughout the play, the motif of manhood is repeatedly mentioned. Masculinity has many definitions, the most relevant of which is having power. When a person is called a man, it is usually a synonym for strength and dominance. In the time period Macbeth takes place in, it is very important for males to be thought of as strong and dominant men, which is why it is easy to manipulate them into taking risks they normally would not, all for the sake of their pride. In Macbeth, manhood is used to manipulate and convince people into taking harmful actions, by making them think they should be acting cruel, bold, and strong. Many characters

After Macbeth sees his dead friend Banquo’s ghost, he is understandably shaken. Lady Macbeth, however, tells him that “these flaws and starts,/ Impostors to true fear, would well become/ A woman’s story” (3.4.76-78). By this she means that Macbeth needs to stop losing control, as it is something only a woman would do. Lady Macbeth is trying to get her husband to act more bold and brave because she thinks that is how men should always be. Only women would be scared of nothing, so he needs to man up and stop complaining. She is trying to manipulate him into acting less afraid by attacking his manhood and calling him a woman. Later on in the story, Macbeth states that “if trembling I inhabit then, protest me/ The baby of a girl” (3.4.127-128), which says that if he is ever afraid, then he shall be called a baby girl. This is once again a character convincing themselves to act a certain way in order to be more manly. Macbeth believes that someone who is scared or trembling, they must be a girl, since men are never scared. He is trying to convince himself to act more boldly than he wants to in order to save his pride, and not be called a