Lady Macbeth as Shakespearean Woman - Essay Example

Shakespearean Woman: Lady Macbeth College Shakespearean Woman: Lady Macbeth Shakespeare’s plays are the gems of English literature. His plays are enriched with the literary equipment of words, strong plots, careful structure, tragedy, conflicts, and social portrayals. Shakespeare played an immensely important role in literature by his contributions in terms of romantic, tragedy, and comedy masterpieces. Macbeth is one of the novels which are widely known for the completeness and accuracy of the themes used.

It revolves around Macbeth, the brave soldier who knows the important place of violence in keeping things stable and in order. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as moral support for Macbeth in winning the throne. The novel, hence, involves the two extremely different sides of our society where one gender is the symbol of strong and stubborn desires and the other gender plays a tenderly and loving role. Lady Macbeth is sometimes seen as a positive force and influence on Macbeth but critics claim that she had negative desires, cruelty, and brutality dwelling in.

The varying and confusing character of lady Macbeth with specific reference to her husband’s influence on her actions form a debate that is discussed in this paper using the perspectives of different critics. The paper will discuss the traits of Shakespearean women in different novels and flow the discussion towards the character of Lady Macbeth. The negative traits of her character and the brutality found in her will be discussed with special reference to the expectations of that society of women.

The counterclaims about Lady Macbeth in terms of the influence of Macbeth on her character will be discussed. This discussion will be supported by evidence from the research of critics and their arguments. The character of Macbeth will be discussed concisely to provide evidence of his influence on Lady Macbeth’s character to justify the negativity that is found by the critics in her feminine role. The paper will conclude by weighing the research material in favor or against the character of Lady Macbeth.

Annotated Bibliography Alfar, C. L. (2003). Fantasies of female evil: The dynamics of gender and power in Shakespearean tragedy. Newark: University of Delaware Press. Shakespeare’s portrayal of women differs from one novel to the other and he even showed two sides of a lady in a single character like in Lady Macbeth. This article provides an analysis of the feminine and masculine traits that dwelled in Lady Macbeth. The feminine traits included her obedience to her husband and the brutality like the plan to kill the king was supposedly a masculine trait as women in that society had limits over their actions, expressions, and social roles.

Bamber, L. (1982). Comic women, tragic men: A study of gender and genre in Shakespeare. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press. This book consists of the comparison and contrast of Shakespearean gendered characters in different novels. This book basically discusses the different characters of Shakespeare as they relate to the story. The author places much emphasis on the different portrayals of Shakespearean comedies and tragedies. The author is of the opinion that Lady Macbeth was not evil in herself but for the sake of her husband’s desires. Berry, P. (1999).

 Shakespeare's feminine Endings: Disfiguring Death in the tragedies. London: Routledge The author discusses the tragic endings of Shakespearean female characters. The author is of the opinion that Lady Macbeth was terrified of her husband’s or of men’s violent nature. Berry discusses the cruelty of Shakespearean women and in doing so discusses Lady Macbeth’s changes in character and tones as they develop throughout the novel. Bommer, Lawrence. “Evil of Macbeth Knows No Sex in All-Female Version”.

Chicago Tribune 7 September 1995: 28. The article is concise yet details the character traits of Macbeth and provides an overview of his training and development throughout the novel. This article is of particular importance to understand the character of Macbeth and further extends the research on his influence over Lady Macbeth. Chamberlain, S. (July 08, 2005). Fantasizing Infanticide: Lady Macbeth and the Murdering Mother in Early Modern England. College Literature, 32, 3, 72-91. In this detailed article, Chamberlain concludes that Lady Macbeth wanted to be an independent character.

She wanted freedom from the socially and culturally constructed boundaries. Her acts, behavior, and character are all influenced by this very desire of moving away from the traditional constraints.