The IB Extended Essay

Candidate: Steven Chao

Principal: Laurelyn Arterbury

IB Class of 2014

IB Coordinator: Stephanie Childress

Subject Area: Group 1, Category A

Essay Coordinator: Michael Quatro

Word Count: 3284

Subject Supervisor: Michael Quatro

Candidate Number: dsg947 (000883-125)

Westwood High School: 0883

Masculinity and Femininity: The Depiction of Gender Roles in Shakespeares Macbeth

By:
Steven Chao

Research Question:
How is the theme of gender expressed and utilized throughout Shakespeares Macbeth?

Abstract:
The topic I researched for my Extended Essay was gender roles in the scope of the play
Macbeth. During the course of my investigation, to guide my studies, I formulated the question
How is the theme of gender expressed and utilized throughout Shakespeares Macbeth?
Through a thorough examination of Macbeth and the analysis of multiple secondary sources, I
came to understand that Shakespeare used dialogue and imagery to clearly convey the notions of
masculinity and femininity. In multiple scenes, he used the descriptions of specific characters,
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as notable examples, in order to reinforce the traditional ideas of
gender during his day and age. However, in other scenes, he used the traits of the same characters
to achieve the opposite end, to question and even undermine accepted social assumptions.
Another conclusion that I developed during my studies was that Shakespeare utilized the theme
of gender roles to serve as a catalyst for the plotline. In parts of the play, Shakespeare used the
tensions that arose as a result of interactions between characters to set in motion the events
central to the plot, such as Duncans murder, and a considerable portion of these interactions
were influenced by expectations placed on characters based on gender roles.
Word Count: 208

Acknowledgments:
I would like to thank Mr. Michael Quatro, my Extended Essay mentor and supervisor, for
his infinite patience as well as his continued guidance during the development of my essay. I
benefited greatly from his assistance, especially as he helped me fine-tune the direction of my
essay and obtain sources pertaining to my topic.

Table of Contents:
Abstract.............................................................................................................................................i
Acknowledgments...........................................................................................................................ii
Table of Contents............................................................................................................................iii
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Body.................................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................12

Introduction:
Macbeth, written in England by William Shakespeare in 1606 and first performed in
1611, was one of Shakespeares most famous tragedies. Its plot centers on the tragic hero
Macbeth, the thane of Glamis, who is informed of his future station as the king of Scotland
through a prophecy delivered to him by a trio of mysterious witches. Though he holds doubts
that prevent him from acting immediately, his ambitious wife Lady Macbeth compels him into
hastening the arrival of his destiny as the witches foretold it, by repeatedly undermining his
masculinity in a series of well-crafted arguments. He goes on to murder the noble king Duncan in
his bid for power, therefore solidifying his ascension to the throne, but sets himself on a
treacherous path, as he becomes one with everything to lose.
As a result, the personalities of the Macbeth duo begin to distort over the course of their
reign, as they undergo a reversal of gender roles that correspond with a more traditional
structure. The once insecure, doubtful Macbeth takes the initiative with actions that further stain
his hands with blood, in an attempt to maintain his position. In contrast, the Lady Macbeth that
was powerful and manipulating in the initial acts of the play is overwhelmed with guilt, and
forced to come to terms with the crimes she assisted in, she is driven insane, crying that her
hands [will] neer be clean (V.i.37). In general, the phrase fair is foul, and foul is fair (I.i.11),
uttered by the three witches in the opening scene of the play, is indicative of the unnatural state
of affairs in Scotland and the reversal of roles. Ominous weather conditions described throughout
the play are physical manifestations of the corruptions and contradictions of the natural order, as
Macbeth, a thane, murders Duncan, his king, a man far above him on the social ladder, and Lady
Macbeth is a powerful female figure that assumes a dominant role in determining Macbeths
twisted destiny.

I chose Macbeth as the topic of study for my Extended Essay because over the course of
my high school career, I have analyzed multiple works written by Shakespeare. During my past
studies, I found the plays especially intriguing and developed a general interest in literature as a
result, so this year, I felt that I could use the Extended Essay as an opportunity to learn more
about Shakespeares writing. His works have been examined by academics for centuries, so a
considerable number of interpretations of various aspects of Macbeth have been compiled.
Furthermore, multiple portrayals of the characters in the play exist in various forms of media.
However, I realized that the themes of gender and sexuality remain obvious constants, retaining a
heavy influence even in different interpretations of the play, so the research question I developed
for my investigation was How is the theme of gender expressed and utilized throughout
Shakespeares Macbeth? Drawing evidence from a multitude of scenes in the play, this
investigation serves to examine how elements of masculinity and femininity help craft the
identities of the characters in Macbeth as well as determine how said identities coincide or
contradict with the traditional ideas of gender. The investigation also goes over the effects of
gender roles in the interactions between characters, and how the tensions created through the
clashes of expectations and reality are used to shape the plot.

Body:
Macbeth is set in Scotland during the eleventh century, and this establishes the
framework for the gender roles accepted in the play. In the historical context of the play, as well
as during the Elizabethan era, when the play was written, cohering with the traditional sense of
masculinity meant being aggressive, daring, bold, resolute, and strong, especially in the face of
death, while femininity was synonymous with being gentle, fearful, pitying, wavering, and
soft (Kimbrough 177). In the text, Shakespeare often makes references to these traditional
gender archetypes, which have masculinity placed on a pedestal and femininity as subordinate,
but then later on, through the depiction of Macbeth and his wife, turns these assumptions on their
heads. In the play, elements of masculinity and femininity are used to create the identities of the
main characters, namely Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the witches. Expectations based on gender
assumptions are placed on Macbeth by his wife, as Lady Macbeth desires for him to behave in a
more aggressive, masculine manner regarding the future prophesized by the witches. As a result,
the identities of Macbeth and his wife initially represent a reversal of traditional gender roles,
though later on, they begin to align with the traditional ideas of gender.
The play opens with the initial description of the witches, which are observed chanting
Fair is foul, and foul is fair. These sentiments are echoed later on when Macbeth states So
foul and fair a day I have not seen (I.iii.39), and these lines foreshadow the unnatural conditions
of the play, the reversal of roles being easily discernable in the following acts. The themes of
gender and chaos are quickly established within this first scene, as the witches are powerful
entities that are associated with stormy weather conditions. They symbolize conflict, serving as
agents of evil, and their malevolent intentions are revealed in the line Double, double, toil and
trouble (IV.i.10). In communicating to Macbeth the prophecies that reveal his future, foretelling

his impending good fortunes as well as his eventual downfall, the witches provide a spark for his
ambition. Though Lady Macbeth is required to intervene and fan the flames in order to produce
an end result, the outcomes remain the ones desired by the witches. Through the process of
tempting Macbeth with notions of greatness, they subtly manipulate him into killing the king as
well as ensuring his own demise, which disrupts the natural moral order of Scotland.
The witches are unnatural in that they have both masculine and feminine elements in their
characteristics, and can be interpreted as being hermaphroditic, which further skews their gender
identity (Kimbrough 179). This becomes clear to the audience when Banquo, perplexed by their
appearances, describes them, stating You should be women, / And yet your beards forbid me to
interpret / That you are so (I.iii.46-48). In this regard, the witches serve as foils to the Macbeths,
as they exhibit physical characteristics that do not indicate a definitive gender or confine them to
associated assumptions, and they remain powerful, omniscient characters throughout the play.
Shakespeare begins the play with the witches, partly in order to emphasize the importance of the
powerful female characters that will play a central role in the plot, undermining the traditional
ideas of gender.
In response to the startling prophecy delivered by the unearthly trio, Lady Macbeth
decides to take an active role in ensuring the future she desires for her and her husband becomes
a reality, and makes multiple attempts at persuading her husband into going through with what
she believes to be a necessary evil. They quickly come to the conclusion that if Duncan were out
of the picture, Macbeth would stand to gain the most, as with his position and reputation, he
could become the new ruler. However, though Macbeth is sorely tempted by the witches
prophecy, as becoming the king would lead to definite gains in power and wealth, he is kept from
committing regicide to ascend the throne by his personal shortcomings, notably his lack of

resolve and loyalty to Duncan. Macbeth also recognizes the considerable risks involved with his
ambitions, as there was no worse crime in the context of the play than the murder of a king, one
who rules with the divine power of God. Later on, his decision to act represents the point of no
return, and failing to avoid suspicion for the crime would lead to losing everything he worked to
gain. These emotional limitations are noticed by his wife, and perceived as character flaws.
Alone, she responds with these lines:
Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be
What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full othmilk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great,
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it.
(I.v.13-18)
In her soliloquy, Lady Macbeth begins by stating that her husband has become both the
thane of Glamis and the thane of Cawdor, as predicted by the witches, which gives their words
credibility and by extension justifies her planned course of action. However, Lady Macbeth
believes that the obstacle that stands in the way of Macbeths success is himself, specifically his
loyalty and his decency. She states that Macbeths character is too full of the milk of human
kindness to do what must be done, and begins to draw upon maternal imagery in this passage,
as milk is the basic form of nourishment given from a mother to a child, a symbol of motherhood
and love. (Kimbrough 179). In this way, Lady Macbeth begins to associate Macbeths
undesirable character traits with femininity, which falls in line with traditional gender values.
She goes on to claim that he does not possess the illness needed to attain greatness, where

illness can be interpreted as wickedness and strength of conviction. Acknowledging Macbeths

good and natural character, she takes it upon herself to propel her husband to power, and says:
Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood;
Stop up thaccess and passage to remorse,
(I.v.38-42)
This is one of the most recognizable passages from the play, and these lines are a
continuation of Lady Macbeths earlier soliloquy. She asks for the supernatural to unsex her,
wishing to repress the emotions that could prevent her from committing a crime as a great as
regicide, and desires to replace them with the cruelty and steely determination required for
murder. In doing so, she dismisses traditional qualities associated with womanhood, such as pity
and remorse, and through the rejection of femininity, she constructs a link between power and
masculinity (Thomas 85). Continuing to draw upon feminine imagery in her sexually charged
speech, Lady Macbeth wishes for spirits to Come to my womans breasts / And take my milk
for gall (I.v.45-46). By referring to characteristics of a mother, breasts and milk, and expressing
her desire to replace them with masculine features, she demonstrates that she is ruthless in her
behavior. Furthermore, by repeatedly bringing up the milk of a mother, a symbol of the kindness
found within humanity, in twisted scenarios, she emphasizes the perversion of the natural order
in the play as well as her unnatural character (Liston 237).

However, when Lady Macbeth meets her husband, she learns that he has made the
decision to proceed no further in this business (I.vii.31). The reason he cites for his inaction is
that Duncan has rewarded and honored him for his actions in the conflict with Macdonwald,
earning him much praise. He states that he has [done] all that may become a man, and that
who dares do more is none (I.vii.46-47), meaning that he believes he has done everything
within his proper limits as a man to better his position in the scenario. He hides behind his
interpretation of masculinity, and uses this argument in a futile attempt to persuade Lady
Macbeth into abandoning their scheme. Becoming more aggressive in her approach, Lady
Macbeth reprimands him with the words:
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man. Nor time, nor place
Did then adhere, and yet you would make both.
(I.vii.49-52).
Lady Macbeth constructs a powerful argument against Macbeth, appealing to his
ambition and his sense of masculinity by suggesting a correlation between being a man and
taking control of the situation. Lady Macbeth insinuates that Macbeths inability to act is a result
of his cowardice, and launches into an attack on Macbeths character. She draws a connection
between his inadequacies and a sense of femininity, stating that he needs to overcome his
weaknesses to truly embody the virtues of a man. She chides him for daring to commit the crime
earlier, when the time and place were not right, while being impotent under perfect conditions.
Her intimate knowledge of the situation solidifies her position as the mastermind behind the plot,

making the decisions in the background and manipulating Macbeth into acting. In contrast to her
depiction of her husband, Lady Macbeth describes herself with the following lines:
I have given suck, and know
How tender tis to love the babe that milks me;
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this.
(I.vii.54-59)
Lady Macbeth once again alludes to the traditional idea of the mother in her lines, this
time referring to the act of breastfeeding. She uses this extended analogy to demonstrate her
strength of character, and as a result, she is characterized as inhumane, losing the traits that tie
her with humanity and motherhood. However, she is liberated from societal expectations and
becomes more powerful in the process, indirectly prompting Macbeth to follow suit and abandon
his humanity as well. In the text, she speaks of ripping a smiling infant from her breast and
violently bashing its brains out, a despicable act clearly against the natural order. She says that,
despite knowing the happiness in the caring act of feeding a newborn, she would commit such an
atrocious act without hesitation if she had made a promise like Macbeth had. The cruelty of the
actions she describes is the cruelty she states Macbeth needs to strive for in order to gain power.
In this analogy, Lady Macbeth again construes femininity as a weakness, desiring for Macbeth to
embrace the characteristics of masculinity, and this final declaration represents a turning point, as
afterwards Macbeth is convinced and begins to fall in line with her expectations.

Unable to present an effective counterargument capable of placating his wife, Macbeth

succumbs to the pressure she places on him to act. Obliging the temptations of the prophecy he
was given and hoping to affirm his masculinity, he gives in to his vaulting ambition. He
accepts Lady Macbeths views of masculinity as empowering, and recognizes the necessity for
him to embrace her gender definitions. The lines Bring forth men-children only, / For thy
undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males (I.vii.72-74) represent an admiration of
her strength as well as the compromises he makes in his beliefs. Given that Lady Macbeth is with
undaunted mettle and this courage is a characteristic of men, he reasons that her offspring
should exhibit the same traits and all be male. He accepts Lady Macbeths dominance in their
dispute as an example to follow, and as a result begins to take leadership and prioritize himself.
The reversal of gender roles is exemplified within the lines That which hath made them
drunk hath made me bold; / What hath quenched them hath given me fire (II.ii.1-2), when Lady
Macbeth refers to her state of mind moments before the transgression. Her unnatural character is
apparent in this scene, as while her husband sets off in fear and trepidation, she is eager and
excited for Duncans demise. It is important to contrast the portrayal of Lady Macbeth in this
scene with the image of her created in later lines after her emotional breakdown. For example,
from the phrases The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? / What, will these hands
neer be clean? No more othat, my lord, / no more othat. You mar all with this starting (V.i.3638), it is easily understood that there exists a turnabout for the gender assumptions in the play. In
her sleep-deprived state, her condition constantly degenerating, Lady Macbeth falls victim to the
immense amount of guilt that she harbors and eventually commits suicide. Leaving Macbeth to
rule, with political power concentrated within him, Lady Macbeths actions solidify the reversal
of roles back to the traditional gender hierarchy.

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men,

As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs,
Shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves are clept
All by the name of dogs.
(III.i.93-96)
However, Lady Macbeth is not the only character to uses gender in dialogue to achieve
his or her ends, and the usage of the rhetoric of gender to serve as a tool in persuasion is a theme
found in further scenes in the play. For example, in order to ensure that Banquo and his son are
swiftly finished off, Macbeth goads the murderers into following his orders by making jabs at
their manhood, suggesting that the Macbeths view masculinity as tied with outright aggression.
He compares the murderers with dogs, stating that though they can be categorized as men,
different species of dogs are all still categorized as dogs, and they require drive to distinguish
themselves and rise above their misfortunes. Macbeth manipulates them, claiming that they can
improve their station in life by helping him, and with his assistance, gain the power they desire.
Later on, Malcolm uses similar tactics to try to gain Macduffs support. In an insincere
attempt to console Macduff after the news of his murdered family is delivered by Ross, Malcolm
advises him to deal with things in a manly way and use it to make medcines of our great
revenge (IV.iii.217). Macduff rebukes his words though, and states that Malcolm has a flawed
view of masculinity, and when Malcolm suggests for Macduff to Dispute it like a man, he
replies with I shall do so. But I must also feel it as a man (IV.iii.221223). This is a redeeming
quality of the true hero in Macbeth, as Macduff is one of the precious few characters in the play
that doesnt have a twisted notion of gender norms, and therefore maintains clear judgment.

Conclusion:
Throughout the play, masculinity is presented in a positive light, subtly associated with
bravery and action, while femininity and the traits associated with it are looked down upon and
to be avoided. As a result, gender roles are often alluded to when characters wish to create a
particularly compelling argument, and the resultant actions often have a heavy impact on the
procedure of the plot. This concept is exemplified in Lady Macbeths manipulation of her
husband and Malcolms persuasion of Macduff to rise against Macbeth. Lady Macbeth deviates
heavily from traditional gender norms, and while she is not heartless enough to murder Duncan
herself, she effectively goads Macbeth into forcibly assuming the throne through the usage of
arguments that subvert his masculinity. The research conducted during the investigation suggests
that Lady Macbeth is an ambitious, empowered female character in the context of the play,
though this is only one of many possible interpretations of her persona, and that the witches are
ominous, unnatural entities that tempt Macbeth with his destiny into committing crimes that meet
their own ends.
Worthy of note is the reversal of traditional gender roles in the initial descriptions of
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as well as their juxtaposition with the witches, which act as
character foils due to their unchanging natures. Their actions serve to both reinforce and
challenge traditional ideas of gender, as their identities change over time, corresponding and
contrasting with the accepted social norms. In closing, the rhetoric of gender is a powerful tool
that resonates throughout Macbeth, and has important implications on how characters are
portrayed and how they are to be interpreted.
Word Count: 3284

Bibliography:
Kimbrough, Robert. "Macbeth: The Prisoner of Gender." Shakespeare Studies 16 (1983): 175-90.
Print.
Liston, William T. "Male and Female Created He Them: Sex and Gender in Macbeth." College
Literature 16.3 (1989): 232-39. JSTOR. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Robert S. Miola. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004. Print.
Thomas, Catherine E. "(Un)sexing Lady Macbeth: Gender, Power, and Visual Rhetoric in Her
Graphic Afterlives." The Upstart Crow 31 (2012): 81-98. Print.