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Monica KempskiWGST 199-01Professor Uman1/15/2010
 Macbeth
: Discouraging stereotypical masculinity?
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 Macbeth
 by William Shakespeare is a complicated play that can be interoperated to suggest thatmen should be masculine in the most stereotypical way. He can do so by being courageous, fierce, andclever. Ultimately, when a man fulfills these stereotypical traits, he is rewarded. When he does not, he isseverely punished. I agree with this idea up to a point, but I cannot accept this overall conclusion due tothe final outcome of the play.Macbeth is rewarded when he is courageous, fierce, and clever, but ridiculed when he is not. Inthe beginning of the play Macbeth is a bold soldier, killing many men of Norway under his king, KingDuncan. When he returns and meets the king, who praises Macbeth and deems him a war hero. ³O valiantcousin, worthy gentleman!´ (1.1.24). Thus, Macbeth is rewarded for being valiant which constitutes himas a worthy gentleman. After this scene, Macbeth is taunted by his wife in many ways. First, she says thathe is not clever for throwing his advancement to king away. ³Which would be worn now in their newestgloss, Not cast aside soon´ (1.7.35-36) Macbeth is also mocked by his wife when he does not possess themany traits boldness or fierceness to murder King Duncan to make himself king. ³When you durst do it,then you were a man; And, to be more that what you were, you would Be so much more the man´(1.7.50-52). With this dialogue, she is saying that Macbeth is not a man unless he comes up with thecourage and malicious gut to carry out a murder. Then, she further entices him to kill by reminding him of his reward of kingship if he fulfills his deed. Here again, if Macbeth can find the masculine courage andferocity to murder, he will be granted kingship. In Macbeth¶s case, he benefits if he possesses masculinetraits, and put down and out of advantage when he does not.
 
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Macduff is not courageous, bold, or clever through most of the play. Halfway through the playMacduff flees from his family. Because of this cowardly action, Lady Macduff had no good faith in her husband. ³Wisdom? To leave his wife, his babes, His mansion, and his titles´ (4.2.6-7). Here, she callshim not clever, a stereotypical trait of a man, as well as a coward for not standing for all he owns.Macduff¶s punishment for his unmanly actions is that his wife and child are killed. Thus, Macduff¶scowardice and stupidity has yielded unpleasant and terrible results. Only when he gains the courage andferocity to murder Macbeth is he granted the noble reward of king of Scotland.A final male character to study men¶s proper behavior in
 Macbeth
is King Duncan. In the beginning of the play, King Duncan is portrayed both as amiable and naïve. These traits are completeopposites of the stereotypical masculine traits of intelligence and aggressiveness. . King Duncan is verynaïve because he trusted the king of Norway, who eventually became a traitor with whom he went to war with. ³Norway himself with terrible numbers assisted by that most disloyal traitor´ (1.2.53-54). KingDuncan is amiable when he praises his war soldiers who fought in the battle against Norway due to hisnaïveté. In particular, he admires Macbeth when he says, ³More is thy due than mare than all can pay´(1.4.21). Here, he tells Macbeth that he owes his deepest gratitude to him, making him Thane of Cawdor.Only a compassionate man like Duncan can express his thanks so greatly. Because he now trustsMacbeth, he falls into the trap of going to his house for the supposed thanking of the respectable act of making him Thane. However, because of his passion and unwise judgment of people, he is murdered byMacbeth. Thus, Duncan¶s un-masculine traits yielded a most gruesome outcome.With countless evidence of the rewards for the ³proper´ behavior of a man through courage,fierceness, and cleverness, I must argue that the ending of the play makes this partially untrue traits of asuccessful man.. I believe that the ending suggests that the correct behavior of a man should be that he is benevolent and engages in violence only when necessary. When Macbeth was a good citizen who foughtfor his country, he received the award of a high-ranking respected war hero. In this way, I do agree that aman should be courageous when it comes to doing good. However, only when he became bold to do
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