Examples Of Masculinity In Macbeth

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In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there is a strong connection between masculinity and power. In the play, it is Lady Macbeth that is the most assertive in the couple, and it is Lady Macbeth that keeps encouraging Macbeth to follow his plans to kill Duncan by questioning his masculinity. Lady Macbeth taunts Macbeth that she would be more manly than he is by stating that she would “[pluck her] nipple from [her baby’s] boneless gums, / And [dash] the brains out” if she had sworn to Macbeth that she would do this (I, vii, 57-59). Macbeth in return praises Lady Macbeth’s manliness when he tells her that her “undaunted mettle should compose/ Nothing but males” (I, vii, 73-74). Lady Macbeth’s strong desire for power also causes her to call upon the spirits
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