Tragedy- Macbeth

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is not a tragedy merely because of the numerous deaths that result from evil intentions, but because of the corrosive transformation of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the deathly ambitious people they become. Shakespeare presents this transformation in a subtle way that becomes increasingly dramatic way. Lady Macbeth is very womanly, polite, and upstanding, but upon learning of Macbeth’s rise in power, she is hungry for more. This is when Lady Macbeth exhibits an example of gender role reversal; she takes charge of the situation upon realizing that Macbeth does not seem to have the confidence to take the next step needed to put himself ahead, and murder Duncan. Shakespeare presents these characters in a way that the reader or viewer of this play follows the Macbeths along their journey of rising power all the way to the summit of the mountain, and then stumbles back down the mountain with them.

ACT II SCENE II
Macbeth
I am afraid to think what I have done.
Look on’t again I dare not.

Lady Macbeth
Infirm of purpose!
Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures. Tis the eye of childhood
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,
I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal,
For it must seem there guilt.

She exits ( with the daggers) Knock within

Macbeth
Whence is that knocking?
How is’t with me when every noise appalls me?
What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes. With all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand?
No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnasube,
Making the green one red.

Enter Lady Macbeth
My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.
[…]
Macbeth
To know my deed ‘twere best not know myself.

In this scene, clearly Macbeth is distraught over his decision to murder Duncan. He feels uncomfortable in his own room; every single noise gives him fear because he knows so little of himself anymore. His actions have stricken him so terribly that nothing could change what he has done. Macbeth is extremely distraught, while Lady Macbeth is fine with the situation, and a bit ashamed at Macbeth’s skiddish behavior.
Macbeth’s behavior is characterized to be like that of the stereotypical woman; timid. Lady Macbeth is extremely bold, disgusted by Macbeth’s behavior. She has to take the daggers back to the scene, or do the dirty work. The way that Lady Macbeth says that her hands are the same color shows that she does feel badly about what has happened, but she has to move on, and Macbeth should be ashamed that he needs to be comforted, and just move on because he has more important things to focus on. Lady Macbeth has to take control of the situation, and be the one that is comforting the other, when one would normally expect the roles to be reversed.
The gender roles reversal plays into Macbeth’s demise, because not only his own ambition is his driving force, but more so the ambition of Lady Macbeth. She is the dominant person in the relationship, and her ambition is corruptive of the upstanding, rising members of society that she and Macbeth were.


I enjoyed the gender role reversal in Macbeth because it put an interesting twist on societal norms for the time period. The role reversal leads to intense language that exhibited desire and disgust, amongst various other emotions throughout the play. Shakespeare painted a picture with his words that even without seeing the play acted out, one could visualize the look on Lady Macbeth’s face when she has to hold Macbeth together, and the fear in Macbeth’s face when he sees the visions. Other than the major scenes involving Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters, I had trouble following most of the remainder of the play. It was not that the words did not make sense, but that I could not visualize what was happening. It probably would have helped to see Macbeth acted out.