Examination Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Potsdam (Institut fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik), 50 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The title of this paper is The Construction of Femininity and Masculinity in Shakespeares Macbeth. As this title suggests, I analyzed how Shakespeare construes female and male identity in Macbeth. As in many Shakespearean dramas the play starts with the destruction of order leading up to a crisis and ending in the restoration of order at the end of the play (Gelfert 32). The political order that is destroyed in the course of the play is King Duncans natural and fair order which appreciates a unique set of masculine and feminine values. Macbeth murders King Duncan in order to usurp his throne. Macbeths reign turns Duncans order into chaos and moral order cannot return to Scotland until the tyrant ruler Macbeth is defeated by troops who fight for the restoration of Duncans order, through the coronation of his son Malcolm. This essay deals with the question of how Shakespeare shapes female and male characters. As a matter of fact, female and male characters are ultimately involved in the destruction and restoration of Scotland. This involves questions such as: Which historical concepts does Shakespeare use to construe his male and female characters? Does he construe typical gender roles? And what happens when gender boundaries are crossed, when men develop feminine traits and women male ones? With special regard to the marriage of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, I also analyzed the interaction between the genders. In the course of my analysis, I used the term gender, originating from Anglo-American feminist discourse, meaning the social, cultural, and psychological meaning imposed upon biological sexual identity (Showalter 1-2). Interpreting femininity and masculinity as gender constructions allows a more thorough an
