Macbeth, a leading Shakespearean play, raises many contradictory questions about the gender concepts of manhood and womanhood. One of the controversial issues has been whether or not Macbeth is a play that deals with feminism and women's rights in Elizabethan England. In Elizabethan England, women did not have the right to equality. Furthermore, the behavior of men and women was determined through the different characteristics attributed to them. With the evolution of the mind, humanity was divided into two types of classes, male and female. Shakespeare successfully depicts the characteristics of manhood and womanhood as well as a movement towards equality for women in society. Lord of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is only influenced by his “dearest partner in greatness” to commit horrible murders in order to gain the title of king and queen. Macbeth, the main character and tragic hero, is continually reminded of his gender role by his dear wife, Lady Macbeth, who leads Macbeth to his downfall. The conflicts between the two gender concepts are represented psychologically and physically through the character of Macbeth. During the Elizabethan era, men and women were expected to act a certain way and, surprisingly, it was considered "unnatural" if certain individuals did not behave according to their gender. . Since the division of humanity, man has acquired domination over woman, the weaker. Masculinity and femininity are not viewed in a “parallel relationship but in a hierarchical relationship” (Kimbrough, 175), which essentially means that masculinity always comes before femininity. According to Shakespeare, gender roles restrict, restrict, and deny human growth, but Macbeth's characters try... middle of paper... not to make him a man. Therefore, when Macbeth refuses to kill King Duncan, Lady Macbeth then aggressively states, “…When you dared to do it, then you were a man; and, to be more than what you were, you would be much more the man…” (Macbeth, I.vii.49-51) In this quote, Lady Macbeth says that when you perform this act, you are a man and if you go beyond what you promised, you are more of a man. When Lady Macbeth says this, she is referring to Macbeth as not being a man due to his mercy towards the king. Lady Macbeth references masculinity and psychologically pressures Macbeth to murder Duncan. 20POWER%201.pdfhttp://myclass.peelschools.org/sec/11/55502/Resources/MACBETH%20LENSES/Macbeth_The_Prisoner_of_Gender.pdf