tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136593454417242564.post8955498412760000541..comments2023-02-27T03:53:34.869-05:00Comments on New Paltz Shakespeare: The Importance of Being "Manly"Cyrus Mulreadyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07949993053589030711noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136593454417242564.post-58928573997842201102012-12-03T14:12:06.294-05:002012-12-03T14:12:06.294-05:00We've talked a lot about gender in terms of fe...We've talked a lot about gender in terms of femininity in this course, but not as much about masculinity, which is why I really appreciate your post! I agree that there is a kind of crisis of masculinity at the center of the drama, one that is pushed along by Lady Macbeth. One of my favorite lines in the play is hers, when she tells her husband "Screw your courage to the sticking place," a metaphor that is drawn from warfare--crossbows were strung with "screws" that would pull back the bolt to the holding place before firing. I love it that Lady Macbeth uses the language of the battlefield to drive her husband along, suggesting as Krystal points out, that he is not being manly enough! Cyrus Mulreadyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07949993053589030711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7136593454417242564.post-60500082580408269492012-11-29T15:12:56.175-05:002012-11-29T15:12:56.175-05:00I enjoyed how you explored the connection between ...I enjoyed how you explored the connection between the ideas of masculinity and taking violent action. While this play does address the possibility of evil characteristics in women, these characters merely have the ability to manipulate others with their language. They are able to have evil thoughts and desires, but they are not able to bring themselves to act on them. Instead, both Lady Macbeth and witched use men as agents by which their evil desires may be performed. We see that Shakespeare’s male character’s associate action with manliness, and therefore easily fall into the trap of manipulation as soon as their masculinity is in question. While the female character’s are shown as conniving, manipulative figures, the men of this play are much more simple-minded figures who are impulsively driven. Vanessa Pavelockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17171861669565666529noreply@blogger.com