masculinity

• Brave Macbeth, well he deserves that name'

  Macbeth is celebrated by others for his bravery and aggression in battle - at the beginning of the play he fits the stereotype of Jacobean masculinity. He is a strong warrior who is loyal to his country.
• I do fear thy nature is too full o' th' milk of human kindness'


  Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth is not strong or brave enough to commit regicide, and that he is too compassionate. 'Milk' here is metaphorical, associated with femininity and nurture, so LM is associating Macbeth with 'weaker' feminine ideas as opposed to 'stronger' masculine ideas.
• We will speak further'

  When Lady Macbeth suggests regicide to Macbeth, he does not exert any patriarchal power over her, or command her as the Jacobean audience may have expected. LM also speaks much more in this conversation, suggesting she is the more powerful in the relationship as she commands him instead of the other way around.
• When you durst do it, then you were a man'


  Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth's masculinity, suggesting that he is not strong or powerful if he refuses to commit regicide. She also encourages him to be loyal to her rather than to his king or country, so he would no longer fulfil the expected stereotype of Jacobean masculinity as a loyal subject to Duncan.
• My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white'


  Lady Macbeth suggests Macbeth is cowardly for being shaken by the murder, implying that he does not conform to traditional expectations of men at the time.
• Upon my head they paced a fruitless crown/And put a barren scepter in my gripe'


  Macbeth is frustrated at his lack of an heir - as the head of his family, he feels responsible for his family line continuing, and therefore feels like his masculine identity is challenged.
• Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck'

  Macbeth does not share his plans for killing Banquo with Lady Macbeth, which is a contrast to earlier in the play. The power dynamic has shifted between them as he takes on a more traditional patriarchal role within the relationship. He begins to speak more and instruct her rather than talking to her about the plans or following her lead.
• Are you a man?'


  When Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost, Lady Macbeth again questions his masculinity, suggesting that she still views him as not fitting the stereotype of Jacobean masculinity. Previously this was because he was hesitant to kill Duncan and now because he is hallucinating, as his guilt manifests into the ghost of Banquo.
• Dispute it like a man'


  Malcolm tells Macduff that the best way to channel his grief about the murder of his family is to seek revenge. He wants Macduff to conform to the masculine stereotypes and avoid expressing his grief outwardly.
• I shall do so/But I must also feel it as a man'


  Macduff tells Malcolm that he will seek revenge but he needs to feel the pain of the loss. Despite having his masculinity questioned, he does not feel that he is any less of a man and in fact shows that being a man is about more than violence and aggression. He was a husband and father and insists on his right to mourn his loss; he is a foil of Macbeth here as he is not goaded into immediate violence, instead showing he can be emotional and a strong, loyal warrior.
• I will not yield'


  Macbeth refuses to surrender to Macduff and bow to Malcolm, as his hubris will not allow him too. Until the end, Macbeth's sense of his own masculine identity is rigid and centered around power and violence.