Samarkand state institute of foreign languages english faculty I course paper

MINISTRY OF HIGHER AND SECONDARY SPECIAL EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN


SAMARKAND STATE INSTITUTE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
ENGLISH FACULTY I
COURSE PAPER
Theme: WOMEN CHARACTERS IN SHAKESPEARE’S “MACBETH”


Student: Ergasheva Bahora
Scientific supervisor: Yarbekov U. A.


Samarkand 2022
Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………………......		1
Chapter I. William Shakespeare’s role in the English literature …………….		2
	1.1. The periods of Shakespeare’s creative life …………………………...	4
	1.2.Importance of Shakespeare’s tragedies ………………………………..	12
Chapter II. How does Shakespeare write gender roles in Macbeth ………………………………………………………………………..		17
	2.1. The roles of woman characters in Shakespeare’s Macbeth…………	23
	2.2. Compare and contrast between Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff	30
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………		31
The list of used literature ……………………………………………………		32

INTRODUCTION
I wrote that the works I have covered in this course work were chosen purely on the basis of my preferences. I am supposed to have an area of specialization, though I have always had trouble focusing on a single area of literature to the exclusion of others. Theoretically, however, my areas of specialization are the Middle Ages. I mention this point because the present concerns one of my favourite writers, William Shakespeare.
Power. This theme occurs in so many of William Shakespeare’s plays because it is essential to the creation of conflict within a storyline. The plot of Macbeth would have never advanced if the prophecy given by the witches did not make Macbeth eager to take power away from Duncan and become king himself. Many of Shakespeare’s female characters have also been eager to obtain power, however, attaining power was not as casual as it was for men. Women were not thrust into leadership roles as easily as men were; they had to seek them out. Lady Macbeth from Macbeth, Rosalind from As You Like It, and Tamora from Titus Andronicus are all examples of women who took action to control their own lives and the lives of those around them. This paper will analyze the power that these three characters assert and will answer the questions of how do women assert power in Shakespeare, and, what role does gender play in power? Shakespeare did not write any of his plays with the intention for them to be seen as feminist because that thought did not exist in his time. As Peter Erikson writes in his essay, “Shakespeare, Feminist Criticism Of,” “Shakespeare cannot be usefully labeled either misogynist or feminist since he occupies an intermediate position between these extremes” (Erikson 1). The following analysis will be about how women are portrayed in Shakespeare’s plays, not why he chose to portray them a certain way. Power will be defined, as the opportunity to take action and lead others in an outcome that is desirable to you.Using this definition, the women in these Shakespearean plays are able to assert power when they mask or ignore their femininity, whether purposefully or not.These women are only powerful when they can control the men around them, and they lose that power when men feel threated by the effects of female speech and sexuality.
Macbeth is the one play of Shakespeare that shows the audience that even the darkest of evil can also be human. It may as well be horrible, but pitiable too. Macbeth is far less complex than the other tragedies of Shakespeare and frequently raises the question as to if this play is really tragic; Macbeth does not feel guilt and
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so the question of punishment doesn’t arise. What Shakespeare deals with in Macbeth is the consequence of unpardonable evil --- inescapable punishment. Yet at the same time the audience is moved by pity for the sufferings of the propagator of evil. This creates confusion in reactions to the fate of the protagonist. Macbeth’s end is a sorry end, but resulting from his monstrous career. Macbeth’s death is a defeat. Pity or awe is not raised by his death. Dying off-stage seems to be a reflection of the world’s desire to get rid of him. The sight of his severed head is an assurance of rightful kingship of Malcom. Macbeth is dismissed as “the dead butcher and his fiend-like queen.” The audience feels the justice established, but strangely enough, a rush of pity. The last scene is a projection of the absolute destruction of a man; a complete destruction of everything that he stood for. Hamlet, Lear, and Othello’s fortunes are terrible too, losing the beauty of their lives, but at the end they realise that all is not lost. The beauty and love of their life is not all forsaken; this eases the pain of death to some extent. The knowledge restores courage and nobility raising them above their enemies or the destruction of their worlds. There is tragedy but no defeat. The goodness of the defeated characters are confirmed.