How male/female relationships explored in the texts Essay Example

of the era dictating women's subservience, she boldly makes such assertions. Moreover, she persistently undermines Macbeth's manliness by doubting his virility and insinuating that only through executing the action she proposes would he genuinely prove his masculinity.

Discovering that his wife deemed him feeble would have distressed Macbeth, given the prevailing male dominance during their era. Lady Macbeth exhibited her intelligence by subverting his manhood and positioning herself as the relationship's authority once again. She abandons her feminine nature as she contorts the image of a charming, innocent baby smiling into something ominous that surpasses innocence, indicating the lengths at which Lady Macbeth is prepared to reach in order for power and prosperity.

Lady Macbeth skillfully highlights the disparity between her feminine characteristics and Macbeth's masculine traits through her audacious declaration of readiness to "dash'd the brains out" of a child she is nursing, rather than reneging on her vow. This statement underscores her shrewd personality. By indicating her willingness to sacrifice her own child instead of violating a pledge made to him, Lady Macbeth paints herself as incredibly steadfast, thereby pressuring Macbeth not to seem feeble by comparison. Shakespeare employs richly descriptive language in his prose and uses vivid, startling imagery for Lady Macbeth to effectively influence and control her husband into performing this dreadful deed.

Macbeth responds to Lady Macbeth's accusations and insults by simply asking, 'if we should fail?' This demonstrates Macbeth's vulnerability towards his wife's perception of him. He is beginning to yield to her influence and is starting to question the plan of assassinating King Duncan. This illustrates that their relationship is not conventional, as Macbeth allows his wife to manipulate him and

wield absolute power over him. Lady Macbeth will now believe that he will comply with her every command. Nevertheless, Macbeth remains extremely fearful and desires to ensure that nothing goes awry. He can only ponder the consequences if their plan fails, indicating his surrender in resisting Lady Macbeth's dominion.

In act 3 scene 2, Lady Macbeth expresses her distress over the fact that their act of killing the King has yielded no gains but has, in fact, resulted in the loss of everything. She laments, 'Noughts had, alls spent where our desire is got without content.' This indicates her deep remorse for influencing her husband to commit the murder and her yearning to have the same power and privilege as the King. These emotions ultimately drive her towards madness as she comprehends that their actions have sealed their inevitable fate. She fears that if they managed to attain their desires without any fulfillment, everything they have worked for would be forever lost. The achievement and success they craved would become utterly meaningless in this scenario.

Lady Macbeth is discontented due to the realization that she will have to confront repercussions for her deeds, making all her actions worthless. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth appears uninformed about Macbeth's present engagements, as evidenced by her need to question his location and suggestion that he is too engrossed to meet with her. When they eventually encounter each other, Lady Macbeth queries why he secludes himself from her, signifying a decrease in their interactions compared to the past and denoting a change in their relationship dynamics. However, this also conveys her wish to serve as a pillar of strength for Macbeth.

In the text,

Shakespeare portrays a change in dynamics between the characters. The woman now addresses the man with a title of 'lord', granting him newfound respect and placing him in a position of superiority over her. This shift in power has altered their relationship, causing a rift to form between them. Additionally, Shakespeare employs imagery to illustrate the decline of Macbeth's mental state as a result of his intense ambition. Macbeth becomes aware that he is tormenting himself by relentlessly pursuing his lofty goals.

Macbeth confesses to Lady Macbeth, "O full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife", acknowledging the turmoil and confusion he is experiencing. This line's imagery is significant, as it portrays the chaos in Macbeth's mind through the metaphor of 'scorpions'. The choice of 'scorpions' symbolizes the poisonous, vicious, and evil nature of his thoughts, representing the darkness and malevolence consuming his mind. Macbeth becomes consumed by these troubling thoughts, unable to purge Duncan from his mind and increasingly fixated on him.

Macbeth doesn't view Lady Macbeth as his counterpart, evidenced by him addressing her as 'wife', while she refers to him as 'Lord'. Once a figure of authority and control, Lady Macbeth has shifted into a state of dependency on Macbeth. Instead of proposing solutions, she concludes with an inquiry: 'What's to be done?' This reflects her apprehension and unease due to her uncertainty about the unfolding events, prompting her to seek counsel from Macbeth. She is concerned for his well-being and desires his presence at her side once more. Whereas in the past, Lady Macbeth was the decision-maker; now she finds herself lost and uninformed.

When Macbeth reveals his plans to deal with Banquo, he

demonstrates his increased dominance in the relationship by taking control of the conversation. Lady Macbeth acknowledges his authority and he shows affection and protectiveness towards her, saying "Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck." Their roles are now starting to switch, with Macbeth asserting his dominance. This also reveals his concern for her well-being, as he keeps her unaware of his plans. Furthermore, Macbeth reprimands her, a behavior he would not have exhibited before, indicating how the sudden surge of authority and power in his life has transformed him.

Macbeth's behavior has transformed from cowardly babbling to powerful planning, while Lady Macbeth's character has shifted from a powerful woman to a cautious and content woman. Additionally, he patronizingly refers to her as 'chuck,' leaving her feeble and devoid of any remaining strength. In the poem 'Havisham,' the initial words "Beloved sweetheart bastard" create the setting and convey conflicting emotions with the use of an early oxymoron, emphasizing their intensity.

The speaker's use of both hateful and loving words suggests that she has experienced pain from love. Havisham's emotions towards her lover are conveyed through three words. The phrase 'beloved sweetheart' indicates her enduring love for him, while 'bastard' reveals her hatred towards him for the harm he has caused and the person she has become as a result. This paradoxical concept of love being intertwined with hate is further demonstrated in the poem through the use of enjambment with the phrase 'Love's hate.' Here, Duffy is implying that hate can arise from within love, implying that a significant amount of love must first be shattered in order for such hate to manifest.

This stanza in

'Havisham' captures the fluctuating emotions of Miss Havisham. It reveals her transition from anger and resentment to sadness and depression. The stanza also highlights the decay that affects both Miss Havisham's emotional state and her physical surroundings, emphasizing her self-loathing as a spinster.

The opening of the poem captures the reader's attention with its dramatic tone and emphasis on the word 'spinster', which symbolizes Miss Havisham's lack of love and companionship. In the societal context of the poem, unmarried women were seen as strange, and this one-word sentence defines her existence and societal perception. The man's abandonment has condemned her to a life where society has deemed her unworthy of further attention or consideration.

After being jilted at her wedding, Havisham never healed. This resulted in her stationary state, where she remained in her bridal apparel without any activity or movement. She simply sat there, deteriorating both physically and mentally, emitting a foul odor and relentlessly criticizing herself, stating "I stink and remember." This proficiently employs onomatopoeia, providing readers with a glimpse into her character and the repulsive smell she exuded.

She is immersed in her own self-pity, acknowledging her unpleasantness but remaining indifferent. The poem delves into her psychological state, and through Duffy's choice of words, it becomes evident that she has experienced a tumultuous emotional journey. Duffy also explores the intertwining of love and hatred as it becomes apparent that Havisham's sexual passion still persists.

In Havisham, Duffy uses the structure to convey Havisham's intense animosity towards men and the suffering they inflicted upon her. Notwithstanding this, she continues to possess sexual desires, implying that she is not entirely broken. However, it should be considered that

in those times, it was customary for women to remain pure until wedlock. Thus, one could deduce that Havisham was likely a virgin when her betrothed deserted her. The expression "my fluent tongue in its mouth in its earthen down till suddenly bite awake" signifies how Havisham's opportunity at an ordinary womanhood was snatched away when her fiance departed. Currently, she aims to metaphorically bite off his manliness by depriving him of what makes him a man.

Havisham is devastated and unable to move on from the betrayal of her fiance. She conveys her pain by telling him, 'Don't think it's only the heart that b-b-b-breaks', indicating that not only is her heart shattered, but she herself is broken and her life has fallen apart. While she desires revenge, her love for him prevents her from actually causing him harm. This demonstrates her continued distress and grief, as evidenced by her tears and stuttering. Havisham is a profoundly saddened woman who requires assistance in recovering from her shattered heart and the tumultuous aftermath of a sudden and destructive relationship.

The man is in control and she desires to alter that dynamic and exact her revenge. In 'Cousin Kate', a rhetorical question is employed to illustrate the upheaval in her life and how she ended up living a life deemed "shameful" by society. For instance, she asks, "Why did a great lord find me out, and praise my flaxen hair? Why did a great lord find me out to fill my heart with care?" This demonstrates how she was enticed away from her simple cottage home by a powerful lord who wooed her with excessive flattery. The speaker

also appears to be demanding an explanation for why the great lord sought her out.

These interrogatives may indicate various possibilities but could foreshadow future events. The poem also employs imagery, such as "flaxen hair," depicting the ideal woman of that time who was considered beautiful and perfect due to her pale blonde hair. The rhetorical question is reiterated to emphasize the maiden's remorse and misjudgment towards the lord. The phrase 'To fill my heart with care' is open to interpretation: it could mean that she loves him or that the lord causes the maiden distress.

In this passage, the speaker recounts how she was mistreated by the lord and used by him. The phrase 'he changed me like a glove' emphasizes that she lost her virginity to him, which was considered inappropriate at the time due to societal expectations of a traditional relationship where sex is reserved for marriage. The lord 'changed' her by disregarding these norms and engaging in a sexual relationship with her. He treated her as an object that he only wore when he desired her and then discarded when he was finished. The use of the simile 'changed me like a glove' serves to emphasize the Lord's thoughtlessness and lack of consideration for her feelings.

During the Victorian era, men often wore white gloves, which would quickly become dirty and required frequent changing. This lack of consideration for the comfort of others is symbolized in the poem by the Lord's indifference towards the Maiden's feelings. The Maiden portrays Kate as unfaithful and disrespectful towards the Lord, demonstrated through her declaration that she would have spit in his face, showing her complete absence of

remorse or respect. Furthermore, she vows to dismiss his marriage proposal without a second thought. The word "spit" conveys the intensity of her emotions and highlights the depth of her fury in this poem.

The storyteller implies that, given the same circumstances as Kate, her choice would have been different and she wouldn't have decided to wed the lord. By showcasing herself as an understanding figure and underlining her dominance over Kate, she brings attention to the subjugation women endure. This scenario underscores the necessity for women to back each other up and be present for one another, particularly when considering their blood ties as cousins. The narrator sustains addressing Kate in a direct manner at the onset of the last verse but assumes a self-satisfied demeanor, seemingly boasting about having something that is not in Kate's possession. The mention of "gift" suggests it was presented to her and it holds significant value.

The implication that Kate may be unable to bear children suggests potential infertility. Even though she's been disregarded, she holds something special that Kate lacks. In "Cousin Kate," the anonymous maiden maintains autonomy over her life regardless of her situation. The word "Yet" signifies a turning point in the poem, revealing one of the reasons for the maiden's continued optimism: she has a child, while Cousin Kate does not and seems incapable of having one. Despite the unnamed maiden's enduring love for the lord, it remains unreturned as he does not reciprocate her feelings.

Shakespeare's "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" challenges the prevailing norms of showering one's lover with compliments about her physical beauty. Instead, he highlights the nuances of love and

how it can be conveyed and perceived differently. By contrasting the sun's beauty, radiance, and vitality with his mistress' eyes lacking these qualities, Shakespeare emphasizes the significance of love surpassing superficial comparisons.

In sonnet 130, Shakespeare rejects the typical metaphors used to describe a beautiful woman, such as being 'brighter than the sun', and instead praises her unconventionally. He states 'My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun', intending to avoid insulting her but rather to present a more genuine description, without the usual exaggerated metaphors. He refers to these exaggerated metaphors as false comparisons, emphasizing that she is just as beautiful as other women who are depicted with these unrealistic comparisons.

All the texts explore the concept of relationships in various manners. They share similarities in the sense that 'Havisham' depicts Miss Havisham's envy towards contented married women and her desire for a similar life, while being consumed by her past rejection. Similarly, 'Macbeth' showcases Macbeth's relentless pursuit of power, and Lady Macbeth's thirst for status. Likewise, 'Cousin Kate' portrays the unnamed maiden's overwhelming fixation on seeking revenge against the Lord and her cousin's betrayal.

The texts 'Macbeth', 'Havisham', and Sonnet 130 all explore power dynamics within relationships. In 'Macbeth', power and control are crucial for the relationship to function, with the characters constantly acting on their thoughts. However, in 'Havisham', the protagonist lacks power due to her rejection by her fiance and remains stuck in a cycle of revenge without taking action. This theme also relates to the unnamed maiden, who lacks societal power but holds influence over the lord through their shared son. Conversely, Sonnet 130 presents an equally loving relationship, offering a realistic portrayal

of relationships.

In 'Macbeth', Shakespeare initially portrays a balanced relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, with both characters expressing a desire to do everything together. However, towards the end of the play, Macbeth becomes less concerned with their bond. Shakespeare introduces dark imagery and emphasizes Lady Macbeth's death to illustrate Macbeth's indifference. In 'Cousin Kate', Rossetti explores the traditional aspect of relationships, highlighting the negative consequences of premarital loss of virginity. The unnamed maiden in the poem experiences unrequited love as she still yearns for the lord despite her anger, while he remains uninterested in her.

In Duffy's 'Havisham', the negative repercussions of a detrimental love affair are illustrated. Miss Havisham, seeking retribution, is portrayed through violent imagery with an angry, aggressive, and bitter tone throughout the poem. In comparison, Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 presents a more realistic depiction of relationships. Similarly, in act 1 scene 7 of Macbeth, the portrayal of their relationship feels authentic despite their sinister intentions of murder.

I found Havisham to be an enjoyable and impactful poem that highlights the negative aspects of a relationship. However, it should be noted that the viewpoint presented may be somewhat exaggerated, as it solely represents her perspective. Similarly, in Cousin Kate, an unnamed maiden narrates her own version of events, evoking sympathy from readers. Nevertheless, it would be intriguing to hear cousin Kate's side of the story for a more comprehensive understanding.