Shakespeare wrote timeless literary works, set in the Elizabethan era. His stories refer to conventional views of Renaissance culture while maintaining a realistic and changing view regarding issues such as gender roles. By questioning and challenging the Elizabethan hierarchy, stories like Macbeth posed a threat to stereotypes and ideology whilst respecting values. Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, explores femininity, gender stereotypes and allusions to Greek mythology to investigate the relativity between cruel behavior and masculinity. (NEEDS ONE PHRASE) The ideal Elizabethan women represented simple beauty with kind, empathetic, tender, thoughtful and sensitive qualities. When Banquo meets the Three Sisters he addresses them as women "and yet your beards prevent me from interpreting that you are." They control destiny, maintaining full independence, being depicted as outcasts in the play's initial stasis. Lady Macbeth shows a stark contrast to ideal resources. Her debut features a digression that questions Macbeth's abilities to fulfill the prophecy and takes charge of the situation herself: "That I may pour out my spirits in thy ear, and chastise with the valor of my tongue all that prevents you from reaching the golden circle." The soliloquies reveal a spirit of independence and an unsubmissive nature; invites the spirits to silence her sensibilities and remove her tender nature: "Let no scrupulous visitation of nature shake my fiendish purpose..." Lady MacDuff embodies the only female character portrayed as an ideal Elizabethan woman, subservient to husband and caring towards their children. The exchanges between Lady MacDuff and her son illustrate a strong woman, capable of living life and dealing with problems, without the need for cruelty. Renaissance men aspire... to the center of the card... However, this allusion turns out to be ironic. while Hecate, guardian, led to the mental death of Lady Macbeth. “This disease is beyond my practice. Yet I have known those who walked in their sleep and who died holy in their beds.” Shakespeare's recognizable literature questions Elizabethan hierarchy and morality while respecting the parameters of society. Macbeth shows a great example of exploring social issues such as the relativity between cruel behavior and masculinity. The protagonists Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are in conflict with the ideology acceptable to the noble families of the Renaissance. Exploring femininity, gender stereotypes and allusions to Greek mythology, Shakespeare investigates the relativity between cruel behavior and masculinity. Macbeth represents a tragedy across the ages that questions stereotypes and how they affect life in Elizabethan England and today. Works Cited Macbeth