Manhood Fresh Bleeding: Shakespeare’s Men and the Construction of Masculine Identity

Abstract

This essay examines the various expectations placed on male bodies in the early modern period, the repeated challenge of “proving” one’s masculinity, and the various critical reactions to violent action in Shakespeare’s plays. Early modern ideas regarding “manhood” and the gendering of bodies have been misinterpreted by many recent critics, and the myths of gender renversement and masculine anxiety have been greatly overstated. In contrast, the complex relationship between the body and the construction of manhood has been downplayed, while the important sociocultural expectation of masculine bodily sacrifice has not been fully appreciated. The connection between honor and violence extends well beyond the aristocracy and provides an important foundation for early modern English society, but most critics diminish the significance of masculine service and death.