Topic of today's lesson : Gender role fluidity in Shakespeare. As Shakespeare revels in dramatizing gender fluidity, today Matthew discussed and took notes on this topic. We noted how at the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as the strong violent character willing to kill for power, while her husband must be induced to act. We traced the play's ongoing reference to manliness and womanhood in terms of traditional gender roles. Thus, In Act I and II ,we see the Lady Macbeth portrayed with traditional male characteristics while her husband is maligned for his womanly weakness. We then discussed how McDuff -upon hearing of his family's slaughter by Macbeth -argues that he can be a man while still displaying distraught emotion and "womanly tears" . Matthew discussed how in contrast to the role reversal in Act I and II, McDuff represents the masculine and the feminine in a single character. I then discussed Shakespeare's comedy,"Twelfth Night" wherein a boy actor portrays a woman , Viola, who is disguised as a man. Olivia, a woman, then falls in love with Viola not recognizing that Viola is a woman. With gender so fluid in Shakespeare we examined Shakespeare's apparent philosophy on how gender roles shape character and motivations. Hw- r.Act V scenes I and ii