The Soldier in the Theater: Military Masculinity and the Emergence of a Scottish Macbeth

"The Soldier in the Theater: Military Masculinity and the Emergence of a Scottish Macbeth" looks at the stage and literary history of this character in Shakespearean adaptations and spin-offs over the course of the long 18th century in the context of military identity and presence in the English theaters. Macbeth is a lightning rod for concerns over the military's role as a disciplinary force in the British public sphere, as well as a vehicle for expressing ideals of nationalist masculinity. The historical trajectory of Macbeth played, sequentially, as aristocratic courtier, British redcoat, and ancient Scot tells the story of a consolidating British nationalism that is guaranteed by a dominant model of "civilized" masculinity.