In William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, Shakespeare seems to abandon perceived gender roles and what traits and attributes are perceived to be male or female . What makes the play written by Shakespeare unique is that Ariel is a male in his interpretation of the play, but in other plays the role of Ariel is played by a woman. The difference in the gender of the actor allows for a comparison and introduction of gender performativity by comparing and contrasting the different genders. I think it would be important to look at the text of Shakespeare's The Tempest to see how Prospero interacts with Ariel. “Your royal fleet is far away. My Ariel, chick, this is your task: then be free to the elements and farewell! Please come closer" (Acts 5.1.319-321). Gender performativity is useful for examining this particular dialogue. This scene is the end of the play and it would appear that Prospero does not see or define gender. Ariel being a male is treated almost like what society would treat a female. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Another example in the play would be when Ariel sings to Prospero, whose response is, "Why, that's my delicate Ariel!". I will miss you; But you will still have freedom” (Acts 5,1,95-97). Gender performativity once again seems absent or lost. Dainty is an adjective that would mostly be associated with the feminine gender. It is a character trait given to women based on society's perception of gender. Men are strong, both internally and externally; females, on the other hand, are more fragile, small and tiny. Yet Shakespeare in this case uses a term associated with the female gender and uses it for Ariel who is male. Furthermore, Ariel's singing to another man, almost in a serenade, goes against what society in this historical moment believed and associated with the male gender. Gender performativity is missing in Ariel throughout the entire play. Ariel, despite being a man, does not necessarily seem to have the characteristics that society attributes to the male gender. The character of Ariel seems to have traits and characteristics represented by both the male and female genders; Ariel appears to be androgynous (Garno Nesler). In addition to Ariel's androgynous nature, there are no indicators specifically indicating whether Ariel is actually male or female, aside from the characters playing those roles, rather based on Ariel's interactions and characteristics, the sprite appears to take on the gender of both a male and a female who change when necessary (Garno Nesler). The use of a woman in the stage version of The Tempest opens the audience's eyes to the changing nature of gender. Shakespeare seems to be one of the first people who tried to put an end to gender performativity and the stereotypical roles and traits that are assigned to individuals simply based on their sex, male or female. expresses or masks an internal "self", regardless of whether that "self" is conceived as sexual or not. As a performative performance, gender is a largely constructed 'act,' constructing the social fiction of one's psychological interiority” (Butler 528). Judith Butler argues that what someone feels and acts internally does not necessarily constitute their sex. Gender and sex remain two different entities, not congruent with each other. In the society where The Tempest was created, Ariel would have been classified as “other” or “other” simply because he was different than what society would expect at the time. The “Other” is the concept according to which an individual is,.