Preview

Macbeth's Mental Deterioration

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
287 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Macbeth's Mental Deterioration
In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth there are traces of Macbeth's mental deterioration throughout the play. Macbeth started out like a human being but at the end of the story he acted like a soulless body with no feeling or a heart. ( background) ideas Macbeth is able to think clearly without disturbing or anything of selfishness, or pride.When Macbeth meet the witches and tell of a prophecy that he shall become king and the king choices some one else his mind quickly changes to a mind of a need for control and tyranny.
Macbeth is a human being with emotions but we can see his mental deterioration when Macbeth is told of a prophecy by three witches( page number and quote). After he is told of this prophecy he is now a crazy man looking to
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth Schizophrenia Analysis
    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lady Macbeth Schizophrenia Analysis

    Shakespeare is one such playwright who explored the possibility of some characters being mentally ill. In his play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is depicted as unstable and considerably insane. However, for this paper, I will seek to diagnose Macbeth with schizophrenia, which is a mental disorder characterized by the deterioration in one’s brain and personality as seen in a person feeling, conduct and thoughts. Beside these general character traits of a person suffering from schizophrenia, the diseases specifically results to incoherent conversations and hallucinations. All these elements of a schizophrenic are found in Lady Macbeth; hence, I assert that the Lady Macbeth is schizophrenic.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth's Mood Analysis
    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page

    Macbeth's Mood Analysis

    In Shakespeares’ classic play The Tragedy of Macbeth, we see various contrasting emotions and moods of Macbeth. We learn that Macbeth’s character is very complex and double-sided throughout the scene that shows his two-sided feelings. The real question is to kill or not to kill King Duncan to gain the throne. This scene takes place in Act 1, Scene 7 in Inverness; Macbeth’s castle. Throughout the soliloquy, Macbeth evolves his moods towards the murder as his thoughts bounce back and forth. Macbeth’s personality is very influenced by his desires and motives. Macbeth is also very aware of possible flaws in his tentative plan. Macbeth’s thoughts and moods change through a variety of repetitions, euphemisms, lists and imagery. Therefore, as Macbeth…

    • 148 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Motif Of Illness In Macbeth
    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Motif Of Illness In Macbeth

    Explanation: In asking the doctor for a cure for Scotland, Macbeth displays that he finally notices the consequences of his actions. However, he is not admitting to his own actions being the cause of his country’s “disease.” This is said just after Macbeth has been told of the army marching toward the castle, and of the desertion of his nobles, which illuminates that the real illness in the country is him, Macbeth. By asking the doctor to purge Scotland of her disease, Macbeth is really asking the doctor to cure Scotland by removing him.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Presentation of Disturbed minds in Macbeth
    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Presentation of Disturbed minds in Macbeth

    Macbeth also shows a divided state of mind as he speaks aside, which is him speaking to himself which really shows us that Macbeth could have a disturbed mind because talking to yourself is not consider normal – “nothing is but what is not” he also he describes his choices as good and ill which shows a divided and disturbed mind because he is seriously considering killing Duncan. Macbeth also repeats the words good and ill. He also asks himself lots of questions to himself, which could suggest he has doubts or that he fears what could happen. This is also backed up by the language used – “unfixing hair”, “heart knock at my ribs”, “horrid image” this are all related to fear as he has doubts that he is not capable of putting his thoughts of killing Duncan into action.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mental Trauma In Macbeth
    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Mental Trauma In Macbeth

    When the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare was published in 1623, critics and audiences applauded his accurate depiction of the emotional repercussions of committing murder. Throughout the play, Shakespeare explores the mental states of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they commit multiple heinous crimes and emphasizes how each action affects them differently. As the play progresses, both characters begin to show signs of extreme mental trauma, but one character suffers much more than the other. Lady Macbeth makes major personal sacrifices, yet gets nothing in return, she must take responsibility for not only her own actions, but for those of Macbeth as well, and she is riddled with a strong sense of guilt that will ultimately lead to her…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Character Flaws In Macbeth
    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Character Flaws In Macbeth

    William Shakespeare produced the tragedy Macbeth in roughly 1606. The protagonist, Macbeth, is rivalled with several challenges throughout his journey to achieve the title as the King of Scotland. He acknowledges these challenges with immoral actions, as advised by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Through his responses, Macbeth’s character flaws are revealed, such as his deteriorating moral judgment, corrupted sanity and his most fatal flaw of all, ambition. Macbeth’s mental health and moral judgment attribute to his character flaws, promoting the concept that human nature consists of both positive and negative aspects.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Mental Deterioration In Macbeth
    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Examples Of Mental Deterioration In Macbeth

    One can infer that Macbeth suffers from Insomnia, anxiety, compulsion, psychosis and schizophrenia. Its is clearly stated in the book that he becomes sleepless and he also suffers from anxiety as a result of this. Personally, I believe that he suffers from compulsion because he tends to experience absurd fears and logic that edge him to repeatedly have people killed to protect his power and kingship. He also experiences a lot of anxiety. This is evident by his senseless fear of being overthrown by someone, which in result affect his daily functions as well as his overall mental health. The anxiety like i mentioned before is also affected by his insomnia. His psychosis and schizophrenia go hand in hand. Psychosis is a mental health illness or disorder in which a person loses contact with reality and their environment. This is also a symptom of schizophrenia. Other symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucinations, delusions, blunted affect, cognitive impairment, and paranoia. Macbeth exhibits signs of all these symptoms which is why I strongly believe that he is schizophrenic. For instance Macbeth is delusional. After his encounter with the three sisters in Act 4 scene 1, he believes that he is indestructible, invincible. All because they tell him that no one “born of woman” can kill him. Which he takes as nobody can kill him…

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Examples Of Mental Illness In Macbeth
    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Examples Of Mental Illness In Macbeth

    Mental illness affects approximately 1 in 4 people, including Macbeth from Shakespeare’s famous play, The Tragedy of Macbeth. Illnesses like schizophrenia and psychopathy impact about one percent of the population. In the play, Macbeth expresses worrisome traits of both of these disorders. Schizophrenia and psychopathy are both extremely deteriorating to the mind and he very well could have suffered from not just one, but both of these illnesses. He has the tendencies to be a psychopath while also having the tendencies to be a schizophrenic, particularly because of the hallucinations and paranoia. With all of that, he also fit almost all of the criteria to be considered insane in a courtroom. Macbeth was an all around mentally ill and unstable…

    • 1290 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Anger And Fear In Macbeth Research Paper
    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Anger And Fear In Macbeth Research Paper

    From fear turn to ambition to arrogance then to insanity has taken a toll on Macbeth and has stripped him of his soul. Now he is just a force that is full of fear and anger motived by both fear and anger to do harm to any one he suspects of knowing his crimes.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth's Descent Into Wickedness
    • 1914 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Macbeth's Descent Into Wickedness

    Walter Clyde Curry discusses that the witches are demonic spirits, not hallucinations and that their main purpose is to bring the nature of evil into Macbeth. Curry states that the witches are just lost souls that belong to the devil, or perhaps even the devil himself although in the form of witches. Inevitably, the roles of the witches are mostly to cause tragedy and affect the entire play but also to show the good versus the evil. The use of their powers also indicates their connection with the supernatural and coming straight from Satan. Other than arguing about the witches' origin, Curry…

    • 1914 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Schizophrenia In Macbeth
    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Schizophrenia In Macbeth

    Macbeth is so disoriented at one point he says “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?” (II.i.33-40). Macbeth will come up with a “fatal vision” when he us under stress of doing an action he does not want to do. Macbeth hallucinates events and believes that they are actually taking place. Macbeth saw the floating dagger on his way to murder king Duncan but during the murder he saw a series of events that didn’t happen. Macbeth hallucinates that “Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse The curtained sleep. Witchcraft celebrates Pale Hecate’s offerings, and withered murder, Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf, Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design Moves like a ghost” (II.i.51-57). Since Macbeth seems dead in the brain that is reflecting that to the real world and causing him to animals and witchcraft. Macbeth is not healthy and is dangerous because him thinking that witchcraft is real and animals are in the room is the first step to doing really dangerous actions. Schizophrenia causes Macbeth to hallucinate about animals and floating daggers while he is murdering King Duncan and starts him to do more evil actions. Schizophrenia also causes Macbeth to act crazy and the dinner banquet and his friends start to…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mental Illness In Macbeth
    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mental Illness In Macbeth

    Tens and thousands of people are diagnosed with mental illness annually. In the play Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth suffers through mental agony, influenced by their ambition and guilt, as well as self-fulfilled prophecies sparked by the three witches. Shakespeare’s tragedy suggests that the opportunity to attain power and the influence by the supernatural causes one’s mental deterioration, which eventually leads to an individual’s inevitable, fatal demise.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Does Lady Macbeth Change
    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Lady Macbeth Change

    What causes a man to change dramatically? In The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare Macbeth was a loyal yet an honorable warrior that knows what fear is but is fearless. At the time he was very heroic and noble, even King Duncan and others admired him for his great works. However fate held a tragic consternation upon Macbeths’ future. He was surrounded by wrong creatures that lead him to a wrong path, because of their beliefs and ambitions. Macbeth’s changes were very dramatic and vigorous. Macbeth changes more throughout the story than Lady Macbeth. His heart and his action were not visible, is like a snake hiding under a flower. But that was not long. His action started speaking his evil heart, soon every…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Theme Of Mental Illness In Macbeth
    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theme Of Mental Illness In Macbeth

    A simple plot to overthrow King Duncan and secure the kingdom for themselves and their lineage turned into a mental race the Macbeths couldn’t win. Plagued from the start, the stresses and anxiety were too much for the couple to handle- falling down a steady slope into madness neither could escape the mental illnesses creeping into their lives and were oblivious to the reality of the situations and their reactions to them. The stress and fear of getting caught killing King Duncan was the first line of sanity to snap in Macbeth leading him into paranoid schizophrenia, whereas the guilt and weight of the king’s death lead Lady Macbeth into a fatal fight with PTSD.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Insanity In Macbeth
    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Insanity In Macbeth

    The timeless play, Macbeth, centers around themes of power, guilt, insanity, magic and revenge. The main character, Macbeth, although once brave and loyal, slowly goes insane in his attempt to achieve power. Macbeth's character, along with his wife, Lady Macbeth, go through dramatic changes; they fall into the dark abyss of their own deeds and lead themselves into hell. Each incident on this path of darkness, relates to seeing the blood of their victims. To Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, seeing blood meant the end to all rational sanity and marked their beginnings as ruthless murderers unable to work past their guilt and paranoia. I explore how blood represents a mental inability for the Macbeths to escape from their evil deeds of cold blooded…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics