A variety of experiences and aspects of life such as a personal motive or guilt can significantly influence one 's ability to withhold their mental stability. Mental illness is a common subject within our culture and often found in our literature throughout history. A widely recognized example of a characters deterioration in their mental health is found in the famous William Shakespeare’s,“Macbeth”. The story tells of the once-trusted protagonist Macbeth whose thirst for power leads to immense consequences in his mental health. At the start of the play Macbeth is presented as a heroic,loyal servant to the King of Scotland, Duncan. Although Macbeth was greatly respected and withheld a significant position by the king, he harbored a hidden lust for power. As result of Macbeth 's hallucinations, unchecked ambition, and his trust in the three witches his health descended into turmoil towards the final scenes of the play The play begins with the introduction of the three witches who are a key role in the outcome of …show more content…
But no more sights!—Where are these gentlemen? Come, bring me where they are(4.1.155-163)”, showed Macbeth 's mental health had officially diminished. By not only his hallucinations, however, his consistent mindset in removing anyone who stood in his of his ambition. Other scenes such as, Macbeth going into the battle with Macduff without his armor as result of him believing himself to be somewhat, “godly”, and the belief that could not be defeated are other examples of how his greed and ambition lead to his death in his mental stability. Overall, Macbeth was truly a tragic hero whose gradual growth in greed for power resulted in not only losing loved ones and his consciousness yet also resulting in his death.Greed and Ambition is a vital theme that notably influenced Macbeth’s mental deterioration. By following with a heart filled with avarice he is lead awry, which consequently sparked his destruction, defeat and left him bathing in
In William Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, the character of Macbeth is easily influenced by his wife and starts to spiral in his attempt to gain ambition. This is evident as he begins to behave in unexpected ways, seeing things, and negative thinking. This actively demonstrates that he is easily capable of changing drastically throughout this play by going through traumatic situations including his wife that calls him a coward if wasn’t be able to do so. In judgment of his character he would be diagnosed with schizophrenia for multipipe reasons. As being seen, Macbeth exhibits symptoms of schizophrenia to include: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and negative thoughts.
Madness, and power leads Macbeth into a dangerous mind-set. Becoming so delusional that he starts to think the
In another attempt to preserve his dominion, Macbeth slaughters Macduff’s entire family. Devising his plan in order to make an example of Macduff's abandonment he says, “The Castle of Macduff I will surprise... His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls.” (4.1) It is important to realize that Macbeth is further descending into madness by committing acts of irrational violence. Rather than relying on his subjects’ loyalty, Macbeth feels as if he must terrify them into subjugation.
Post traumatic stress disorder more commonly known as PTSD. According to the http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/what-is-ptsd.asp PTSD is a disorder that tends to occur when someone doesn’t recover from a traumatic event such as war, rape, abuse. Along with the disorder a series of symptoms come such as agitation, irritability, hostility, hypervigilance, self-destructive behavior, or social isolation, as well as other symptoms. Throughout the play we see a string of characters that present with possibility of having PTSD no more than our main character Macbeth. Macbeth weakened through war and an abusive wife caused him to suffer from PTSD.
Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.
“The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword his wife his babes, and all the unfortunate souls” (4.1. 165-167). This shows Macbeth’s complete disregard for human life and his willingness to commit crimes to maintain his power. He sees Macduff as a significant threat and is willing to do whatever it takes to eliminate him, including murdering Macduff’s wife and children. His ambition has consumed him, and he has lost touch with morality or compassion.
Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a play that mainly focuses on one common theme of insanity. Macbeth gradually becomes plagued by intense guilt as his desire for power drives him to attain his goals by any means necessary, including committing murder. He kills Duncan in cold blood in order to become King, has Banquo killed by three murderers because he wishes to maintain his position as King, and finally, he has Macduff’s family slaughtered. Each of these occurrences takes place because of Macbeth’s will to be King, or they are a result of his guilt. Nonetheless, they are all completed of his free will, which is what causes him to deteriorate mentally.
Schizophrenia is a mental illness which is best known as one that causes people to believe others are talking to them, but it is much more than that. It also consists of symptoms such as hallucinations, apathy, and paranoia. This mental illness is caused by a combination of being born with it and environment factors that trigger it, such as a traumatic event or stress. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth goes through the story slowly losing his mind and becoming less and less human. Although many blame Macbeth for his ultimate downfall, he is not at fault because he is mentally ill with schizophrenia, which are shown through the symptoms throughout the play.
Macbeth’s mental condition begins to dwindle as time goes on, starting with the murder of Duncan. At first, Macbeth is seen as a soldier that everyone aspires to be, strong, brave, and compassionate about his duties to the king. In act one scene two, Captain says, “...For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name-...” This shows that he is a likeable person who has only the objective of serving his king. After meeting with the witches and hearing his prophecy, Macbeth starts to think about what it would be like to be king of Scotland.
Near the end of the play, Macbeth begins to forget the brave and valiant soldier he was as he tells Macduff that he will "not fight with thee" (Act5:8:22) when he is realises that Macduff was foretold to be the one to slay him. His own arrogance then comes into play as he says that he "will not yield" (Act5:8:27) because he refuses to become the laughingstock of the common people. This also shows the reversal
Bryanna E. McCool Mrs. Dean British Literature 25 January 2018 Mental Illness in Shakespeare’s Macbeth The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, a play wrought with prophecies, deception, guilt, and death, brings light to the symptoms of mental illnesses and their effects on the human brain’s ability to reason, trust, and act in times of pressure. Both Macbeth and his lady are plagued by mental illness, and the effects of their illness only grow as the play evolves. Macbeth’s symptoms of schizophrenia and anxiety, as well as Lady Macbeth’s anxiety as well as hallucinations that eventually push her to suicide prove that not only can mental illness alter the way a person sees a situation, but it can also drive them to harm others and themselves.
Macbeth’s ambition is one of the most prominent things that drive Macbeth in the play and truly becomes evident when he hears of the Witches prophecies. When the witches stop talking, he demands to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (I, III, 73-74). This portrays his excessive curiosity on the subject as well as his craving for more desirable prophecies. This ambitious nature and craving for power is also demonstrated only moments after hearing the witches, when he starts formulating a plan to kill Duncan in order to make the third prophecy come true.
Mental Stability in Macbeth As Erma Bombeck once said, “Guilt: is the gift that keeps on giving” (“A Quote by Erma Bombeck”). In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, guilt plays an enormous role in the development of Macbeth’s descent into madness. Macbeth is about Macbeth being persuaded by Lady Macbeth into committing heinous crimes, and it all started when Macbeth tells her about premonitions three witches gave him. In pursuit of making those premonitions come true, Macbeth kills King Duncan, which scares his children, Malcolm and Donalbain out of the country, allowing Macbeth to become King.
At the beginning of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ the protagonist Macbeth is described as ‘brave’, ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’, however Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeths desire for power consumes them. Macbeth’s ambition overrides his conscience and transformed his greatest strength into his greatest weakness. Macbeth’s inability to resist temptations that led him to be greedy for power, Macbeth’s easily manipulative nature which allowed his mind to be swayed, Macbeth having no self control and his excessive pride was what allowed him to renew his previously honourable and celebrated title into one of an evil ‘tyrant’. Macbeth is led by the prophecies of the witches after they foretell he will become the Thane of Cawdor. Not only the witches, but also his wife easily manipulate Macbeth as she attacks his manhood in order to provoke him to act on his desires.
Macbeth and Madness Imagine the President of the United States admitting to having mental instability. This scenario may rattle some, but it clearly plays out in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. The play’s title character uses violence to maintain power but gradually plummets into mental illness. Before Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, conspire to murder his cousin Duncan, the King of Scotland, in order to attain authority, Macbeth foreshadows the possible repercussions; afterward, he experiences an immediate sense of remorse. The subsequent murder of a friend displays his progressive unsteadiness, but the massacre of an entire family demonstrates his transformation from instability to deviance.