William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the history of English literature as well as the world’s paramount playwright. Possibly the most superlative writing attribute he possessed was his unmatched ability of characterization. Shakespeare created unique, opaque, and eminent characters who related to almost everyone. When one thinks of these famous characters, Shakespeare’s tragedy of Macbeth comes into consideration. Macbeth is possibly Shakespearian Theatre’s densest and most disturbed character, and this prestigious title can be credited to his obvious psychological problems. The troubled mind of Macbeth can be related to several modern day psychological problems.
There is heavy speculation surrounding the psychology of Macbeth. Nevertheless, even with an elementary understanding of the play one can attribute Macbeth with troubled emotions, these emotions being encompassed by anxiety and it is many divisions. Anxiety is defined as “an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs…, by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it” (Merriam-Webster). The most common symptoms of anxiety disorder include feelings of “panic and fear, uncontrollable and obsessive thoughts, repeated thoughts or flashbacks of traumatic experiences, nightmares, ritualistic behaviors, problems sleeping, shortness of breath, ritualistic behaviors, an inability to be still and calm, nausea and dizziness, and palpitations” (WebMD). The exact causes of anxiety disorder are unknown, but research suggests the disorder is caused by changes in the brain and environmental stress. One division of emotion that falls under anxiety...
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...d have developed a serious mental illnesses of her own, and later die because of it. There would also be no need to killing Banquo, for Macbeth could not have children and he would most likely be dead by the time Banquo’s lineage had succeeded him. Macduff’s family would most likely be saved also. It is amazing how Shakespeare used the psychological issues of one man to develop such a strong interlaced plot would not be the same without Macbeth’s disturbed mental state.
Shakespeare revolved the whole play around Macbeth’s anxiety disorder and panic attacks. Through advanced psychology, a character of unmatched emotions was created during the time. It is illogical to conclude that Macbeth had a very serious anxiety disorder, which was made worse by common panic attacks. The characterization of Macduff is among the strongest and deepest in the history of playwright.
And Banquo’s son Fleance manages to escape from the attack. Next, Macduff refuses to accept Macbeth as king and flees to England to join Malcom. The witches tell him to beware of Macduff, which angers Macbeth and drives him to kill Macduff's family. The fear of losing the impending battle with England makes Macbeth begin doing anything that will give him an edge in the final battle.
The suffering of Macbeth throughout the play is a disconsolate process. Throughout the stages of his grievous downfall essential truths about humanity are dubiously displayed. Macbeth’s ordeal reveals the ev...
In transition from act two to act three, you can clearly see this. Macbeth had contemplated killing Duncan thoroughly and with very combative internal arguments. However, when he begins to suspect Banquo to become his ruin, he does not hesitate to consider Banquo’s death; even more, Banquo’s son, Fleance. This is a very impulsive decision for Macbeth to make. He does not stop to consider the consequences, but instead immediately hires murderers to kill them both. Macbeth’s impulsiveness is yet another symptom of bipolar disorder. His impulsive decision provides Macbeth with yet another issue he must address, Macduff. Expectedly, his previous impulsive decision cascades into another. Macbeth thinks the only solution to Macduff is killing his entire castle, including Macduff’s family. However, this leads to all of England opposing Macbeth. Had Macbeth thought of the fallout, he could have potentially avoided conflict with England. Nonetheless, Macbeth is brought even closer to his demise through his
Macbeth, one of the darkest and most powerful plays written by Shakespeare, dramatizes the disastrous psychological effects that occur when evil is chosen to fulfill the ambition for power. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s character loses mental stability and becomes enthralled with the idea of being king. Empowered by the three witches, this situation consumes Macbeth’s consciousness until his mental state becomes deranged. This mental deterioration is evident in what he says and does as he evolves into a tyrannical ruler attempting to protect himself from enmity and suspicion. In an attempt to fulfill his ambition for power, Macbeth displays mental deterioration and becomes increasingly bloodthirsty.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play. Macbeth’s rise to the throne was brought about by the same external forces that ensure his downfall.
William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is intense and horrifying, with Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, planning to kill the king so that Macbeth can take his position. Lady Macbeth is the master mind behind all of this. She is in his ear telling him what to do and how to do it. Under all of this pressure from his wife, Macbeth starts to go insane. In the play, Macbeth shows symptoms of bipolar disorder due to his lack of sleep, agitation, and activeness.
The Character of Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Play At the beginning of the play Macbeth is seen as a courageous soldier
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play centring around opposing forces trying to gain power in the succession for the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, in the beginning, is known to be a nobel and strong willed man, who is ready to fight for his country. However, one may see that Macbeth has a darker side to him, he is power hungry and blood thirsty, and will not stop until he has secured his spot as King of Scotland. Though Macbeth may be a tyrant, he is very naïve, gullible, and vulnerable. He is vulnerable and willing to be persuaded by many characters throughout the play, his wife, the witches to name a few, this is the first sign that his mental state is not as sharp as others. One will see the deterioration of Macbeth and his mental state as the play progresses, from level headedness and undisturbed to hallucinogenic, psychopathic and narcissistic. The triggering event for his mental deterioration is caused by the greed created from the witches first prophecy, that Macbeth will become King of Scotland (I.iii.53). Because of the greed causing his mental deterioration, Macbeth’s psychosis is what caused his own demise by the end of the play. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the tragic hero Macbeth’s demise is provoked by his hallucinogenic episodes, psychopathic actions and narcissistic behaviours.
Macbeth Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis and King of Scotland is dead by the end of the play, thanks to his mental deterioration. Macbeth’s mental deterioration is easily traced throughout the the play, starting with Macbeth imagining the floating dagger, then continuing to deteriorate threw the killing of Banquo, and finally ending with seeing Banquo’s ghost at the banquet. As clearly seen Lady Macbeth isn’t the only insane one. Macbeth was doomed from the beginning of the play. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were a couple that just couldn’t get a grip on reality. As they say curiosity killed the
The play 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare gives the audience plenty of opportunities to consider the reasons for Macbeth's actions, whither he had turned mad, or he was just simply bad. I will look at to the extent to which Macbeth is responsible for his own actions, as well as the contributions of other characters through an analysis of the playwright's dramatic techniques. After studying the play in detail I feel that although Macbeth was encouraged at the start he started planning executions on his own and by the end of the play, Macbeth's downfall showed him to be a bloody butcher.
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
As found in Macbeth, a fictional play, it can be noticed that the amount on paranoia found in the book is astonishing. William Shakespeare creates an environment where the reader can identify the situations where Macbeth is paranoid and how it clouds his judgement to make him do things that he never imagined himself doing. Killing King Duncan, the greatest ruler, and framing his children in order to have all of the power while also killing others in order to keep his spot at ruler of Scotland.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare confronts audiences with universal and powerful themes of ambition and evil along with its consequences. Shakespeare explores the powerful theme of the human mind’s decent into madness, audiences find this theme most confronting because of its universal relevance. His use of dramatic devices includes soliloquies, animal imagery, clear characterisation and dramatic language. Themes of ambition and mental instability are evident in Lady Macbeth’s reaction to Macbeth’s letter detailing the prophecies, Macbeth’s hallucinations of Banquo’s ghost and finally in the scene where Lady Macbeth is found sleep walking, tortured by her involvement.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” explores a fundamental struggle of the human conscience. The reader is transported into the journey of a man who recognizes and acknowledges evil but still succumbs to its destructive powers. The character of Macbeth is shrouded in ambiguity that scholars have claimed as both being a tyrant and tragic hero. Macbeth’s inner turmoil and anxieties that burden him throughout the entire play evoke sympathy and pity in the reader. Though he has the characteristics of an irredeemable tyrant, Macbeth realizes his mistakes and knows there is no redemption for his sins. And that is indeed tragic.
Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.