What is depression? According to MacGill (2015), depression is a mental health or mood disorder that triggers a constant feeling of unhappiness and loss of interest. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main protagonist named Macbeth is subjected to depression after committing the crime of killing King Duncan with the aid and persuasion of his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth. As the story progresses, Lady Macbeth also discloses her despair regarding the wicked and evil deeds that she gets involved in. Near the end, upon learning that his wife and young son are brutally slaughtered, the Scottish nobleman Macduff shows his melancholy as well. Similarly, in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the leading character named Hamlet experiences loneliness …show more content…
For instance, Macbeth is disheartened after his treachery to King Duncan. In the beginning, driven by his hunger of power, Macbeth decides to carry out the murder of the king and betray his kingdom. After the encouragement of his wife, he says, “I am settled, and bend up / Each corporal agent to this terrible feat” (Macbeth I, vii, 79-80). According to Gerwig (2003), he and his wife are not satisfied and contented to rest wholly their opportunity of promotion based on their merits. Consequently, they take advantage of the king’s weakness when he is their guest and seize his throne. Shortly before the end of the play, Macbeth is gradually losing his passion and willingness to live when he utters, “Out, out, brief candle! / Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing” (V, v, 23-28). After learning about the harsh outcomes of his trickery such as his wife’s self-murder and his friends’ dispute to his kingship, he develops a new idea of life; life is an illusion, full of horrors and emotional disturbance, but still worthless. His strange perspective about life asserts that he is tired of living and wants his life to be over. Similarly, Hamlet also goes through astonishment and heartache as he becomes aware of his mother’s remarriage soon …show more content…
For instance, Macduff undergoes shock and disbelief when he figures out the death of his whole family. As the story progresses, Macbeth’s cruelty grows patently when he declares, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; / Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line” (Macbeth IV, i, 165-168). He orders to kill Macduff’s innocent women and children to eradicate a threat to his power. He also uses the devastating event to send a message that he does not fear Macduff. Later, when Macduff stumbles upon the awful and disturbing incident within his fortress, he manifests his wretchedness when he notes, “Sinful Macduff, / They were all struck for thee!” (IV, iii, 230-231). He blames and condemns himself for the death of his wife and young son; he also insists that they are slaughtered because of him and not because of anything they did. Comparably, Ophelia’s depression has also worsen due to her father’s murder. She becomes insane and sings, “They bore him barefaced on the bier / . . . And in his grave rained many a tear” (Hamlet IV, v, 165-167). Ophelia already bears unhappiness as her father and brother both oppose her close relationship with Hamlet. As a result, when she hears about the news of her father’s death and unceremonious funeral, she begins to be crazy and hysterical. At the end, she
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.
Thirdly, feelings of paranoia and guilt cause Macbeth characters to make damaging choices. When Macbeth asks the witches to reveal the truth of their prophecies to him, they summon horrible apparitions, each of which offers a prediction to allay Macbeth’s fears. First, a floating head warns him to beware Macduff. Macbeth says that he has already guessed as much. Later when Lennox enters and tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth in reply says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; / Seize upon Fife; give to th'edge o'th'sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line.” (4.1.149-152). As Macbeth descends to madness he becomes obsessed with eliminating any threats to his power. Macbeth orders the murderers to kill Macduff's family and eliminate any threat to him. Ironically, this is the moment that Macbeth seals his own fate, by murdering Macduff's family he ensures Macduff's retaliation against him, which ultimately leads
At this point in the play, Macbeth is afraid of losing his crown that he is willing to do anything to save it. He lost his moral values and rational judgment. Every actions does indeed have consequences. Macduff learns the truth that Macbeth killed Duncan and when Macduff is often absent from Macbeth’s sight he grows suspicious. Macbeth has also been told by the witches during his second visit to beware of Macduff. Upon hearing this, he decided to send people to kill Macduff and his family. Macduff fled the castle first leaving his family behind. During the time Lady Macduff voice her fear: "He loves us not; / He wants the natural touch: for the poor wren, / The most diminutive of birds, will fight, / Her young ones in her nest, against the owl" (4.2.11).
In brief, the three scenes discussed above are illustrations of the compunction the two Macbeths are equally afflicted with after they preside over the murders of their king, a close friend, and an entire innocent family. Neither one was expecting such a strong impact on their minds, but neither could hide from their guilty consciences after the fact. Inevitably, Lady Macbeth is overcome with despair and commits suicide, not surprising given her poor, ravaged mind. Macbeth, too, seems to succumb to his inexorable destiny by Macduff’s sword, solidifying the pervasive theme that unchecked ambition must lead to an unpleasant end.
Mental illness is a serious societal problem today, and has been for a long time. People who have a mental illness often end up hurting other people mentally and physically. When someone has a mental illness, they might also end up hurting themselves or cause suffering for themselves. Also, it is sometimes difficult for them to understand things clearly, and they might be unsure of things in their life. All of these problems are shown in a person who is mentally ill. Macbeth hears his prophecy from three witches which starts his mental illness, along with Lady Macbeth pressuring him to kill the king. After Macbeth kills the king, things start to get out of hand; Macbeth gets over ambitious and wants to kill more people, whatever it takes. Lady Macbeth asks for her womanhood to be taken so that she will not feel guilty, but ends up feeling more guilty than ever. Subsequently, she kills herself to escape the guilt, and causes her husband great pain. These tragic examples and many others show that mental illness is a societal issue, and it is shown throughout the story of Macbeth.
William Shakespeare is widely known for his ability to take a sad story, illustrate it with words, and make it a tragedy. Usually human beings include certain discrepancies in their personalities that can at times find them in undesirable or difficult situations. However, those that are exemplified in Shakespeare’s tragedies include “character flaws” which are so destructive that they eventually cause their downfall. For example, Prince Hamlet, of Shakespeare’s tragedy play “Hamlet,” is seemingly horrified by what the ghost of his father clarifies concerning his death. Yet the actions executed by Hamlet following this revelation do not appear to coincide with the disgust he expresses immediately after the ghost alerts him of the true cause of his death. Thus, it is apparent that the instilled self doubt of Prince Hamlet is as the wand that Shakespeare uses to transform an otherwise sad story to an unfortunate tragedy.
Lady Macbeth Mental Illness William Shakespeare tragedy in Macbeth. Macbeth was a Thane, which is a noble. Lady Macbeth wants to be Queen of Scotland. Lady Macbeth wants to be king no matter what it takes, Lady Macbeth was going to be king and Lady Macbeth was going to be queen. Lady Macbeth was a very strong person.
Noah Webster, author of Webster’s Dictionary, defines mood as the “temporary state of the mind in regard to passion or feeling“ and “a morbid or fantastic state of mind.” E. L. Thorndike and Clarence L. Barnhart, authors of Scott, Foresman Advanced Dictionary, define mood as “the overall atmosphere or prevailing emotional aura of a work.” Shakespeare’s Macbeth, especially the pivotal and ominous second act, exemplifies both denotations of mood. The act has an “overall atmosphere,” even though the mood shifts, while this mood places a sense of cliff-hanging anxiety at the beginning, an ambiance of hysterics towards the middle, a feeling of tragic realization directly following, and an unsure aura of occult extractions. Shakespeare cleverly uses six key elements to further shape and add to the mood: the characters, the imagery, the setting, the sounds, the characters’ actions, and the characters’ dialogue.
Examine shakespeare's use of logical, emotional, and ethical by arguing using a passage from Hamlet, Kind Lear,and Macbeth.
Shakespeare's Macbeth is a heroic tragedy that shows the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition for those who seek power for its own sake. These psychological effects can be seen in many characters, but are most clearly displayed in the main character Macbeth. Macbeth begins the play as a noble and stable character- a loyal husband, subject, and the Thane of Glamis. However, as Macbeth receives more power and becomes more ambitious, he loses his mental stability. Macbeth’s mind deteriorates from his strong ambition, his guilt of killing, and the paranoia that comes of power. You can also see Macbeth’s mind deteriorate by examining his visions, attitude toward fear and death, and how
From the beginning of time, mankind has discovered a way to successfully or unsuccessfully reach his goals. In the play, Macbeth, Shakespeare demonstrates the struggles of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth as they try to achieve their goals through creating ambition and committing sin that neither of them were ready for. In the end, the true argument is whether or not they both thought out the plan to achieve their desires or if Lady Macbeth and Macbeth had just followed their instincts as unable rulers did. Throughout the play, the central theme shown is guilt because guilt is the result from both vaulting ambition and a continuing thirst for power.
One single moment or event during the course of an individual’s life can effectively alter their priorities and transform their identity drastically. In The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare introduces the readers to the protagonist Hamlet who is draped in anger and emotions and has a new-found mission in life. Initially, Hamlet is portrayed as an individual in mourning over his father's death and his mother's haste in remarrying to her brother-in-law and Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. However, Hamlet’s character and personality were drastically altered after meeting the Ghost and discovering the true nature of his Father’s death. Hamlet is now a man with a lust for revenge and a willingness to do anything that will enable him to accomplish this goal. When burdened with the task of killing Claudius, Hamlet chooses to sacrifice all he holds dear by transforming his identity in a noble effort to avenge his father’s death.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, he chronicled the story of Macbeth’s rise to power and all he encountered during that journey. One theme that is present throughout the entirety of the play is guilt. As the story progressed, it can be seen that guilt affects each character differently depending on their role in the play. However, every person deals with the guilt in their own way. Everyone is influenced by a feeling of regret at some point in their lives, and the way they deal with it will affect them in the long run. It can be seen taking a drastic toll, particularly on the characters of Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth. Ultimately, the presence of guilt in someone is determined by how easily they let it affect them.
One of the most important themes in Macbeth involves the witches' statement in Act 1, Scene1 that "fair is foul and foul is fair." (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 10) This phrase aptly describes the macabre status quo within the character Macbeth and without. When Macbeth and Banquo first see the weird sisters, Banquo is horrified by their hideous appearances. Conversely, Macbeth immediately began to converse with these universally known evil creatures. After hearing their prophecies, one can say that Macbeth considered the witches to be "fair" when in reality their intentions were quite "foul." Macbeth's possession of the titles of Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland came by foul means. Macbeth became the Thane of Glamis by his father Sinel's death; he became Thane of Cawdor when the former namesake was executed for treason; and he was ordained King of Scotland after murdering the venerable Duncan. Thus, Macbeth has a rather ghastly way of advancing in life.