Diagnosing Macbeth In Macbeth we will diagnose him with schizophrenia. When macbeth makes it on top he becomes paranoid which can be a symptom of schizophrenia. Also he starts hallucinating which is other symptoms. So we will explore how he has schizophrenia and what schizophrenia is. The technical term for schizophrenia serious mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others. A symptom of schizophrenia can be hallucinations. According to Mayo Clinic “These usually involve seeing or hearing things that don't exist. Yet for the person with schizophrenia, they have the full force and impact of a normal experience. Hallucinations can be in any of the senses, but hearing voices is the most common hallucination.” Also a symptom can be “Suspiciousness and a general fear of others’ intentions.”(Cagliostro) Also a symptom can be “Withdrawing from family or friends.”(Cagliostro) …show more content…
One of the symptoms that Macbeth had was distancing himself from friends and family. He did this because once he started developing schizophrenia he was not as close to Lady Macbeth as he was. Also he was able to hire people to murder his best friend Banquo. “Both of you/Know Banquo was your enemy./Murderers. True, my lord./Macbeth. So is he mine, and in such bloody distance/ That every minute of his being thrusts/Against my near’st of life. And though I could/With barefaced power sweep him from my sight.../”(Macbeth 3.1
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreThe major character traits of Macbeth were his ambition (desire for power) and his utter ruthlessness in his pursuit of that power. Although Macbeth did not commit any mass murders I would compare him to one of the really brutal dictators of the 20th century Adolf Hitler. Who was responsible for the deaths of millions including six million Jewish people in the Nazi genocide. Both of the men had someone who stood behind them throughout their entire reign, and prior to it. For Hitler it was Ms. Eva Braun and for Macbeth, his Lady Both Hitler and Macbeth were willing to kill as many people as necessary to achieve the goal of Totalitarian. Macbeth was even willing to kill one of his closest friends in order to obtain this title.
Unlike Lady Macbeth, Macbeth had a big influence to impact his decisions. From the beginning, the three witches inflate his ego, causing him to get ahead of himself and result in him getting these strange hallucinations. (Act 2; Scene 1; Lines 45-50) “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch Thee. 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”. The first hallucination is the floating dagger, this represents his strong desire to kill King Duncan, so much so that Macbeth visualizes him killing Duncan over and over again in his
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both show signs of what would today be diagnosed as symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is defined as "a psychotic disorder characterized by loss of contact with the environment, by noticeable deterioration in the level of functioning in everyday life, and by disintegration of personality expressed as disorder of feeling, thought, and conduct." There are three major symptoms of the disorder; not being able to distinguish the difference between fantasy and reality, incoherent conversations, and withdrawal physically and emotionally. The most common and most well known symptom of schizophrenia is when people cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not. Schizophrenics often suffer from delusions and hallucinations. A delusion is a false belief or idea and a hallucination is seeing, hearing, or sensing something that is not really there. Some people diagnosed with the illness may speak with disjointed conversations. They often utter vague statements that are strung together in an incoherent way. Lastly, some schizophrenics withdraw emotionally, for example, their outlook on life is deadened and they show little or no warmth, and also physically, such as their movements become jerky and robot-like.
Although Macbeth may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, his suffering does not constitute insanity. Macbeth was in a healthy mindset when he embarked on his murderous spree and treacherous rule of Scotland. His actions and reactions prior to and throughout his tenure as King of Scotland were normal considering the circumstances. The following evidence will prove that Macbeth was indeed sane.
Firstly, Macbeth experiences a number of hallucinations as result of the guilt he is holding inside. These hallucinations appear at very critical times in the story and drive Macbeth into going mentally insane over the immense stress and guilt he is feeling. Early on in the story Macbeth begins to experience hallucinations when the possibility of becoming King is revealed. Macbeth’s hallucination of the floating dagger is a clear sign that he is mentally unable to control his thoughts, emotions and ambition. As Macbeth quietly walks down the hall to where Duncan sleeps he encounters something floating in the distance and says to himself, “Is this a dagger I see before me/ The handle toward my hand?” (2.1.33-4). From the start of the play Macbeth is already starting to feel guilty. Macbeth’s mind is so weak that he already feels guilty for a murder that he is not yet responsible for. The floating dagger pointing to Duncan’s room directly foreshadows his murder. Macbeth knows that when he reaches the dagger, the deed
Mental deterioration is when the mind breaks down and can cause forgetfulness, hallucination, memory lapses and destructive thoughts, In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, when Macbeth murders King Duncan, his mental state starts to deteriorate as he seeks help from inanimate objects and experiences vivid hallucinations. Blood symbolism emphasizes Macbeth’s mental deterioration as he seeks help from lifeless objects. Macbeth asks inanimate objects instead of people to help him to remove his guilt because he worries people will perceive him as insane. The guilt Macbeth feels when he plans Banquo’s murder causes him to have realistic hallucinations and he is unable to differentiate between reality and falseness around him. Although Macbeth
Mental deterioration can be defined as mental breakdown to the point of hallucination, memory lapses and destructive thoughts. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s mental state starts to deteriorate following the murder of King Duncan, and he begins to seek help from inanimate objects as well as experience vivid hallucinations. Nature symbolism emphasizes Macbeth’s mental deterioration as he seeks help from lifeless objects. Macbeth asks inanimate objects to remove his guilt instead of people because he worries of the repercussions of his crimes he will face. The guilt Macbeth feels when he plans and executes Banquo’s murder causes him to have realistic hallucinations and he is unable to differentiate between reality and his
After the death of Duncan, the king that Macbeth swore his allegiance to then killed, Macbeth went from wanting nothing to do with murder of his friends to having the killed after he, himself murdered Duncan. Immediately after Duncan’s death, Macbeth was in a state of guilt and low that struck him harder than anything he had ever felt, but after being crowned king he was cocky and confident in every decision he made. Bipolar Disorder causes changes in personality, from the lowest feelings of depression and suicide to the highest feeling of arrogance and cockiness while clouding the person’s thoughts and judgements. Bipolar Disorder nearly changes the entire personality of the person suffering from it, a famous leader in history that was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, back then known as Manic-Depressive Disorder, was Adolf Hitler. He was known for fits of rage that were terrifying to the people that knew him, and at other times he was calm and cocky as if he couldn’t feel anger. Adolf Hitler dealt with suicidal tendencies far before his rise to power into the Third Reich, he was painter that was very sure of himself when he was younger as well. Macbeth became the same way, experiencing moments of high and low in mere seconds, showing how corrupted by disease he was. The witches spoke that no one born of a woman could harm Macbeth, but mental illness is born of illness and
ne possibility is that Macbeth may be schizophrenic, because he feels guilt. Macbeth in his struggle to become the King kills many of his friends and well known people that he once used to be loyal. His conscience could be condemning him so loud that it drove him crazy, and feel the guilt so real that he flipped his mind and think he is being attacked being pursued because of his actions. Besides that, the other possibility of his schizophrenia could be his ambition of having the power and becoming a King. He worked so hard to be a king that he became obsessed with it. Once the witches announced the prophecy of Macbeth becoming the King he tried very hard
Killing King Duncan was only the beginning of his downfall. Macbeth’s common sense slowly left him after the killing, and then anxiety and insanity filled Macbeth’s head. Macbeth started to see hallucinations before killing King Duncan, one of which was a floating dagger. “Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee./ 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, (2.1.32-37).” This hallucination brought Macbeth to commit his first non-battle murder. Soon after, other murders committed by Macbeth followed out of his fear and insanity. He murdered the guards of King Duncan and ordered a murder against Banquo. Although Macbeth hides the evidence that he committed these god-forsaken crimes, the people of Scotland accuse him. This piece of evidence characterized Macbeth as a ruthless tyrant to the audience and the people of Scotland. Macbeth’s obsession for the power brought his downfall. Once Macbeth was King, he killed many people. This ensures to the audience that he is power greedy and that he would do anything to keep his
Even moments before the killing he became so paranoid, he started to hallucinate. Macbeth states in this quote, “Is this a dagger which I see before me,The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. 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-oppressed brain?”(Shakespeare, 33-39) His perception of reality has become so warped that he is hallucinating a dagger leading him to King Duncan’s chambers. This clearly shows that he has became so stricken with paranoia that is has warped his reality. An article tells how Macbeth’s paranoia has destroyed his sanity, it says that, “Macbeth shows several symptoms of paranoia schizophrenia: hallucinations, delusions, anxiety, violence and patronizing behavior. Hallucinations are sensory perceptions that have no basis in reality. Macbeth hallucinates more than once, the first time when he saw the dagger leading him to murder Duncan” Macbeth has clearly shown all these symptoms throughout the poem and this is clear evidence that paranoia has destroyed his mind. This lack of reality in Macbeth’s life has caused him to become a cold and emotionless
There is some scientific basis for this claim. Studies have shown that both a person’s genetic structure and the circumstances to which he or she is subjected have bearing on how a person thinks, feels and acts. Considering this, the actions of the character Macbeth must be evaluated by his personal motivations and the external causes that may have led to them. It is established from the very beginning that Macbeth is ambitious. There can be no doubt about this. A certain level of courage accompanies his ambition as well. As a noble he is an active one, fighting against the rebel hordes and Norwegians in defense of his king, no doubt for the purpose of gaining notoriety and other rewards. This is further illustrated by his gracious acceptance of credit for his deeds. He is a political figure in the highest sense, and show ambition in this way. However, there is no sign of him altering his course of loyal nobleman until outside influences begin to intercede. The people with greatest impact on Macbeth are the witches, his wife and Lady, and King Duncan of Scotland. The witches introduce the idea, King Duncan gives personal motive, and Lady Macbeth helps along the way.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth’s visions and hallucinations play a significant role and contribute to the development of his character. In the play Macbeth, a man is driven to murder his king and his companions after receiving a fairly ambiguous prophecy told by three witches. Although the witches triggered the series of events that later aid Macbeth’s descent into complete insanity, Macbeth is portrayed from the very beginning as a fierce and violent soldier. As the play goes on, several internal conflicts inside of Macbeth become clear. After he performs several bloody tasks, the madness inside of Macbeth is unmistakably visible to everyone around him. As a result of this insanity, he sees visions and hallucinations. Each time Macbeth hallucinates, he plunges further into insanity that is essentially caused by misguided ambition, dread and guilt. Macbeth has three key hallucinations that play a considerably important role in the development of his character: a dagger, the ghost of Banquo, and four apparitions while visiting the prophesying witches.
To begin with, Macbeth immediately begins to suffer after killing Duncan. Macbeth had dropped to a level so low, he “could not say ‘Amen’” and ask for blessings from God (2.2.ll.31). His peace is also forever gone since he “shall sleep no more” for “murder[ing] sleep” (2.2.ll.46,38). Later on, the world becomes so chaotic, and old man who has seen “hours dreadful and things strange” believes that the current behavior “[h]ath trifled former knowings” (2.4.ll.3,4). During the feast, Macbeth is faced with the ghost of Banquo, who torments Macbeth after he killed him with little to no thought. At the end of the play, the once highly praised Macbeth has now become so disgraced, “[t]he devil himself could not pronounce a title / more hateful” (5.7.ll.9-10). At the end, he is slain for all his crimes. Lady Macbeth also experiences suffering after acting so reckless. Since Macbeth acted so cowardly and “[wore] a hear so white”, Lady Macbeth had to take over as the man in power (2.2.ll.68). She tries to be manly be removing her womanly parts when she asks the spirits to “take [her] milk for gall” and “unsex me here” (1.5.47,40). She then acts very imprudent and wishes to kill Duncan as soon as possible. Later own these actions cause her to be crushed by the guilt of regicide. She sleepwalks and hallucinates about “the
Schizophrenia is a mental illness most commonly associated with hallucinations. People with severe schizophrenia cannot tell what is real from what is not. Schizophrenia symptoms begin