Who comes to mind when you think of women in literature? Is it the damsel in distress? Or a powerful and bold leader. Lady Macbeth is considered to be one of the strongest women in literature. With her engaging want for power and her ability to manipulate and get what she wants done, done Lady Macbeth is widely seen as one of the strongest women in literature. Lady Macbeth is the wife to the titular character in Macbeth written William Shakespeare. Macbeth is about the tragic lust for power and the downfall of a once great man. Macbeth starts out as a loyal servant to the King, King Duncan. He serves him loyally but the desperation for power is too strong. Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan. The both of them plan out the murder …show more content…
According to the National Health Service in England “Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after a very stressful, frightening or distressing event, or after a prolonged traumatic experience” Lady Macbeth starts to develop PTSD after taking part in King Duncan's murder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can include “Feeling like the scary event is happening again (flashbacks)”. Lady Macbeth presents with many symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder such as flashbacks when she recalls her hands after the murder saying “Here’s the smell of blood still” (V.i.43) She cannot get rid of the thought of having King Duncan’s blood on her. The guilt of Murdering an innocent man is too much for her and all she can do is think about that night and what she has caused. According to the National institute of Mental Health another symptom of Post-traumatic stress disorder “Feeling worried, guilty, or sad over a prolonged period of time.” When Lady Macbeth says “ Nought's had, all's spent, Where our desire is got without content; 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy. Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. “ (III.ii. 6-10) Lady Macbeth expresses her epiphany when she says this. She realizes that even tho she has acquired the power that she desperately wanted the guilt that she …show more content…
According to Dr.Ronald R. Grunstein “Somnambulism, or sleepwalking, is a parasomnia of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep where movement behaviours usually confined to wakefulness are displayed during sleep.” An example of this is when the nurse and doctor are observing Lady Macbeth “You see her eyes are open.” (V.i.21) Lady Macbeth is consumed by guilt over the death of King Duncan she gets up out of bed on a regular basis to pretend to wash her hands of the blood on them. Her Post Traumatic Disorder causes her to feel guilt over the things she has done and Shakespeare uses her Somnambulism to portray the lengths that her guilt has reached. It is so great that even in her sleep she cannot get rid of the thought of the atrocities she has been a part of. “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” (V.i.52) She says this because she knows nothing she can do will rid her of this pain. When she gets up in the middle of the night she does things repeatedly. She does whatever she can to try and get the guilt out of her mind but nothing
Macbeth suffers from lack of sleep which is one symptom of bipolar disorder ("Bipolar Disorder Symptoms - Mayo Clinic"). Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth, “you lack the season of all natures, sleep” (3. 4. 140). This shows that she is worried that he is not getting enough sleep and that it is causing him to act strange. Macbeth starts hallucinating, seeing Banquo’s ghost, and screaming and shouting at it and disrupting the banquet. Lady Macbeth tries to save his image by telling the guests, “I pray you speak not. He grows worse and worse, question enrages him. At once good night. Stand not upon the order of your going, but
Macbeth’s mental deterioration can be traced through Macbeth's actions leading up to his death. Beginning with Macbeth seeing the 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,
This shows that she is filling guilty of the incident and thoughts of the crime keep
Lady Macbeth is an extremely ambitious woman and wants more than anything for her husband, Macbeth, to be the next King of Scotland. When King Duncan announces that his son, Malcolm, is to be the next King, Duncan’s murder is planned. Lady Macbeth’s crucial role in the play is to persuade Macbeth to carry out the murder of Duncan. In the beginning she is ambitious, controlling and strong. However as the plot concludes there is an extreme change in her character and personality which surprises the audience. Lady Macbeth’s guilt eventually becomes too much for her to handle which leads to her death.
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.
Lady Macbeth was a small but very important part of the play Macbeth. She is always on the side of Macbeth telling him what she thinks he should do. When Macbeth was off at war, and told lady Macbeth that the witches greeted him as Thane of Cawdor, and King of Scotland before he received those titles, she was probably scheming no how to fulfill those before he returned home. Once home, they had King Duncan stay at Dunsinane. Lady Macbeth then b-tches at her husband and ridicules his masculinity in order to make him commit murder (Friedlander). Macbeth reluctantly murders Duncan, even though he wanted to wait and have it all play out without killing anyone. When he went to the well to wash off his hands he speaks of his remorse, and lady Macbeth finds out that he did not implicate the guards, so she tells him to go do it. But he wont, so she insults him more, and goes to do it herself.
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.
(Act 5 scenes 2). This could be a sign of guilt along with her mental illness that starts to control her. Next Lady Macbeth starts falling into a deep dark depression. Lady Macbeth starts having crazy thoughts. All her guilt comes down to her hard work.
In our society, as a rule, the man is the head of the household. However, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth appears to be the neck that turns the head. William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in history, but he wasn’t recognized until the nineteenth century. He wrote many plays, sonnets, plays, and narrative plays. It was during the sixteenth century that he wrote the tragedy of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, wife to the protagonist Macbeth, is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and evil female characters. At the start of the play, Lady Macbeth is ruthless, ambitious, cruel, and manipulative; however, by the end of the play she becomes insane and helpless. The transformation of these characteristics makes Lady Macbeth a very dynamic character.
Lady Macbeth is a very loving wife to Macbeth and she wants to do anything she can for him to achieve his goals. She just takes it a little too far, and she puts too much pressure on Macbeth to commit crimes that he is not sure he wants to do. After Macbeth sends her a letter about the witches’ premonitions, Lady Macbeth is no longer the sweet innocent lady we expect her to be. She turns into a person who is just as ambitious as her husband and she wants to do whatever it takes to help him get Duncan out of the way. She even goes to the point of calling Macbeth a coward, and mocking his bravery when he fails to complete the job. She is even willing to do it herself (plant the bloody knife with the guard). Lady Macbeth is constantly putting the pressure on Macbeth to do things that he is not sure about. She almost turns into a bully who dares Macbeth to go out and do evil things. She even says in a soliloquy that she wants to be released of all her morals and values so that she can help him commit these crimes.
It is common for people to react harshly after committing murderous crimes. In other pieces of literature, authors often show main characters losing their minds after committing heinous deeds. For example, the main character in Edgar Allan Poe’s A Telltale Heart, is driven mad by the supposed beating heart of the old man he murdered. Poe makes it clear that the man is most definitely dead, and the beating of his heart is heard by only the main character. This is similar to Banquo’s ghost, as it is only visible to Macbeth. The sight causes those around him to question his sanity, just as it caused the main character in A Telltale Heart to confess to a crime. In conclusion, Macbeth’s criminal actions throughout the play inevitably resulted in his mental deterioration, similar to those in other pieces of
Trauma is especially bad when the person is involved in a violent death, war atrocity, or abuse. Trauma victims push people away when they need people the most, and they have intense, yet unstable relationships with partners. For example, Lady Macbeth feels guilty from the trauma of killing Duncan in addition to others in order for pushing her husband to gain power. The drama states,” Seyton: ‘The queen,my lord, is dead’” (Shakespeare 81). Lady Macbeth’s trauma runs so deep that she becomes mentally unstable and commits suicide. In addition, Macbeth goes through the trauma of killing Banquo. The drama states,” Macbeth: ‘The table’s full.’ Lennox: ‘Here is a place reserved, sir.’ Macbeth: ‘Where?’ Lennox: ‘Here, my good lord. What is’t that moves you highness?’ Macbeth: ‘Which of you have done this?’ Lords:’ What, my good lord?’ Macbeth: ‘ Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake/ Thy gory locks at me’” (Shakespeare 49). Macbeth has so much trauma from killing his best friend, Banquo, that he hallucinates Banquo’s ghost at the dinner with all the lords. As well, there is the possibility that Macbeth has trauma from being at war. The drama states,” Captain: ‘For brave Macbeth-- well he deserves that name--/ Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,/ Which smoked with bloody execution’” (Shakespeare 7). The trauma of killing others during war
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...
Lady Macbeth is a very interesting character in Shakespeare ’s play Macbeth. She changes a great deal throughout the play, all the way from being a strong independent women to a shell of her former self that is eventually suicidal in Act V Scene 5. Many readers would say she brought it on herself because of her evil actions and the people she has killed. Readers tend not to understand the relationship she has with Macbeth because they are very strict about their marriage and do not always tend to show affection.
By embracing evil, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have committed unnatural actions that disturb them. Their guilt does not leave them in peace, and slowly degrades their health. Macbeth's guilt causes him to act strangely in front of his guests, and it disturbs him deeply. Macbeth's guilt is deeply mutilated, and it only affects him when he hallucinates "Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves / Shall never tremble" (III.iv.124-125), and as soon as his visions disappear he feels better "Why so, being gone, / I am a man again.- Pray you sit still" (iii.iV.130-131), not something normal considering the actions he has committed. His guilt paralyzes him when he does feel it, but most of the time he is guiltless, and that encourages him to commit more murder. Although his guilt does not ultimately destroy him, it is a factor that brings his own men against him, since through his guilt he reveals the actions he has committed.