Mental Illness In Macbeth

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Introduction Today, there are many different types of mental illnesses known throughout the world; i.e. bipolar disease, schizophrenia, paranoia, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, ect.; and many people who are able to diagnose such illnesses when symptoms are shown throughout a person [Webmd.com]. What about back in the 1600’s though, when such illnesses weren’t even known yet? In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, for example, Macbeth showed many signs of what today would be diagnosed as symptoms of schizophrenia, but he had no idea, nor did anyone around him, they just thought he was going insane. What is schizophrenia one might ask? “Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others” (Joseph Goldberg). Symptoms Medline plus tells us that 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 [Medlineplus.com]. Schizophrenics often suffer from delusions and hallucinations. A delusion is a belief that is not true and a hallucination is seeing, hearing, or sensing something that is not really there [Schizophrenia.com]. Macbeth is considered a schizophrenic because he possesses all of the symptoms said above. Background information According to Schizophrenia.com, schizophrenia can be traced to the old Pharaonic Egypt, as far back as the second millennium before Christ. At one point in history, all people who were considered "abnormal," whether due to mental illn... ... middle of paper ... ... of her womb before she could actually give birth, Macbeth then comes out of his delusional state, and we realize that everything he did was because of the witches, and that they made him go crazy and become a schizophrenic (Shakespeare 213). Conclusion Apparitions, eternally bloody hands, and ghosts all sound like key elements to a nightmarish dream. Imagine not being able to tell if these things were real or just a figment of your imagination and you’ll know the position that Macbeth was in. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth show signs of what would today be diagnosed as symptoms of schizophrenia. He became detached from reality and spoke in crazy incoherent sentence fragments. Though they were not able to identify Macbeth’s mental illness during Shakespeare’s time, now after many years of research, it seems very certain that he was most likely a schizophrenic.

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