The mind, though complex in its design, can be one of the weaker parts of the human composition, taking the least amount of damage to break and taking the rest of the body with it when it does. However, the mind does not break as quickly and cleanly as a bone but instead it deteriorates, rotting away like a dead tree, showing no sign of damage until it is too far gone. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth’s mental state deteriorates as the truths in the prophecy of the witches incite him to take fate into his own hands.
The prophecy of the weird sisters starts the deterioration of Macbeth’s mind, planting inside him a desire that will soon consume him. For example, after hearing the prophecy of the three witches, Macbeth asks them for an explanation for their words: “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more: / by Sinel’s death I know I am the Thane of Glamis; / but how of Cawdor?”(1.3.70-72). Macbeth has reason to think that what the witches said might be true, as he knows how he
…show more content…
became Thane of Glamis, but he doubts the words of the witches after that. Even though Macbeth knows he is the Thane of Glamis and doubts the witches’ prophecy, he still has hope that what they say will come true. Furthermore, confused by the words of the three witches, Macbeth begins to have ideas of killing King Duncan for the crown of Scotland: “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion / whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / and make my seated heart knock at my ribs, / against the use of nature?”(1.3.134-136). Macbeth’s mental state was never as stable as it seemed to be when he met the witches, as a few simple words are enough to make him consider taking fate into his own hands, even if the idea terrifies him. The ideas of killing Duncan come to Macbeth as a shock, showing him that the words of the witches might have shaken him more than he thought. Finally, even though Macbeth is undecided on killing Duncan, he takes note of the people that stand between him and the crown after Duncan’s death:“The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step / on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap”(1.4.48-49). The three witches have made Macbeth aware of a mad desire he did not know he had, and that when he does acknowledge it, it quickly takes over his mind. Macbeth’s desire to be king is stronger than any other, becoming the center of his world and the reason behind all his actions. With this idea in his mind, Macbeth’s mental state is no longer as stable as it once was. As Macbeth’s desire to kill Duncan falters, hallucinations help convince him of what he truly want.
Especially as the time to kill King Duncan approaches, Macbeth becomes anxious, doubting whether or not he will be able to pull himself together to do the deed: “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-oppressèd brain?”(2.1.35-39). While the dagger scares Macbeth, it also entices him to take hold and kill the king with it, showing how Macbeth’s mind begins to split between becoming King of Scotland or living out a pleasant life serving King Duncan as the Thane of Cawdor. The split in his mind is enough to make Macbeth hallucinate of a dagger, breaking down his mind as he is forced to choose between that which he already haves and that which he wants. These hallucinations show how unstable he becomes before he completely
snaps. After the murder of King Duncan and Banquo, Macbeth becomes haunted by his former friends. Although both deeds are done and over with, Macbeth is still anxious as he was before, seeing the ghost of the late Banquo at his banquet: “Avaunt! and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! / Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; / thou hast no speculation in those eyes / which thou dost glare with”(3.4.94-97). While Macbeth has gained the throne of Scotland, he destroyed more than just King Duncan and Banquo to get it, losing all innocence and peace of mind that he once had. The ghosts of his victims haunt him everywhere, reminding him of the deeds he have done to get where he is. As Macbeth’s final battle approaches him, he still tries to ensure himself that he will be victorious: “What’s the boy Malcolm? / Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know / ‘Fear not, Macbeth; no man that’s born of woman / shall e’er have power upon thee’”(5.3.3-7). Some fear still runs through Macbeth even though he hides it and it shows that he is beginning to doubt that all he hears from the witches is true. Macbeth feels that his luck is running out while fear and paranoia begin to take over what remains of his mind. With his mind gone, there is little hope that he will make it out alive. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is told by three witches a prophecy of titles that could be his, and in attempt to gain these titles, his mind becomes broken in the process. Unlike a wound, his mind is never able to heal, breaking down as he progresses. In the end, all that remains of him is a broken man and a broken mind.
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,
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
Macbeth has a false sense of security that stems from the Weird Sister’s desire for chaos. The three sisters are similar to the Greek fates in that they hold the power to control a man’s life through prophecies. Macbeth uses the sisters to his advantage in order to learn his eventual fate in his acquired position of power, which leads to his eventual downfall. Macbeth’s unbroken trust in the prophecies ropes him in the Weïrd Sister’s hands, and, similar to the three fates, allows them full control over Macbeth’s actions. The Weird Sisters lull Macbeth into their grasp by playing off of his strong desire for power and a legacy, prophesying that “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/ Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill/ Shall come against
Works of literature that attract people usually contain some wild thinking. Henry David Thoreau, in his essay “Walking,” makes this assessment of literature: “In literature it is only the wild that attracts us. Dullness is but another name for tameness. It is the uncivilized free and wild thinking in Hamlet and The Iliad, in all scriptures and mythologies, not learned in schools, that delights us.” In the play “Macbeth,” Shakespeare uses “uncivilized free and wild thinking” in order to make the storyline interesting and entertaining.
When the Weird Sisters hail Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and the future king, Macbeth’s mind is put under a curse of selfish and greedy ambition. These prophecies controlled the way that Macbeth thought and acted and eventually lead to his downfall. Immediately after the Weird Sisters present Macbeth with the prophecies, Macbeth states to the Weird Sisters “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more...:” (Document A). This statement is the precursor that shows the uprooting of Macbeth’s power-seeking characteristics that were once buried beneath the morals that were “too full o' the milk of human kindness” (Document B). As Macbeth becomes obsessed with the idea of power, his mindset is consumed with fearlessness and he states “what need I fear of thee?” (Document D). This feeling of invincibility is created by the witches “when the witches bring the tidings of Macbeth's elevation to Thane of Cawdor” and “his body seems to act independently of his will” (Cohen). Although the witches did have partial control over the thoughts that preceded Macbeth’s detrimental actions, the final decisions were ultimately controlled by Macbeth
In ACT II hallucinations are used an experience in which involves an apparent perception. When visions of the dagger are presented in front of Macbeth “Is this the dagger which I see before me” ACT II SCENE ii it reminds Macbeth of the murder of Duncan. The dagger in which is presented in front of Macbeth is to his vision covered with blood as it points to the kings chamber,
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 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.
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.
The first illusion that Macbeth sees is that of a dagger, floating in the air and convincing him to commit the foul act of murder. Macbeth, at this point, is still together enough to realize what this dagger is. He says, speaking to the dagger, "Art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat oppressed brain?" (II.1, ll. 38-40) Not only does he see a blade at this point,...
This demonstrates Macbeth's obsession because it indicates that Macbeth values his power over his friends. His obsession with power causes Macbeth to feel guilty and lose his sanity. Macbeth's guilt and loss of sanity is indicated in the hallucinations he experiences. His first hallucination occurred just before killing King Duncan. Macbeth sees "A dagger of the mind, a false creation" (Act II, Scene I, line 38).
The play identifies how Macbeth faced guilt after he killed his King, “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-oppressèd brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable.” Macbeth is hallucinating a dagger in which was caused by the guilt he feels after killing King Duncan. Macbeth also states, “I’ll go no more.I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on ’t again I dare not…..What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine….” Macbeth’s emotions are everywhere. After he killed King Duncan he immediately regretted it as he explains that no water, not even Neptune’s ocean can wash the blood and guilt off his hands. Macbeth not only faced guilt but he also losses his sanity. Macbeth hallucinates Banquo’s ghost making him scared and on edge, “[to the Ghost]. What man dare, I dare. Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, The armed rhinoceros, or th’ Hyrcan tiger; Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves Shall never tremble. Or be alive again And dare me to the desert with thy sword. If
Macbeth shows signs of serious mental deterioration when he sees a dagger appear before him, but doesn’t understand if it’s real or not (II, i, 35-40), later on in his speech he says his other senses made his eyes look foolish or they are the only trustworthy senses (II, I, 44-46)
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.
In Macbeth’s soliloquy, the conscious empowers the unconscious. “At the nonrational level of Macbeth’s psyche, conscience registers as “a dagger of the mind”: pricks of conscience that have assumed murderous, self-mutilating proportions” (Chauchi 337). In order for Macbeth to commit the murder, he has to do the act knowing with conscious. He must lose the principle of morality and enters in sublimation, which is satisfying the impulse with a substitute object, in this case, Macbeth’s desire for power. Shakespeare uses Macbeth character to exhibit the horrendous effects of ambition and guilt in men’s nature. From this point, Macbeth’s dramatic fall develops from his superego that makes a person feel guilty if the principle of behavior is not followed. The ego acts as a mediator between the id and superego to prevent an overwhelming anxiety (McLeod). Macbeth’s response is the result of anxiety, guilt, paranoia, fear, and distress. He plans a series of murders to protect his permanence as King. He orders Banquo’s death, Lady Macduff, and Macduff’s son. Macbeth’s paranoiac stage and inner conflict cause him to see Banquo’s ghost, and he has a confrontation between reality and metaphysical. He mislays the rational goal of being a fruitful king, and the tragic tension of his ambition drives him to become a tyrant. As Macbeth turns as an unscrupulous murderer, Lady Macbeth is not capable of losing her whole morality principle, so