Examples Of Mental Decay In Macbeth

The night that Duncan is killed, a magnificent change in his mentality was evoked, making it easier for him to conduct ill actions. Macbeth grasps the sudden ulterior power to become the king, and his emotions overthrows his conscience. In Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 2, he begins to hallucinate, “is this dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?” (14). Despite Duncan not being dead, he gets ahead of himself and begins to panic, elucidating the focal point of the play.

As the first scenes unfold we immediately get the sense of courage, bravery and nobility from one of the main characters, Macbeth, because he has just taken part in a battle and won. Following the battle he and another character, Banquo, come across three witches that have prophecies for the both of them. Macbeth’s ultimately states he will become thane of Cawdor and Banquo’s states that although he won’t rule, his sons will. The two men are skeptical once they leave, that is until Macbeth’s first part of the prophecy comes true and he is in fact named thane of Cawdor. With this new information that he believes to be true and a sense of hope, we see how the once brave warrior’s actions set up the rest of this gruesome play and his own death.

Approximately 18.1 percent of adults in the U.S experience an anxiety disorder such as PTSD, OCD and other phobias. Therefore, mental illness and guilt can come as a result of committing a violent crime. Such as in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. In the play Lady Macbeth develops a anxiety disorder that closely resembles PTSD after she forces Macbeth to murder King Duncan. She forces Macbeth to murder the king in order for him to fulfill the witches prophecies and become king.

Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.

Firstly, Macbeth’s mental deterioration, due to his lust for power presents itself, when he decides to betray his best friend Banquo.

He feels as though it is urging him to fulfil his desire to become king. Page 45, Act II, scene ii, "Your shape is as real as my own dagger, which I now draw from its sheath. You lead to in the direction I was going (i.e, to Duncan 's room)."Macbeth interprets the dagger as a sign that he shall proceed with his wicked crusade. Consequently, seeing the chimera of a dagger before the murder inspired Macbeth to kill and inherit the

Similarly, Macbeth 's own mental state initiates a rivalry within itself. The thought of killing Duncan brings Macbeth 's brain into turmoil, causing him to hallucinate. He then questions his own sanity by asking if the imaginary dagger is physical " Or art thou but // A dagger of the mind, a false creation // Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?"

Macbeth’s guilt and battle with mental illness begins early within the play: right after the murder of King Duncan. Macbeth, once a loyal sergeant in Duncan’s army, has killed the king in order to possess the throne of Scotland. This act of such extreme measures begins Macbeth’s descent into madness and insomnia. Immediately after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth says, “Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep.”

In Macbeth, a banquet is being held in honor of the newly crowned king, Macbeth. During this feast Macbeth hallucinates images of his friend, Banquo, whom he hired murderers to kill him. Lady Macbeth tries to evade the attention from Macbeth, but they begin to suspect all is not well with the king. William Shakespeare reveals the guilt Macbeth feels for acting upon his selfish action and how he reacts henceforth. This includes what ensues with Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth would envision a dagger before him asking himself “is (that) a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand”(act.2 scene.i). The dagger was a metaphor for his ambitions and motivation to make himself king with the help of his wife, Lady Macbeth. After King Duncan was killed, Macbeth felt he was evil at that point where he “belief(ed) he (was) to evil to blessed by god”(act.2 scene.ii). The guilt he felt would drive him to the point of madness and brought into question if he was human after that or something that could not be redeemed.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play about how greed can demoralize a person. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s minds were corrupted due to their lust for power after hearing the prophecies given to Macbeth by the witches. First or all, Macbeth’s lust for power was apparent when he ordered Banquo and his son’s death. He wanted to ensure his position as king would not be taken, and as the witches stated - Banquo’s sons would be king. The first evidence of Macbeth losing his mind was after he ordered Banquo’s death.

Macbeth’s state of mind changes dramatically throughout the play. This is revealed through his soliloquy. In his soliloquy, He shows his intention he would like to achieve but its construction shows Macbeth’s mind still very much in confusion. However, most of the time Macbeth shows three different fears considering the consequences of killing king Duncan. At the beginning of Act 1 Scene 7, Macbeth is in turmoil about killing Duncan.

In a soliloquy he has before killing Duncan, Macbeth hallucinates a floating dagger in front of him, ultimately hinting to the reader that he is mentally unstable as he ponders for the last time whether killing Duncan is the right move. In another speech found later in the play, now as King, Macbeth becomes extremely ruthless, to the point that his wife’s death doesn’t even phase him. Going from a brave hero-like general, to a disturbed and ruthless King, Macbeth’s overall character drastically changes throughout the play.

In conclusion, Macbeth desire for power leads him to the wrong path and brings him to the mental deterioration stages. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a courageous soldier who fights for his country but his ambition makes him an evil person. Good deeds have good accomplishment but evil deeds have bad consequences. However,Macbeth 's mental decline triggers are greediness, and paranoia caused by murders and guilt. However, Macbeth 's ambition causes

In the beginning of the play Macbeth is greeted by three witches who call him by three different names, Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King hereafter “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Glamis! all hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor! all hail, macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”