Freud's Influence On Macbeth

Sigmund Freud, a pioneering psychoanalyst, was the first to discuss the unconscious mind and its role in human behavior. After decades of work he came to the conclusion that humans have not one, but two primary instincts. Eros and thanatos, the drive of life and death, provide an abstract method of examining what instinctively drives the decisions a person makes in their lifetime. Freud's theory can also be applied to William Shakespeare's Macbeth, as both instincts provide a way of examining Macbeth's decisions throughout the play. Macbeth's life changed he meets the three witches, and hears their prophecy for him and his comrade. His belief in the witches predictions drove him to commit several murders, though ultimately he fulfills the aspects of the prophecy that he fought so hard to prevent. Those decisions Macbeth made were based on him being ambitious, paranoid, and fearful, making the actions he took after hearing his future influenced by both the strength of his eros and thanatos.
Macbeth is then proclaimed the new King of Scotland, with his desire satisfied. However, Macbeth's suspicion is rife, and striving to sustain his eros, and prolong his thanatos, he takes further action to secure his