Hallucinations in Macbeth

Guilt is a major emotion. It can affect many parts of ones life or body. Most of the time people, who have the guilt, deserve it for something theyve done wrong. It can lead to hallucinations or death. Kings are not born: they are made by universal hallucination. Hallucinations are a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind, caused by various physical and mental disorders. In the tragedy Macbeth, there are many hallucinations and visions that affect the characters and change the play. Macbeth was written in 1606 by William Shakespeare. Its about a man named Macbeth who is the tragic hero of the play. Macbeth and Banquo are walking and they are stopped by some witches who reveal a prophecy that Macbeth will one day be thane of Cawdor and king, and that Banquos son will one day be a king as well. So the first two prophecies come true, and the rest of the play is about how Macbeth will make sure the Banquos son will not be king, and how Macbeth will stay in power. A guilty conscience leads to many hallucinations and visions in this play. Once murder was committed there were usually a hallucination or vision, and many problems preceding them. The three most important showings of guilty conscience were the dagger, Banquos ghost, and sleepwalking of Lady Macbeth. They play an important role in the play and change the way the play unfolds.

In the opening Act of the play the witches tell the prophecy of Macbeth and Banquo. Once the first part comes true, his wife Lady Macbeth will do anything to ensure the second part does as well. She suggests murdering the King now in order for her husband to become king. Macbeth feels guilt at first saying that the king has been loyal to him. He gives a soliloquy showing his emotions turning from his wife to the loyalty he had for his king. First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as hi host who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself. (Shakespeare 343) Macbeth tells of how Duncan is a good king, and how Macbeth is his host. It would be wrong to kill him. After the speech, though, Lady Macbeth enters, and is able to change her husbands mind. Macbeth in early Acts is persuaded very easily by his wife, and is now going to kill the king in order to try and fulfill the prophecy. Once everybody is asleep Macbeth goes to murder the king, but he sees something. Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! (Shakespeare 349) Macbeth sees a dagger floating in air, and is unsure if its real or not. This shows the murder is getting to his head. He has his first hallucination and it leads him to the kings room, where he then murders him. Once he kills him, he thinks her hears something called out. Methought I heard a voice cry Sleep no more. Macbeth does murder sleep.(Macbeth 352) This creates a whole twist on the play. Once Duncan is murdered chaos breaks lose, and the real tragedy of the play begins. The dagger may or may not have been the thing that thing that pushed Macbeth over the edge, but it definitely begins a chain of events in the play. Because Duncan is murdered, Macbeth becomes king, and the real troubles begin.

The plot thickens in the play as the acts go on. In Act 3, Macbeth decides that Banquo and his son must be murdered in order to change the prophecy. Instead of killing them himself, he decides to hire murderers to do it for him. This shows Macbeth may not have been able to deal with the guilt of doing it himself again. The murderers try to perform the deed, but Banquos son Fleance escapes. When the murderers tell Macbeth this he is uneasy. It happens often that something goes wrong in Shakespeare plays that could have changed the outcome had they gone correctly. (Walker) At the time of it, Macbeth was hosting a dinner party. When he returns to the dinner party, he is even more uneasy when he sees Banquos ghost. This is another obvious hallucination of Macbeth shown by his guilty conscience. He was so concerned with himself being king; he murdered a close friend, and even worse let his son escape. the worm thats fled hath nature that in time will venom bleed, no teeth for the present. (Macbeth 373) This shows that had Fleance been killed everything would have been secured. Macbeth begins to show hes losing his mind to all the guests at the party. He appears to be talking to himself, as he talks to Banquos ghost. His wife covers for his hallucinations and gets all the guests to leave. Macbeths downfall begins after Banquos murder. Macbeth abused his power, and it created treason thereafter. With the little sleep on the guilty conscience he had no hope.

Shakespeare final acts are when the tragic hero is defeated and reveals there problems. (Moss) Lady Macbeth shows her problems in Act 5. The final guilt shown is when Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking in the corridors. A doctor and a gentlewoman catch her in a trance, and listen to what she has to say. What will these hands neer be clean? (Macbeth 403) She shows her guilt of the murders her husband and her have plotted and done together. She also says that nothing will ever be able to get this guilt off of her. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. (Macbeth 403) She started out as the one with no conscience and yet ends up dying from her guilt. Lady Macbeth barely slept because of the guilt she had lying up and she was unable to survive on such a burden. Some say the sleepwalking of Macbeth was caused by demonic powers. (Harris) This means it was caused by some kind of devil, maybe even the witches whom created the prophecies. Once Lady Macbeth leaves the room, the play slowly begins to come to an end. Lady Macbeth losing it signified the play was ending shortly. Two scenes later Macbeth was told his wife had died and it didnt even seem to bother him. He was faced with his own other problems, and he too knew his own death was approaching. Together their guilt was too great to handle, and they both were killed because of it in some way or another.

Guilt is a great part of tragedies by Shakespeare. In Macbeth there is a strong amount of guilt that is embarked by mainly the two characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth sees many hallucinations that affect the way he thinks, and what he does in the play. Lady Macbeth and her sleepwalking play a vital role in change of a character over time. The guilt over time is so great that it eventually kills Lady Macbeth, and all the guilt of Macbeth lead him to his downfall as well. Their sleep deprivation was no help as well. Having to deal with the murders and crimes they committed was very difficult, and created a harder life for them to live on.

Works CitedHarris, Laurie Lanzen, and Scott, Mark W. ed. "The Tragedy of Macbeth." ShakespeareanCriticism, Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1986. 165-170.

Moss, Joyce. World Literature and Its Times. Volume 3. Los Angeles, California. 2002Shakespeare, William. Macbeth Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Walker, Roy. The Supernatural Highlights by Plays Theme. Edition 1 San Diego: GreenhavenPress, 1999.

Works ConsultedBaker, Arthur E. "Macbeth." A Shakespeare Commentary, Part 1. New York: Frederick UngarPublishing Co, 1957.

Cited: arris, Laurie Lanzen, and Scott, Mark W. ed. "The Tragedy of Macbeth." ShakespeareanCriticism, Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1986. 165-170. Moss, Joyce. World Literature and Its Times. Volume 3. Los Angeles, California. 2002Shakespeare, William. Macbeth Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Walker, Roy. The Supernatural Highlights by Plays Theme. Edition 1 San Diego: GreenhavenPress, 1999. Works ConsultedBaker, Arthur E. "Macbeth." A Shakespeare Commentary, Part 1. New York: Frederick UngarPublishing Co, 1957.