Mental Illness In Macbeth

Tens and thousands of people are diagnosed with mental illness annually. In the play Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth suffers through mental agony, influenced by their ambition and guilt, as well as self-fulfilled prophecies sparked by the three witches. Shakespeare’s tragedy suggests that the opportunity to attain power and the influence by the supernatural causes one’s mental deterioration, which eventually leads to an individual’s inevitable, fatal demise.

In the beginning, Macbeth is influenced by the witches to murder King Duncan. When the title of succession is given to Malcolm, Macbeth is determined to follow through with the witches’ prophecies in any way possible into becoming the “king hereafter” (I: 3,52). This
Macbeth is unimpressed that Macduff has abandoned him and fled to England to persuade Malcolm to fight against him. He orders to “seize upon Fife...and all unfortunate soul that trace him in line”. In essence, Macbeth’s paranoia results in him being more psychologically unstable, but this time about losing his crown rather than being caused by guilt. Also, the witches’ prophecies slowly begin to envelop, causing him to repeat the words for a false sense of confidence. However, Lady Macbeth ultimately gives in to the burden of internal guilt that was previously hidden prior to the sleepwalking scene in Act 5, Scene 1 and commits suicide. In Macbeth’s soliloquy discusses the futility of life, on account that it is meaningless, “signifying nothing”. These words highlight Macbeth’s acceptance of defeat and that all the power he’s acquired mean nothing anymore. During the final scene, the insane Macbeth reiterates witches’ prophecies on the fact that he is invincible. Contrastly, Macduff states that he was “from his mother’s womb untimely ripped”. Therefore, Macduff’s final words result in Macbeth’s inevitable realization of