Macbeth Essay

Thursday June 1, 2011

Mr. Lobb

ENG 3U

Megan Little

Macbeth’s Insanity

            Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is known for evil powers but also for its good elements. The book is filled with murder, victory, and hard literature; it is a confusing piece of literature. Was Macbeth ill or was he being controlled by evil powers. Macbeth was ill, there was no evil spirits involved with Macbeth's crazy acts. He put ideas in his head and drove him self and mad with the help of Lady Macbeth.


In the beginning of the play Macbeth it tells us it takes place during the first century in Scotland. Macbeth and Banquo are in battle against Norway. The two knights, Macbeth and Banquo, are heading towards home and they come upon three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he will rule Glamis, Cawdor and be king. "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All Hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!" (Shakespeare I:iii:50). Macbeth gets the idea of being king and having power but he is not sure what to do with what the witches have told him. Macbeth leaves thinking if it’s going to happen let it happen. “ If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, Without my sir.” (Shakespeare I:iii:144). The “spell” the witches say could just scare Macbeth and make him think he is being controlled. Even though it’s all in his mind. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair; Hover through the fog and filthy air”. (Shakespeare I:i:10)


Not only do the witches put ideas in Macbeth’s mind, his wife, Lady Macbeth drives him and pushes him to go further. Lady Macbeth clearly demonstrates masculinity, when she reads the letter from Macbeth. She likes the idea of being Queen, but she has a fear that her husband is too afraid. “ Too full o’ milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way” (Shakespeare I:v:18). Lady Macbeth is eager to make Macbeth see things her way, and to make him reach his full potential. Mainly Lady Macbeth is hungry for the power at this point and she is going to make her husband be just as hungry for power. When Macbeth goes to murder King Duncan, Lady Macbeth doesn’t think he will get the job done. Macbeth kills the king but comes back to Lady Macbeth talking about his bloody hands. She tells him her hands are red too, but she would be ashamed to have a heart as white as Macbeth’s. Lady Macbeth challenges her husband’s masculinity and tells him to be more of a man.


Visions and hallucinations occur throughout the play. For example, when Macbeth is going to kill Duncan he sees a dagger floating in the air, covered with blood and pointing towards the king’s chamber. This is a hallucination that Macbeth is experiencing; his mind is reminding him of the bloody course on which he is going to be on. After Macbeth kills Banquo, Macbeth thinks he sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in a chair at the feast. This hallucination is Macbeth’s mind reminding him that he murdered his former friend. These hallucinations drive Macbeth over the edge to think he is insane. Not only does Macbeth start to have weird visions, Lady Macbeth eventually does too. She thinks her hands are stained with blood and cannot be washed off, and she starts to sleepwalk. It is difficult to tell if Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s hallucinations are real or a hallucination but in both cases it shows signs of their guilt from what they had done.


Macbeth is not being controlled by evil powers, he is driving him self insane. Macbeth starts to feel invincible when he goes to the witches and he has his future told he sees three apparitions the first apparition is a armored child the armored head says “beware of McDuff” the second apparition is a bloody child it say “no man born of a woman may harm you”. And finally the third apparition is a crowned child with a branch in its hand it says “you will not be harmed until the woods of Birham comes to you”. These apparitions make him feel invincible because all men are born of woman and trees can’t move so he feels invincible. These apparitions and his weak mindedness ultimately lead to his death.


In conclusion, Macbeth is influenced in many ways by things around him to have these illusions. These illusions show a lot of imagery in the play and set the mood in the play. As the play unfolds, you decide if Macbeth is crazy insane or if he is being controlled by a supernatural force. All the elements in the book over power Macbeth’s mind and because Macbeth is easily manipulated he could not control his actions. The hallucinations, Lady Macbeth, and the things the witches tell Macbeth create ideas in Macbeth’s mind. Macbeth eventually pays his price for the wrong he had done, and finds out the hard way that guilt is the most evil thing. The language Shakespeare uses must have been so hard to recognize when it was first published, today the novel is still a very hard read but we can appreciate the novel and Shakespear use of words . There are many different ways an audience can look at this novel. At the end of the story you can have your own opinion of what you thought.  is what destroyed Macbeth’s mind.