Examples Of Mental Illness In Macbeth

In the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth wanted to gain power and leadership over the country of Scotland and become king. He wanted these authorities so desperately, Macbeth would do whatever it took to get it, even going as far as murdering not just one but multiple people. He wanted nothing more other than to be king as well as his wife. Throughout the play, Macbeth showed different varieties of many mental disorders but mainly Paranoia and Schizophrenia. Paranoia is described as ¨a delusional belief that one is being harassed, or betrayed by others¨, while Schizophrenia is described as ¨a serious long-term mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves¨. Both are major mental illnesses that people could

One of the main illnesses he showed was Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that less than one percent of the U.S. population is affected by. This illness has many symptoms when active. These symptoms include disorganized speech, hallucinations, delusions, trouble with thinking, and lack of motivation. In the play, Macbeth shows a sign of Schizophrenia after killing Duncan he says ¨Methought I heard a voice cry, 'sleep no more!¨ (Shakespeare II.II. 49-50). Macbeth, now before going to sleep, starts to imagine he hears Duncan and explains that now he will have trouble sleeping. This shows Schizophrenia due to the delusion of ¨hearing a voice cry¨. This illness is seen in both men and women almost equally but can be seen as an earlier onset in males. Men will start to experience symptoms in their late teen years and early twenties, while women will start to experience symptoms in their twenties and early thirties. A common misunderstanding with Schizophrenia is that people believe it gives the person with this illness a split personality, but neither a split personality nor a multiple-personality is the case with Schizophrenia. Each person with Schizophrenia is different. Some present Positive cases while others can present negative cases, and both are abnormally present. Most cases are not as violent or as dangerous as many think and people also have the misconception that people with

The similarity of the two contain evidence of both showing a big issue of not having any trust of any person and by preferring isolation and to be by themselves rather than being around other people. The difference between these two have more evidence rather than the similarities between them. People with Paranoia do not suffer from hallucinations while that is a key issue to those with Schizophrenia. Both have the same idea of what motives they believe other people may have but Schizophrenia also includes voices and more made up visual ideas where Paranoia does not. Macbeth, in the play, had shown both Paranoia and Schizophrenia. In the end, all he wanted was power. He wanted to rule and be a leader with power. Macbeth got what he wanted but it cost a great amount. He showed no remorse for hurting any of the victims and would have kept committing these crimes if not for Macduff killing Macbeth in the battle. He had felt guilt and questioned committing the crime beforehand and after Duncan's death he felt guilty and responsible, which he was. He experienced Paranoia after the fact and continued to until it became more of a serious issue and he began to harm people more frequently. Paranoia and Schizophrenia are known about but are also overlooked. People do not always understand that these two mental illnesses are not always what they seem to be. People diagnosed with Schizophrenia are not