Macbeth takes action against another that he believes is going to overthrow him, Macduff. This is another example of the symptom, paranoia, that he faces. Macbeth is shown an apparition that says “beware of Macduff,” this brings about his paranoia that Macduff is going to kill him. Miller and Mason say; “People suffering from schizophrenia may act in ways that are unusual for them. For instance, some people develop very poor judgment or behave in sexually inappropriate ways. Others may become threatening to those around them because of fears that they themselves may be harmed” (page 39). To Macbeth, everyone was out to harm him. He had to keep a watchful eye on all of the people who had the power to take his throne. Macbeth says, “I hear it by the way; but I will send./There’s not a one of them but in his house/I keep a servant fee’d.” (3.4.156-158). He put spies in the homes of all of his colleagues, the Thanes of Scotland. This betrayed their trust and infiltrated their privacy. Macbeth did not care as long as his place on the throne of Scotland was safe. He is especially suspicious of Macduff who has been absent. Macduff has never …show more content…
This is another symptom that paranoid schizophrenics show, insomnia. A factor that leads to his insomnia is the major guilt that he is feeling due to his actions of murder. His guilt is consuming him and he knows that he would be better off dead like King Duncan; “Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep/In the affliction of these terrible dreams/That shake us nightly. Better be with the dead,/Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,/Than on the torture of the mind to lie/In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave./After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well./Treason has done his worst; nor steel nor poison,/Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing/Can touch him further”