Macbeth Psychopath Analysis

The Downfall of Macbeth

By: Josh V “Do you know the difference between neurotics and psychotics? Neurotics build castles in the sky; psychotics move into them.” -Tanya Thompson, Assuming Names.The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised is a diagnostic tool used to diagnose psychopathy. The list consists of twenty different Psychopathic traits which are used as a rating scale to determine prison sentences. Macbeth is the epitome of a psychopath. He presents with many symptoms of psychopathy including his inability to empathize with the ramifications of his actions due to his emotional poverty and lack of empathy, his grandiose self worth and his state of delusion. While Macbeth’s ambition is a key factor in his downfall, his nature as a psychopath

At the beginning of the play we see Lady Macbeth and Macbeth represented as having a Bonny and Clyde style relationship: Partners in crime. However, throughout the play we see Macbeth drift further and further away from Lady Macbeth until he is completely isolated. At the ending of Act I, It is Lady Macbeth who prompts her husband to kill the King and act on the witches prophecy. She works alongside Macbeth and convinces Macbeth that she will kill Duncan herself.: Lady Macbeth is unable to deal with the moral implications of murder and therefore has her husband kill the king. We further see Lady Macbeth dissociate herself from her husband in act III, during the murder of Banquo and in act IV, after the murder of Macduff’s family, which she disagreed with entirely: Lady Macbeth, without the support of her husband and dealing with the overwhelming burden of guilt, promptly commits suicide. Unlike Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is able to dissociate himself from his actions due to his nature as a psychopath. In response to his wife’s death, one would assume that Macbeth would be grief stricken and depressed. However, He is indifferent, stoic if you will. Macbeth admits that he is no longer able to empathize with the death of his wife: “To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day… Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing”

This ideal is strongly visible in Macbeth, especially after he receives the prophecies of the witches. In Act I, scene iii, the witches tell macbeth their three prophecies: “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! / All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! / All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (I.iii.49-51). These three prophecies cause macbeth to become extremely egotistical which is amplified by his ambition. This Grandiose self worth ultimately leads to him murdering duncan and his best friend Banquo. Towards the end of act III, Macbeth’s ego begins to diminish so he returns to the witches once again. There he is given three new prophecies from the witches: "Beware Macduff/ Beware the Thane of Fife. … none of woman born/Shall harm Macbeth … Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until/Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill /Shall come against him” (IV.i.71-93) These three fresh prophecies set the stage for Macbeth’s death in act V. During the final battle Macbeth does not fear any of the soldiers as all of them are “women born”. He doesn’t react as one normally would when he sees the forest of Birnam move toward dunsinane because of his inflated ego. Even in his fight against Macduff he chooses to spare his life for he still believes that no man can harm him. In the end, if Macbeth’s ego had not consumed, he would have realized his mistakes with macduff and killed