Mental Illness In Macbeth

Killing another human being can result in enormous mental consequences. As shown by Macbeth king of Scotland from the play Macbeth “written by shakespeare”how excessive ambition can lead to dire consequences. In the shakespearean “play Macbeth,” Macbeth can be seen dealing with the choices that he’s making and things he’s* seen. Traumatizing events such as these can trigger serious mental disorders. Which is why I believe that Macbeth suffers from both PTSD and Schizophrenia.

Macbeth, the main character from the play Macbeth** suffers from PTSD. This can be seen through his flashbacks, insomnia, and anxiety. PTSD can come in many forms, and these variations are caused by the exact same thing that caused the PTSD in the first place.

Transition, The National institute for Mental Health states that Schizophrenia is, “a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality.” NIH Schizophrenia. Which can commonly result in hallucinations and flawed logic, and in the play, Macbeth is haunted by the ghosts of his actions,* and other hallucinations that remind him of his mistakes. This can be seen when Macbeth sees a glowing dagger floating in the air and he says “art thou a dagger of my mind” Page 31. The glowing dagger hallucination. represents that Macbeth is about to kill king Duncan. Another symptom of Schizophrenia is a lack of empathy, this is because Schizophrenia reduces your enjoyment of life. It does this by actually affecting they way you feel and see the world around you “Why sinks that cauldron and the noise is this?” page 85. This quote comes right after he begins to see witches and a cauldron sink into the ground. Which frightens him and those around him who know he’s hallucinating. This symptom is really accentuated when Macbeth learns that his wife has committed suicide, “She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day”. Page 118. Normally when someone loses their wife they cry, grieve, or both. Macbeth does neither, he just acts as though he knew it would happen soon and that he doesn’t really care too much about her or anything else. His reaction is comparable to a glass of water placed on the edge it falls down and breaks, and him saying that’s a shame. Once someone loses all emotion like that they begin to blur the line between right and wrong. Which is how Macbeth has strayed this far from the path he started on, he had just won a battle and gotten a promotion, but he wanted more and didn’t