Mental Health In Macbeth Essay

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Edmund Burke, a famous author once said, “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse”. The play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, illustrates how corruption can take place within a seemingly good person as he struggles to gain power and retain it. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s mental health is deteriorating. The play reveals this, through Macbeth’s hallucinations, where he sees things and hears things that do not exist. Macbeth’s mental faculties progressively decline, as he plans the execution of several murders. The series of events progress in this fashion: Lady Macbeth kills Duncan; Macbeth begins to hear a voice that no one else can hear and Macbeth conspires to kill Banquo and then he begins hallucinating. Macbeth shows that he is …show more content…
In order to remain as the king, Macbeth is willing to do anything, which even includes making immoral decisions to arrange acts of murder. In the play, Macbeth decides to plan Banquo’s murder on the day of the feast because of his suspicion towards Banquo. The murder results in Macbeth starting to hallucinate, as he begins to see an apparition of Banquo. Macbeth says “Avaunt and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; Thou hast no speculation in those eyes Which thou dost glare with!” (3.4.93-96). Here Macbeth’s mental condition continues to deteriorate, since no one else can see Banquo’s ghost. Furthermore, other characters such as Ross assume that Macbeth is not feeling well, and Lady Macbeth questions his intelligence for saying that he sees something that no one else can see. All through the play, Macbeth's emotional wellness is decreasing. This all reveals the undesirable effects that a guilty conscience can have on the mind and body, as Macbeth shows that he is suffering from these negative effects through hallucinations and even

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