Sleepwalking

In Act 5 Scene 1, Lady Macbeth’s guilt is finally affecting her. She begins to sleepwalk and talk about the murders that have been committed. Also, in her sleep, she imagines herself washing blood off her hands. This routine and her sleepwalking are indications and proof of her guilt. Eventually, Lady Macbeth commits suicide, in which her guilt is believed to be the cause of her death. In the end, her regretful conscience got the best of her. (Reid p182-183) In other events, Macbeth goes…

“A strong woman who recklessly throws away her strength, she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw away”- Thomas Hardy. Dracula, by Bram Stoker was written during the late nineteenth century, and is classified as a horror film. Further analysis however, has brought to light the buried symbols and themes of sexuality that the novel holds within it. Mina and Lucy are very significant to the novel as they are the only female characters, and they are both given very…

He who is guilty and driven by ambition will be blindly pulled around until justice stares him in the face. The Lion King by Roger Allers and Macbeth by Shakespeare are two very different pieces of work but have similar themes throughout. The Lion King and Macbeth have two character in which guilt haunts them in different ways. Blood is significant in both pieces of literature because the main characters feel that they cannot get the blood of others off their hands. Both characters go on a…

Lady Macbeth is more evil than her husband in Macbeth In the play, Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, it is made clearly evident that Lady Macbeth used persuasion in an evil manner which then leads to Macbeth’s downfall. Lady Macbeth insists that committing regicide is their best option yet she makes Macbeth do the actual killing, this proves how manipulative she is. Also, she repeatedly questions Macbeth’s manhood so she can influence him to a big extent. Lastly, Lady Macbeth becomes less…

not yet been overcome with an objective solution by philosophers and theorists. Without having full consciousness of the significance or context of our actions, could we still have moral responsibility (Edmonds)? If a person with somnambulism (sleepwalking disorder) does something unconsciously, can they be held morally responsible for it (Edmonds)? Moral responsibility requires conscious deliberation of one’s actions – the…

Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalysis. Believing he could insight into people’s minds by researching their behavior and unconscious minds, Freud used his hypothesis on characters in literary works to analyze them and to support his proposition. One of Shakespeare’s tragic dramas that Freud examined was Macbeth.While reviewing the work, he realized that the characters in the play are prime examples of his theory. Id, ego, and superego best exemplify his theory in the…

One of the beliefs of the Victorian English society that the novel takes place in is that one must not act impulsively based on their own desires. Self-control is held in high-esteem, especially for the women. It is easier to forgive a man that gave in to the desires of the flesh than it is a woman, because she should have known better. She is supposed to be a picture of self-control, and the New Woman mentioned in the novel is unlike what a good English woman should be. The New Woman shows…

Lady Macbeth’s Mental Illness: Borderline Personality Disorder The Tragedy of Macbeth was written in 1606, by William Shakespeare. The theme in the Play of The Tragedy Macbeth is the same theme of the time period it was written in; which is excessive ambition will have consequences. Lady Macbeth is a key character in the play. Lady Macbeth loses all humanity when she is told that her husband, Macbeth could be appointed as the new king of Scotland. Due to the actions her husband and herself took…

“I have lived long enough. My way of life is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf, and that which should accompany old age, as honor, love obedience, troops or friends, I must not look to have.” (V,iii,171). In this quote, Macbeth wishes for a normal life for which he would have lived to an honorable age but he recognizes that he has denied himself of this. Another poetic quote that shows Macbeth’s despair: “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the…

What Have I Done? In “Sonnet 19” by John Milton, and “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, both of the main characters experience crippling depression. While Milton’s speaker is losing his vision, Lady Macbeth is coming to grips with the murders she has orchestrated. Common sense seems to dictate that both characters mental illness is the result of physical troubles. However, it is not blindness or death that causes their depression, but guilt. The word guilt is used to describe the feeling of…