Macbeth Descent into Madness in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- essays

Macbeth’s Descent Into Madness In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the character Macbeth descends into madness. Macbeth’s descent into madness first started with the witch’s prediction. If he had never met the witches none of this trouble would have occurred. Macbeth is seen as a â€Å"valiant cousin, worthy gentleman† (I, ii, 24). He is a brave warrior who is well respected in his community, until the witches prophesied to him that he would one day be king (I, iii, 50). Macbeth interprets that he must act to fulfill the prophecy. He sends a letter to lady Macbeth asking what to do. She suggests that he should kill Duncan. Macbeth follows the plan and kills Duncan (II, ii, 15). Directly following the murder Macbeth can no longer say amen (II, iii, 31-33). Macbeth also hears a voice in his head say, â€Å"sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep†(II, ii, 35, 36). For the rest of the play Macbeth suffers from insomnia. When Macbeth pretends to be surprised by Duncan’s death he says, â€Å" Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time, for, from this instant, there’s nothing serious in mortality. (II, iii, 92-95) he is saying that if he had died before he murdered Duncan he would have li ved a great life, but now that he’s committed murder, life is just a game and nothing is important anymore. These are suicidal thoughts and show how his grip on reality has greatly slipped. Macbeth shows signs of serious mental deterioration when he sees a dagger appear before him, but doesn’t understand if it’s real or not (II, i, 35-40), later on in his speech he says his other senses made his eyes look foolish or they are the only trustworthy senses (II, I, 44-46) Macbeth shows more signs of descent when he says Duncan is luc... ...herself, Seyton delivers the news to Macbeth. Macbeth is very calm when he hears the news and doesn’t seem to mind. Macbeth says that she would have died sooner or later (V, v, 17-23) After Macbeth hears that Birnam wood is moving towards him, he wants to go out fighting. He attacks and kills Young Siward in a desperate attempt to save him from the fate the witches predicted (V, vii, 11-12). He also orders all his soldiers to attack the wood (macduff’s soldiers, V, vii, 46-53) and he fights Macduff but Macduff says he was born by a c-section and not by a woman (V, vii, 41-45) Macbeth fights to the death but is beheaded by Macduff as the witches said he would. (V, vii, 82-83) In conclusion, through my quotations and explanations I have shown Macbeth’s descent into madness. It was his guilt and ambition overall that sent him in a downward spiral into madness. Macbeth Descent into Madness in Shakespeare's Macbeth Essay -- essays Macbeth’s Descent Into Madness In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the character Macbeth descends into madness. Macbeth’s descent into madness first started with the witch’s prediction. If he had never met the witches none of this trouble would have occurred. Macbeth is seen as a â€Å"valiant cousin, worthy gentleman† (I, ii, 24). He is a brave warrior who is well respected in his community, until the witches prophesied to him that he would one day be king (I, iii, 50). Macbeth interprets that he must act to fulfill the prophecy. He sends a letter to lady Macbeth asking what to do. She suggests that he should kill Duncan. Macbeth follows the plan and kills Duncan (II, ii, 15). Directly following the murder Macbeth can no longer say amen (II, iii, 31-33). Macbeth also hears a voice in his head say, â€Å"sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep†(II, ii, 35, 36). For the rest of the play Macbeth suffers from insomnia. When Macbeth pretends to be surprised by Duncan’s death he says, â€Å" Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time, for, from this instant, there’s nothing serious in mortality. (II, iii, 92-95) he is saying that if he had died before he murdered Duncan he would have li ved a great life, but now that he’s committed murder, life is just a game and nothing is important anymore. These are suicidal thoughts and show how his grip on reality has greatly slipped. Macbeth shows signs of serious mental deterioration when he sees a dagger appear before him, but doesn’t understand if it’s real or not (II, i, 35-40), later on in his speech he says his other senses made his eyes look foolish or they are the only trustworthy senses (II, I, 44-46) Macbeth shows more signs of descent when he says Duncan is luc... ...herself, Seyton delivers the news to Macbeth. Macbeth is very calm when he hears the news and doesn’t seem to mind. Macbeth says that she would have died sooner or later (V, v, 17-23) After Macbeth hears that Birnam wood is moving towards him, he wants to go out fighting. He attacks and kills Young Siward in a desperate attempt to save him from the fate the witches predicted (V, vii, 11-12). He also orders all his soldiers to attack the wood (macduff’s soldiers, V, vii, 46-53) and he fights Macduff but Macduff says he was born by a c-section and not by a woman (V, vii, 41-45) Macbeth fights to the death but is beheaded by Macduff as the witches said he would. (V, vii, 82-83) In conclusion, through my quotations and explanations I have shown Macbeth’s descent into madness. It was his guilt and ambition overall that sent him in a downward spiral into madness.