THE DEPTHS OF THE MIND
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Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s phrases create juxtaposition in “But wherefore could not I
pronounce ‘Amen’? I had most need of blessing…These deeds must not be thought after these
ways. So, it will make us mad.”(II.ii.i.30-34) Shakespeare uses this juxtaposition in order to show
how Macbeth is starting to have second thoughts about committing the murder. He is feeling
the guilt inside of him and is on the verge of going insane. Lady Macbeth on the other hand is
being calm and trying to keep Macbeth stay calm and preventing him from going mad.
Macbeth creates tension in his phrase by using repetition of exclamation marks in “Prithee, see
there! Behold! Look! Lo! How say you? Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too.”
(III.iv.i.69-71)Shakespeare uses this repetition in order to show how Macbeth is starting to go
mad because he is the only one that is seeing Banquo’s ghost. He keeps on telling Lady Macbeth
to look over at the ghost but she doesn’t see anything. This makes Macbeth start to bring him
down to his breaking point of going insane.
Lady Macbeth states commands to herself when saying “Wash your hands. Put on your
nightgown. Look not so pale – I tell you yet again, Banquo’s buried; he cannot come out on’s
grave.” (V.i.i.60-62) Shakespeare uses these commands in order to show that Lady Macbeth is
hallucinating that there is still blood on her hands. This causes her to go mad and speak to
herself in commands in order to make her not worry during the day and try to live a normal life,
but this does not help because she ends up dying from going mad.
"Is this a dagger which i see before me, the handle toward my hand?-Act 2, Scene 1, page 322 In
this passage Shakespeare uses a paranoid syntax to show the internal conflict of Macbeth in the
fact that he does not want to kill Duncan but he is being convinced by his wife for their lust for
power.
"Alack, I am afraid they have awakened and 'tis not done."-Act 2, Scene 2, page 323In the
passage of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare uses a tone of denial. He uses this to show that she
refuses to believe that the plan of killing Duncan will fail and that she is beginning to hear noises
and she thinks that people in the castle are aware of whats going on.
"Thou canst not say I did it . Never shake thy gory lock at me."-Act 3, Scene 4, page346In this
passage Macbeth is seeing Banquo's ghost. Also at this point it is clear that Macbeth has lost his
mind and is beginning to hallucinate because he has killed Banquo selfishly for his own power.
As a result Shakespeare uses the irony of Macbeth being the only one hallucinating at the
dinner, therefore this creates suspicion in that his guests begin to feel that Macbeth is up to no
good or he has gone crazy. Both of which are true.
Lady Macbeth hallucinates blood on her hands and says "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!"
Shakespeare uses an urged and fearful tone in Lady Macbeth's dialogue. Shakespeare
uses a fearful tone in Lady Macbeth's dialogue to show how paranoid Lady Macbeth is.
This paranoia has lead Lady Macbeth to insanity and Shakespeare emphasizes it
throughout Lady Macbeth's interaction with the doctor. Her hallucinations show that she
has gone insane because of so much guilt.
Macbeth begins to show insanity after killing Kind Duncan and says "Will all
great Neptune's ocean was this blood clean from my hand" (II.II.59) while using a
hyperbole. Shakespeare uses a hyperbole in this passage when saying the all of
THE DEPTHS OF THE MIND
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great Neptune's ocean is needed to clean Macbeth's hand. This quote reveals Macbeth's
guilt which bothers him throughout the play and leads him to insanity.
Macbeth shows much insecurity throughout the play. Before killing Duncan, Macbeth
has many doubts like when he asks Lady Macbeth "If we should fall?" (I.VII.58)This
inner conflict reveals how afraid Macbeth is about committing the murder. Lady Macbeth
is the main person that keeps Macbeth on track because she is committed to making the
witches prophesies come true. Macbeth is insecure about being caught and feels bad
since the king honored him with great privileges.
Macbeth’s mind is “full of scorpions.” (36) (Macbeth) (Act III, ii)The metaphor of Macbeth’s mind
of containing “scorpions,” meaning his mind is chaotic since he is worried about Banquo and
Fleance are still alive, and they might find out Macbeth killed Duncan. This proves he’s at the
point of madness.
Macbeth declares his past of killing people “cannot once start” him. (13-14) (Macbeth) (Act V, v)
Macbeth is not scared at the thought of killing people for personal gain since he has done it
before. He will not be scared of the kills he would achieve to keep his title of thane. Showing
bildungsroman, he has grown into the character of being fearless of his actions of killing when
he once couldn’t stop thinking about killing Duncan.
Macbeth is hallucinating “a dagger” in front of him. (33-35) (Act II, i) (Macbeth) Macbeth is
hallucinating, revealing his internal conflict. The weapon of murder is now messing with his
mind, signaling he is feeling guilty.
The internal conflict shown in Macbeth when he starts hallucinating Banquo’s gosh shows that
Macbeth’s mind is terrified because of the guilt he feels for killing Banquo. The “sweet
remembrance! Now good digestion wait on appetite and health on both” (III.iv. 38) In a way it
shows the regrets he has in his mind and that slowly he’s losing his mind because of the murder
he had done.
Macbeth’s sorrow tone shows Macbeth’s regret for killing Duncan. When he says “To know my
deed, ‘twere best not know myself. [Knock.] Wake Duncan with my knocking! I would thou
couldst!” (II.iii.72) that shows his sanity because he’s realizing that it was wrong and he’s feeling
regret for killing Duncan. At the same time that takes him to be insane because after he
murdered Duncan, he begins killing more people to have more power to his own.
At the end of the play Lady Macbeth starts losing her mind due to the murders and all the bad
they have done to get where they are. Lady Macbeth’s mental health at the beginning contrasts
the mental health she has toward the end of the play. This is shown when Lady Macbeth says
“Wash your hands; put on your nightgown; look not so pale! I tell you yet again. Banquo’s
buried, He cannot come out on’s grave” (V.i.63) At the beginning she was sure of what she
wanted to do and was so confident about it, as the time went by her insecurity dropped and she
began losing her mental health because of the actions she had taken.
In Macbeth’s soliloquy, he states a “dagger in which I see before me” in part of an on-going
hallucination which progresses with blood which he sees on the handle and blade (II.i.33). Under
mental strain, Macbeth visualizes a dagger eerily similar to the one which he is about to use to
commit the murder of King Duncan.
THE DEPTHS OF THE MIND
17. Lady Macbeth’s use of rhetorical questions such as “where is she now?” and “what, will these
hands ne’er be clean?” illustrates her loss of sanity (V.i.43-44).Her insanity is shown as she is
frantically reflecting on her past actions as she visualizes dirt and blood on her hands which are
not physically there but are used as a metaphor to represent regret and remorse she feels.
18. Macbeth’s horrified tone is shown in his response “Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth
hide thee!” to the apparition of Banquo. Macbeth believes to see the ghost of Banquo which
could either be a figment of his imagination or stress upon his mental health for burdening the
murder of his friend.
19. Macbeth and Lady share a bit of dialogue which includes Macbeth’s line “Methought I haeard a
voice cry ‘Sleep no more!’” (II.ii.34). After Duncan’s assassination at Macbeth’s hands, he begins
to hear voices crying haunting, guilt-provoking phrases. His wife doesn’t know what he is talking
about, but the voices he hears is evidence of the first step into his descent into madness.
20. Macbeth has a hurried monologue when speaking the lines “Duncan is in his grave; After life’s
fitful fever he sleeps well. Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, Malice domestic,
foreign levy, nothing, can touch him further” (III.ii.22-26). These lines make it seem like Macbeth
envies the dead king because of the peacefulness of death. Macbeth is so paranoid and worried
about the results Banquo’s assassination and afraid of someone discovering his part in the
murder, he goes paranoid and his fear becomes clearly evident.
21. Macbeth, while attending a lovely dinner party, is met with the ghost of his dead friend whom
he had killed, Banquo, to whom Macbeth yells, “Hence, horrible shadow! Unreal mock’ry,
hence!” (III.iv.107-108). While Macbeth is trying to get the leave, his guests believe that he is
yelling at air. They do not see the ghost. The fact that only Macbeth can see the ghost leads me
to believe that it isn’t actually a ghost, but an illusion conjured by the doubt, fear, and guilt in
his mind.
22. Lady Macbeth claims that “had [Duncan] not resembled [her] father as he slept [she’d have
killed him]” (2:2:12).Shakespeare uses this soliloquy to reveal that Lady Macbeth finds the
murder bad in a small way. This with Macbeth’s soliloquy suggests that both subconsciously
believe the murder to be wrong. This manifests in a reminder of kinship.
23. The porter goes into a soliloquy ending with the sentiment that “all professions [could enter
hell]” (2:3:5).Shakespeare uses this relatively minor character to deliver a soliloquy to present
the acceptance of all into hell. This, just after Duncan’s murder notes that even someone as high
as a lord can do evil. The porter’s sentiment is probably similar to what Shakespeare intended.
24. Lady Macbeth, while sleepwalking claims that “here’s a spot [on her hands]” (5:1:23).
Shakespeare uses the spot as a symbol of her soul. She is so guilt ridden by her hand in the
killings that she is kept up at night. Her inability to rinse the imagined spot ultimately leads to
her inability to live with herself and suicide.