Examples Of Mental Issues In Macbeth

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Imagine the President of the United States - or anyone in authority, for that matter - dealing with an unstable state of mind. This scenario plays out in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth and describes how the title character resorts to violence in order to gain and maintain authority in his home country of Scotland. However, the strenuous struggle progressively plummets him into possible mental health issues. In Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays the protagonist and his wife as gradually becoming mentally unstable, particularly after they conspire to commit murder to obtain power. Even though Macbeth foreshadows the possible consequences of slaying his cousin, King Duncan, he acts on his impulses and experiences immediate guilt afterwards.