ipl-logo

Disturbed Mind In Macbeth And Sylvia Plath

1725 Words7 Pages

Explore the presentation of disturbed minds in Macbeth and in the poetry of Sylvia Plath.

In both Macbeth and Sylvia Plath 's poems, disturbed minds is shown through the uses of word choices and through the actions and pasts of the characters and Sylvia Plath. Disturbed minds are an important factor in both Macbeth and Sylvia Plath 's poems because I believe it is there major downfall in the build up to the murder of King Duncan (Macbeth) and the suicide of Sylvia Plath. There are many differences and similarities of signs of disturbed minds in the two. For example in both Plath 's poems and in Macbeth, the loss of a male figure is made clear. A difference would be that Sylvia Plath was deeply unhappy and disturbed about her appearance and the fact that Lady Macbeth and Macbeth committed a sin. In this essay I will explore these similarities and differences are presented in Plath 's poems and in different productions of Macbeth.
Early on in Macbeth we teach that lady Macbeth experience the loss of a father. This is shown when she declares ' had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done ’t. '(Act 2 scene 2 12:13). This shows that she would have killed Duncan herself if he …show more content…

Sylvia Plath takes a very different approach and instead is more open about her attempted suicides, and how she thrives to kill herself in order to get to her father. In her poem 'Daddy ' she mentions her want to 'get back back back to you '. The use of the repeated 'back ' mirrors her three suicide attempts in her life to try get back to her father. In comparison to Lady Macbeth 's suicide, Plath 's suicide attempts and death was very public in her poems. She also say 'daddy, daddy, your bastard, I’m trough. ' This is showing how she had detached herself from any male influence, including her father, Tim Hughes and even God. 'I 'm through ' suggests that she has given everything up and is ready to die because of all the heart ache she

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Schizophrenia In Macbeth

    818 Words  | 4 Pages

    Macbeth: Side by Side. Clayton, Prestwick House, 2003. Print. p.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Ambition And Hallucinations In Macbeth

    425 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play Macbeth involves a lot of ambition and negation. Macbeth was a great Scottish general. Macbeth comes along three witches and they tell him that he will be king. He listens to him and his strong leads him to wanting to become king. He will kill anyone that gets in his way.

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Stereotypes In Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1514 Words  | 7 Pages

    Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, focuses on the tumultuous events that surround a regicide. Despite being the shortest of Shakespeare’s plays, in his critical study of the play A. C. Bradley concludes that due to its vehement nature the audience is left with an impression “not of brevity but of speed” . The principal female character of Lady Macbeth is arguably one of his most contentious. Consumed with intense passion, ambition and greed she challenges the subservient role of the traditional Elizabethan woman. She has disturbed, horrified and intrigued both contemporary and modern audiences alike through her powerful diction.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth Disturbed Character Analysis

    1503 Words  | 7 Pages

    Shakespeare, like any other man in the 16th and 17th century, saw ambitious and dominant women as evil and even disturbing or disturbed. From Macbeth, we can see Shakespeare feels women should be challenged and punished because they are trying to change society. Nowadays these ambitious and dominant women are regarded as brave and respected because of their ambition, such as Lady Macbeth’s ambition to become Queen. Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as mentally disturbed.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness In Shakespeare's Macbeth

    767 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bryanna E. McCool Mrs. Dean British Literature 25 January 2018 Mental Illness in Shakespeare’s Macbeth The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, a play wrought with prophecies, deception, guilt, and death, brings light to the symptoms of mental illnesses and their effects on the human brain’s ability to reason, trust, and act in times of pressure. Both Macbeth and his lady are plagued by mental illness, and the effects of their illness only grow as the play evolves. Macbeth’s symptoms of schizophrenia and anxiety, as well as Lady Macbeth’s anxiety as well as hallucinations that eventually push her to suicide prove that not only can mental illness alter the way a person sees a situation, but it can also drive them to harm others and themselves.

    Read More

  • Irony And Vampirism In Macbeth

    832 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the Play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a man who goes through different characteristical shifts. With the clear use of different analytical techniques in the play macbeth, It makes it easier for us, the readers to deeply follow along from beginning to end. The two techniques that set this play apart from its close competitors are the use of irony and vampirism. These two techniques thoughtfully mentioned in the play macbeth are also related to the Book How To Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. After reading chapter 26 “It’s he serious?

    Read More

  • Essay On Mental Deterioration In Macbeth

    619 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many people in the world that experience mental problems and therefore affecting their personality. Not everyone though is as bad as Macbeth when it comes to mental deterioration. Macbeth is a very self-centered man and it leads him to change the person he once was. Although it is not seen much in the beginning of Shakespeare's play “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, Macbeth’s mental state deteriorates as the play progresses, which can be seen when he is guilty of murdering King Duncan, being taunted by the ghost of Banquo, and his speech to the witches.

    Read More

  • The Human Mind In Macbeth And The Talented Mr. Ripley

    745 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human beings do not have a total control over their thoughts and emotions. The human mind can easily be influenced by changes in terms of social status, greediness, and ambition. The play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare and the novel The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith are types of artworks where these changes or events can unleash the worst characteristics of people, and a battle for control ensues, between the good side and the dark forces within. To begin with, firstly, at the beginning of the play, Macbeth appears as a brave soldier and a warrior hero, whose fame on the battlefield led him to get a great honor from the king.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Guilt Analysis

    840 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stages of this mental illness touched on by the playwright are the overpowering initial impact, difficulties sleeping, and the suicidal tendencies. In the moments subsequent to the treasonous murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth feels an irrepressible amount of guilt. This occurrence is the root of her depression as she experiences the weight of her crime and needs to be “look[ed] to” (2.3.115) and “exit...helped” (2.3.Stage Directions). Subsequently, the shameful state of mind Lady Macbeth suffers provokes complications with her sleep. The queen’s “heart is sorely charged” (5.1.46) which “keep[s] her from her rest” (5.3.40).

    Read More

  • Macbeth And Lord Of The Flies Analysis

    935 Words  | 4 Pages

    Whereas in the text of Macbeth, the setting is first presented as evil, stated by Macbeth “no foul and fair a day I have not seen“. On the contrary Macbeth is presented as ‘brave’ and ‘courageous’, ‘the savior of the day’, this implies that the writers chose the great difference in setting and character for the reader to

    Read More

  • Strengths And Weaknesses Of Lady Macbeth

    569 Words  | 3 Pages

    “I laid the daggers ready; he could not miss em. Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.” (II, ii, 11-13) Lady Macbeth is only strong enough to

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Macbeth And Lady Macduff

    450 Words  | 2 Pages

    To compare and contrast the roles of Lady Macbeth in the play, giving close consideration to their relationship their husbands. In the play ‘Macbeth’ we notice that the roles of Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff are very different. The contrast between these two ladies, is especially noted by each woman’s loyalties and manner of death. These two women, as similar as they were, also had dissimilarities that are far more striking.   Although Lady Macduff and Lady Macbeth each had the ability to influence their family, they used this influence in entirely different ways.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Guilt And Regret Analysis

    1578 Words  | 7 Pages

    This contrast immediately gives the reader an insight into the torment that guilt and regret can cause. There is a clear definition between Lady Macbeth before and after the murder of King Duncan. This character change emphasizes greatly the theme of the impacts upon a person due to the unnatural acts they have performed. In Lady Macbeth’s case the impact was guilt and regret both of which tormented her to point of serious mental illness, insomnia and ultimately a self induced demise. The author 's intention in bringing a once strong and evil character to the mercy of their own morality is to educate readers upon the impacts that guilt could have upon their own life if they were to perform the unnatural just as Lady Macbeth did.

    Read More

  • How Does Shakespeare Create Sympathy In Macbeth

    696 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through keen use of action, soliloquy, and dialogue, Shakespeare causes any audience to react sympathetically to Macbeth’s negative attributes and perhaps even relate. For instance, Lady Macbeth’s manipulation is an aspect many readers can level with. Once it becomes clear that Macbeth’s mental health is diminishing, the audience inevitably begins to pity him. In his final moments, the desperation Macbeth feels is hard for the audience to ignore. Evaluating Macbeth’s character in full rather than focusing only on his negative attributes inevitably evokes sympathy from the reader.

    Read More

  • Light And Darkness In Macbeth

    854 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare Often Employs the Imagery of Darkness throughout Macbeth Introduction In this paper, the use of imagery is described as it is used in the poem Macbeth by Shakespeare. In the poem, darkness has been more associated with evil to the extent of the deception. In the modern society, darkness tends to be the key characteristic of evil. William Shakespeare, therefore, employs the use of imagery in his poem to depict darkness as evil.

    Read More

More about Disturbed Mind In Macbeth And Sylvia Plath

Open Document