In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a Scottish soldier named Macbeth is given prophecies from three supernatural witches that determine his fate. Macbeth goes through several events to try and reach his title of becoming King of Scotland but his greedy actions of violence backfires in the end. Macbeth is keen on retaining his throne as king and this causes him to act in violent ways. He experiences delusions and hallucinations because of the violent thoughts going on inside his head. Furthermore, it is argued that Macbeth has a disorder in the play.
According to Psych Central, a well known psychology organization, Brief Psychotic Disorder is a disorder where someone has brief delusions, which is having strong belief in something to be true although in reality and rational thought, it is false. It also involves hallucinations that are periodic and will come back if not treated properly. Macbeth has this disorder because he believes everything to be true; or in other words he is gullible to believe whatever he is told. A person that does not have this disorder would think rationally and logical thoughts but Macbeth does not exemplify any of these mentally stable traits.
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a brave, heroic, and admirable person that is well respected. The first time the reader gets to look into Macbeth’s delusive mind, is in the beginning act, which takes place on the heath, and opens with the appearance of the three witches. Macbeth and Banquo arrive on their horses, and they witness the witches’ prophecy about Banquo’s children who will be king after Duncan. Macbeth too gets a prophecy, as he is set to be the future Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth curiously wants to ask the witches about what they really meant by their prophecy but they disappear immediately.
Although Banquo is clearly tempted by what the witches said, he is still capable of self-control and logical, rational thought. Banquo reflects on the witches’ equivocations, as he knows that they are ambiguous and can betray. He states, “But ’tis strange/And oftentimes to win us to our harm/The instruments of darkness tell us truths,/Win us with honest trifles to betray’s/In deepest consequence” (1. 3. 134-38). Macbeth is aware of what Banquo just told him about the witches, yet, he is in another, more dreamy state of mind.
He lies to himself, ignores any moral thinking, and strongly wishes to believe the witches. Macbeth describes, “This supernatural soliciting/Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill,/Why hath it given me earnest of success/Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor” (1. 3. 143-46). Macbeth’s delusions begin immediately once he finds out he is Thane of Cawdor. He doesn’t stop to consider that this has just happened separately from the witches prophecies, and therefore is easily manipulated. Macbeth only has this delusion for about a day, and then returns to normal thoughts and thinking.
He goes back to normal because he reflects about the fighting that had just happened and congratulates Malcolm on getting the title of Prince of Cumberland. In addition, Macbeth experiences short hallucinations, both of which have happened due to killing someone. When the witches prophecies suggest that he will be named King hereafter, Macbeth immediately thinks to kill King Duncan. Macbeth, at first, is very unsure about killing his king, as oppose to Lady Macbeth where she is telling him to just do it and not be such a baby about it.
This really gets to Macbeth’s head and he does not feel comfortable anymore. He starts seeing things such as the dagger that he used to kill Duncan. Macbeth has an aside when he questions the dagger, “Is this a dagger which I see before me,/The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. /I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. / Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? ” (2. 1. 44-48). The dagger is an example of Brief Psychotic Disorder because he is hallucinating about something going on in his mind, but it only happens for a short period of time.
The allucination further gains in visual detail when Macbeth discovers patches of blood on the blade & the handle of the dagger. This relates to the killing of Duncan in the mind of Macbeth ahead of the actual killing. He then discovers that the dagger is not real and continues on with the actual killing of Duncan. This hallucination is an example of Macbeth having Brief Psychotic Disorder because he describes his hallucination to the audience with great detail but it then goes away and he realizes it is not real. Next, Macbeth has another major hallucination of when he sees Banquo’s ghost at the dinner table.
Macbeth convinces three murderers to execute the killing of Banquo because his son, Fleance, is a threat to Macbeth’s throne. On the night of the dinner banquet, the murderers come back with the news that they have done the murder but Fleance has escaped. Macbeth is frightened to see a ghost of Banquo at the dinner table shortly after. The reason he is seeing Banquo is because he is thinking about several things in his mind such as what his future holds and if any of his actions are the right thing to do. In the play, Macbeth shouts, “If trembling I inhabit then, protest me/The baby of a girl.
Hence, horrible shadow! Unreal mock’ry hence! ” (3. 4. 127-29). When Macbeth sees the ghost, he is immediately shocked that he is hallucinating again. According to the author Roxanne Dryden-Edwards of MedicineNet and a psychologist from the Maryland mental institute, Brief Psychotic Disorder will happen for more than a few minutes but no more than one month. Also if someone does not treat this disorder, hallucinations and delusions will come back eventually, just like Macbeth is having for these quick periods of time that pop up frequently.
This hallucination is how Macbeth has lost control of his rational and logical thoughts and people are starting to see Macbeth as quirky and suspicious of his violent actions. However, there is a counter argument that people may make against this disorder. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is liked by many people and his king because of his brave, valiant, and good work on the battlefield. His king liked him so much that he was named Thane of Cawdor. Before he kills Duncan, he contemplates his actions but is pressured by Lady Macbeth to execute their plan.
Macbeth was liked by many people so some say that he did not have a disorder because he just wants to stay in power and please his people. Although some people think that Macbeth was just doing his duty and trying to make everyone happy, he still demonstrates substantial evidence of having multiple delusions and hallucinations of things that are bothering him or affecting him. A person who is not suffering from this disorder would not cave into pressure as easily. A person who truly believes in his delusions is more easily manipulated, as Macbeth has done in the play.
It is clear that Macbeth suffers from Brief Psychotic Disorder because he has delusions and hallucinations that only last for a short period time. He is delusional when he believes the witches prophecies of becoming King of Scotland. Macbeth hallucinates twice, such as when he sees a dagger before him and tries to grab it when it is not there, and he sees Banquo’s ghost at dinner and says the table is full. A person that is mentally stable, would not have these delusions and hallucinations that Macbeth experiences, therefore he has Brief Psychotic Disorder.
