“How does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s deteriorating state of mind?”
Shakespeare shows Macbeth’s deteriorating state of mind by using different devices. At the beginning Macbeth’s state of mind was strong. According to the Seargent, Macbeth was a hero and he described him as a hero “brave Macbeth” in the beginning of the play. At the end of the play Macbeth’s state of mind was delusional. He imagine that he saw the ghost of Banquo because he killed Banquo.
As it is already mentioned above, at the beginning of the play Macbeth was a hero, on the other hand, at the middle and end of the play, he turned to being a coward and delusional. Well, that is because one, he killed King Duncan and Banquo, and two, he saw the ghost of Banquo. Near at the end of the play, before the war between Macbeth and Malcolm started, his wife Lady Macbeth died and he made the soliloquy about that life is meaningless: “She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.” Shakespeare is saying that life is meaningless and it is an actual story, that is told by a fool. He is also saying that life is not important. This is important to Shakespeare’s message because Macbeth’s state of mind is already bad and delusional.
Shakespeare uses metaphors to reveal Macbeth’s deterioration, for example, “That struts and frets his hour upon the stage.” He is saying that we have a short life so what’s the point of having a life where if you are not immortal? The another metaphor is “Life’s but a walking shadow”. Shakespeare is saying that life is nothing. The third metaphors is “it is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.” He is saying that it is a real story, that is told by an idiot who makes noises and