Areesha Faisal

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MacBeth Coursework

"Explore how the theme of madness is presented in Macbeth. You must consider language, form

and structure in your answer."

In Macbeth, Shakespeare explores the themes of madness through the character of Lady Macbeth.

At the start of the play, she is portrayed as a strong and manipulative wife, willing to push her

husband into committing regicide to achieve power. However, as the play progresses, the weight

of her guilt begins to consume her, leading to her mental deterioration. Through Lady Macbeth's

descent into madness, Shakespeare highlights the devastating effects of ambition and the mental

consequences of moral corruption. Contextually, Jacobean audiences would view the demise of

Lady Macbeth as a divine punishment for her unnatural rejection of traditional femininity. Since

her early control over Macbeth went against societal norms, her sad end serves as an important

lesson about transgressing gender roles which differs from modern audiences who may accept her

independence and desire to hold status as queen.

In chronological order, the first significant sign of madness shown by Lady Macbeth is in Act 1

Scene 7 when she is shown by Shakespeare as a disrespectful wife. She says, "what beast was't,

then, that made you break this enterprise to me?" To Macbeth as he has second thoughts on killing

King Duncan. The rhetorical question in the quote forces Macbeth to question his masculinity and

bravery, he is intimidated by his wife's use of short and sharp sentences which could show how

impatient she is, and she has dominance over the situation. Lady Macbeth calling Macbeth a 'beast'

is violent, almost anti-Christian imagery and a metaphor which could imply how Macbeth

abandoning the plan to commit regicide and kill King Duncan is an act of cowarddess and
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weakness. The irony lies in how he is a 'beast' for disobeying her and not a 'beast' for disobeying

God's divine will. Her confrontational tone is forceful and manipulative while her Machiavellian

greed to exploit presents her as a figure we recognize to be Macbeths strong and manipulative wife,

otherwise known as a femme fatale figure. This was the first sign of potential insanity to both

modern and Jacobean audiences. As a wife disrespecting her husband, let alone, ridiculing him for

his masculinity was frowned upon the Jacobean society as women were said to be submissive and

respectful to their husbands even though Lady Macbeth completely contrasts with this ideology.

While for modern viewers, her lack of genuine love for her husband parts her as hypocritical and

even a narcissist.

Another example of madness Lady Macbeth shows is when in Act 3 Scene 4 she is trying to calm

down Macbeth when he is paranoid and says, "you have displaced the mirth, broke the good

meeting / with most admired disorder." As Macbeth hallucinates Banquo's ghost at the banquet.

Lady Macbeth is forced to 'normalize' the situation by intervening; she criticizes him privately,

once again, for driving attention to himself and losing his senses. Her accusatory tone shows her

frustration while the quote "Admired disorder" is ironic. It highlights the chaos that was caused by

the couple's crimes, mocking Macbeth's inability to maintain control with his guilt within the

situation, while she so easily masks her true self to maintain the facade of a good Queen.

Shakespeare's pairing of "mirth" and "disorders" mirror the disruption within the banquet while

the rhythmic structure shows the how the couple's composure is putrefying. The line "you have

displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting" is harsh and abrupt, mirroring Lady Macbeth's cold

and controlled tone but also reflecting the weakened grip they have on their power. The phrase "...

with most admired disorder.” disrupts the expected iambic pentameter which can reflect the
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gradual disintegration of their world. Lady Macbeth’s speech remains controlled and compressed

as her requests are insane and uncompassionate, which contrasts with Macbeth’s increasingly

erratic speech patterns, reinforcing the idea that she is still forcing herself to stay coldly composed

while he crumbles.

Shakespeare draws a curtain on Lady Macbeth's madness in Act 5, Scene 1 when she sleepwalks

and shouts "Out, Damned spot! Out I say!" While trying to desperately wash off the imaginary

blood from herself. The emphasis of "Out" shows her desperation to cleanse the 'blood' off while

the word "spot!" could represent her guilt for the crimes as she desperately tries to cleanse her guilt

for her crimes by using an imperative tone throughout, the commanding language contrasts with

her lack of control as she was once a strong, independent and manipulative wife. The explanation

is marked in the word "spot!" further emphasizes her urgency to get rid of the 'bloodstains'.

Shakespeare's transitioning the text into prose can show her descent into madness as her paranoia

takes over her.

Another moment that displays the madness she feels is within the same act as she says, "Here's the

smell of blood still, All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand." Shakespeare uses

hyperbole to show the exaggerated emphasis on the permanence of Lady Macbeth's guilt, it is

overwhelming her as she almost feels acceptance on her madness. The sensory imagery shift to

smell can highlight her connection to the crime as even the concentration and strength of perfumes

from Arabia will not cover up the malodor of blood from her hands. Shakespeare uses blood and

perfume to symbolize guilt and uses it to contradict as the idea of "perfume" suggests beauty,

cleanliness, femininity, and hygiene while Lady Macbeth says even the most concentrated

perfumes of Arabia cannot cleanse and cover up her and ugliness, dirtiness, masculinity, and
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filthiness of the crime Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have committed together. Her fragmented

dialogue shows how her mental health is unraveled as her and her language completely break down

at this time of the play.

Madness is an almost virus-like mentality which corrupts Lady Macbeth and her femininity which

ought to be pure as a typical, forcing her to commit the most vicious crimes for a woman in the

Rennaissance period for greed and the title of queen. Modern audiences may have a better

understanding on women like Lady Macbeth's mental state and may recognize that Lady Macbeth

needed psychiatric help with the better understanding on psychology and mental health throughout

the years.