Macbeth Is A Sociopath

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Thesis: Macbeth is a sociopath

Introduction

Sociopathy is a disorder associated with antisocial tendencies in a person. A person going through this disorder lacks attributes of normality which are required to live in a society. Such a person lacks empathy, sympathy, and feelings for others. In this thesis, the life of a sociopath whose name was Macbeth is discussed. Macbeth is a character from Shakespeare's play namely, the ‘Tragedy of Macbeth’. He is a Scottish army general and is very brave and ruthless. His life is characterized by violence and an urge for supremacy over others. He would not care about killing anyone who may come in his path of power and rule because he is a sociopath and has lost all the feelings of mercy and empathy. His wife Lady Macbeth is also a furious and violent lady who is the helper and counselor of her husband. According to this poem, Macbeth receives a prophecy from the trio of witches that one day, he will become the ruler of the Scotland. Blinded by the lust of power and frenzy of rule and also driven and motivated by his wife, he killed the king of Scotland. After killing the king, he occupied the throne of the king as per the prophecy.

Following are some of the famous quotes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: 

“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t.” (Shakespeare)

– Lady Macbeth (Act I, Scene V)

In this phrase, Lady Macbeth is trying to convince her husband to behave like an ideal host and receive King Duncan warmly. Actually, she was planning the murder of the King and wanted her husband to deceive him so that she could kill the King successfully. Therefore, she tells her husband (Macbeth) “to look like an innocent flower but be like the serpent which hides underneath it”.

“Yet do I fear thy nature, It is too full o’ thy’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.” (Shakespeare)

– Lady Macbeth (Act I, Scene V)

Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband. This letter mentioned the details of the prophecy performed by witches which tells that the next king would be Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is very excited but at the same time afraid of the fact that her husband is too ‘full of the milk of human kindness’, to adopt the shortest path to the crown which would be to murder the king.

“There’s daggers in men’s smiles. The near in blood, The nearer bloody.” (Shakespeare)

– Donalbain (Act II, Scene III)

In this line, the younger son of Duncan (Past King) is telling his brother that the murderer of their father is present in this crowd of people, gathered here for his funeral. By saying this phrase, ‘daggers are present in men’s smile’, he has probably referred to the hounds which indicate that when a person smiles, it is signifying that not everyone who acts friendly is a friend. ‘The near in blood, the nearer bloody’ warns the people to stay alert and don’t put their trust in somebody just because he treats you with kindness and love. People may cheat and once they are trusted by someone, they may betray them at the right moment.

Conclusion

Macbeth was blinded by lust of power and gone through the mental disorder called a sociopath. He had all the symptoms, sociopath possess including, untruthfulness and insincerity, lack of guilt, shame or any kind of rumors that one can feel after committing a crime. He killed the king to occupy his throne and then became so obsessed with it that he started killing anyone who may become a potential threat to his king. Sometimes when one achieves something, instead of satisfaction he may start living in the continuous fear of losing it. To retain the power gained by oppression, he continued oppressing others until he became a sociopath.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Macbeth. Vol. 2. Classic Books Company, 2001.