Kelsey Smith
Formatting: Running header should include page number.
Ms. Skirtich
English 12: British Literature
22 January 2019
“Macbeth”: The Dangers of Toxic Relationships
In an age of quick relationships, constant action, and high levels of stress, every person
has some experience with toxicity and mental distress. Mental illness and toxic relationships are
not a new thing and can be traced back even to the Renaissance. Writers such as Shakespeare
tackle these difficult subjects in masterful works of literature, such as “Macbeth,” to make them
more understandable to the everyday person. Shakespeare conveys the potential toxicity of
relationships and the detrimental effects this has on a person’s mental state in “Macbeth” through
the characters of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and King Duncan.
The character of Lady Macbeth is a prime example of the toxicity of relationships and
deteriorating mental states that Shakespeare weaves throughout “Macbeth.” At the beginning of
the tragedy, Lady Macbeth contributes highly to the toxicity in her marriage to Macbeth. She
insults Macbeth and urges him to be deceitful and sinful, saying, “To beguile the time, look like
the time. Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower, but
be the serpent under ‘t” (I.vi.74-78). In a healthy marriage, both husband and wife are supposed
to support each other and help each other live the best life possible. This attitude clearly displays
to the audience that the trust between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth is deteriorating, and that their
relationship is doomed. Lady Macbeth’s negative mindset and attitude towards her husband also
contributes to her later spiral into insanity. She begins to sleepwalk and confess her sins to thin
Commented [1]:
Commented [2]:
Great title; personally however, the use of the quoted title
immediately followed by a colon is slightly awkward and
misleading. Try introducing another noun between the
quoted title and colon; ex. ‘reflection’ or ‘analysis’.
Alternatively, reword such that the quoted title is joined to
your essay title with a preposition; ex. ‘in’.
Commented [3]:
Subject of the essay is established in your first sentence,
therefore listing them again in the second sentence is
somewhat redundant. In addition, ‘distress’ implies a
temporary condition; while ‘illness’ implies a permanent
condition— decide which is to be the overarching subject of
the essay and be persistent.
Commented [4]:
The phrase ‘new thing’ is rather casual.
Commented [5]:
Shakespeare wrote plays, therefore he is a playwright.
Commented [6]:
This sentence implies that Shakespeare was not the only
playwright to address these issues. Good thought, but ensure
that this is not a false statement.
Commented [7]:
The phrase ‘such as’ is repetitive. This sentence creates a
rather deep stack of examples (Shakespeare from
Renaissance playwrights, Macbeth from Shakespeare’s
works). These examples could be better expressed inside of
their own sentences. With the idea of Shakespeare being one
of many playwrights addressing these issues requiring
elaboration to avoid being disjointed or off-topic. If you do
not intend to elaborate, omit this idea and focus on the subset
of Shakespeare’s works only.
Commented [8]:
The phrase ‘toxicity of relationships’ is becoming repetitive.
At this point, ‘of relationships’ can be omitted, as the
correlation of toxicity to relationships can be reasonably
inferred. Article ‘the’ can be omitted if this change is made.
Commented [9]:
The word ‘states’ should be in the singular, as the plural
implies the possession of multiple concurrent states of mind.
Although the state does deteriorate, it is only possible to in
any one of state in any given instant of time. Alternatively,
this could be reworded as ‘mental deterioration’: mental state
is an implied concept here.
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air, crying, “Out, damned spot, out, I say! One. Two. Why then, ‘tis time to do ‘t. Hell is murky.
Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our
power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?”
(V.i.37-42). Lady Macbeth reveals through this confession that she feels incredible guilt
Commented [10]:
Typographically, these characters are incorrect. This is due
to the fact that word processors use “smart quotes” and the
whitespace character before the word causes your word
processor to assume that this is a single opening quotation
mark. A right single quotation mark should be used when
typing an apostrophe character. A quick search for “Unicode
U+2019” will allow you to copy-paste the correct character
for leading apostrophes.

weighing on her soul because of the crime she spurred her husband on to commit. She knows she

has turned Macbeth, the man she once loved and trusted, into a monster, and she cannot forgive

herself for doing so. This bizarre behavior clearly expresses how detrimental and dangerous a

toxic relationship can be to a person’s mental health.

Another character that Shakespeare uses to convey toxicity of relationships and Commented [11]:
Repetitive, see comment above.
deteriorating mental states is Macbeth. The beginning of the tragedy portrays Macbeth as being Commented [12]:
Also repetitive, see comment about ‘states’ in the plural as
well.
manipulated and lied to by his wife. Experiencing this behavior leads to Macbeth treating his

wife in the same negative way, saying things to her such as, “Be innocent of the knowledge,

dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed” (III.iii.51-52). Referring to his wife in such a

derogative and insulting way, Macbeth makes it clear that their relationship has crumbled beyond

repair. Macbeth also makes it clear that he will no longer be informing his wife of anything he

thinks or plans to do, signifying that the trust in their relationship is gone forever. As the tragedy

continues and Lady Macbeth’s mental state worsens, so does Macbeth’s. Upon the passing of his

wife, Macbeth, instead of showing deep grief and remorse, says, “She should have died Commented [13]:
Consider a semicolon here, commas make it read somewhat
like his wife is Macbeth— which doesn’t make sense.
hereafter” (V.v.20). This is a clear indication to the audience that Macbeth is not in a healthy

state of mind, as normally one would grieve heavily over the loss of a spouse. As if this last jab

at how meaningless his wife is to him is not enough, Macbeth continues on to say, “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
 Smith

a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” (V.v.25-31). Macbeth turns the

death of his partner into a chance to wallow in self-pity, expressing his boredom and

dissatisfaction with life. This is not only an incredibly selfish action, but it displays Macbeth’s

developing insanity. Despite all the riches and titles he has acquired, he is still not satisfied and

believes there is nothing more to do in life. Macbeth’s insanity makes it clear that the toxic

relationship he was a part of contributed to a downward mental spiral. Commented [14]:

Repetitive, see comments above.
Additionally, Shakespeare uses the character King Duncan to display the potential

toxicity of relationships. Although Duncan does not experience the same mental turmoil as Commented [15]:
Repetitive, see comments above.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, his relationship with them becomes toxic without his awareness.

While Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot behind his back, Duncan remains blissfully unaware of

the situation. Once at Inverness for his stay, Duncan continuously refers to Lady Macbeth

reverently, saying things to her such as, “Fair and noble hostess, we are your guest tonight”

(I.vi.30-31). This creates dramatic irony for the audience as they are aware of the plotting going

on in the shadows. Duncan refers to Macbeth in the same reverent way, saying, “We love him

highly and shall continue our graces towards him” (I.vii.37-38). Situations such as this can

arguably be more dangerous than one in which all parties involved are aware of the developing

toxicity. If all parties are aware of the danger, it is possible to make amends and repair the

relationship. In cases such as Duncan’s, however, there is nothing one can do to mend the rifts,

and therefore the bitterness and toxicity grows.

In summation, Shakespeare does indeed masterfully convey the potential toxicity of Commented [16]:
This adjective is repetitive and a little awkward.
relationships and the detrimental effects a toxic relationship has on the mind through the

characters of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and King Duncan. By giving examples of what happens

when things get out of control, Shakespeare clearly explains that toxic relationships are
 Smith

something that must be repaired or abandoned altogether for one’s own safety. His explanation

of these touchy and personal subjects can still be applied to modern life and continue to help

readers feel less alone in their problems. While to some the story of “Macbeth” may seem

outdated, it is truly a timeless classic that people from all different walks of life can apply to their

personal struggles. Commented [17]:

Overall, really great essay. Ensure that any textual evidence
and body paragraphs are shifted to align with any thematic
changes made to the opening paragraph. Would recommend
decreasing the use of the phrase ‘toxicity of relationships’,
it’s rather repetitive.