Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective

Noga Levine Keini

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14

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Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective

Noga Levine Keini

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 8, Issue 6)

Received: 30 November 2020 Accepted: 23 December 2020 Published: 31 December 2020

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Abstract

Macbeth is a very popular play and is the shortest tragedy that Shakespeare wrote. The play was written between the years 1599 – 1606 and was performed worldwide in professional theatres. The play deals with the dangers of passion, power and betrayal among friends and as a morality play it presents the destructive power of evil. This evil is not necessarily particular to the characters but represents universal evil. The play transcends time and place and consequently is currently relevant. Psychoanalytic theory proposed by Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century and subsequently developed by his students and their successors, caused a dramatic change in understanding the drives underlying human behaviour and their effect on the life of the individual and society. In choosing the subject for the present article I have tried to combine two fields that are of particular interest to me: psychoanalytic theory, as developed by Freud and his successors; and classic literature. In the latter case, I opted for Shakespeare's Macbeth, a play that portrays exquisitely the intense struggle between mental forces in man, as well as the impact of these forces on behaviour and on the course pursued by individuals and society. This article does not purport to be a scientific analysis à la Sigmund Freud, but rather a treatment of the play as a metaphor for psychoanalytic structures and for the universal human drama in progress, as did Shakespeare himself, with messages that are relevant for contemporary society.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 8, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14
Page(s)	191-199
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Shakespeare, Mental Distress, Psychoanalytic Theory, Unconscious, Awareness

References

[1]	Neuman, A. (2003). Points of Reference in Freud's Philosophy. In: Hatav (Ed.), Psychoanalysis – Theory and Practice (p. 163-181), Tel Aviv: Dionon Publishers.
[2]	Freud, A. (1987). The Self and Defence Mechanisms (p. 26-46). Tel Aviv: Dvir Publishers.
[3]	Freud, Z. (1988). Totem, Taboo and Other Essays (p. 147-185). Tel Aviv: Dvir Publishers.
[4]	Freud, Z. & Breuer, I. (2004). Research in Hysteria (p. 257-275; 291-340). Zefat: Sefarim Publishers.
[5]	Crook, D. (1971). Elements of Tragedy. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad.
[6]	Kristeva, J. (1991). Strangers to Ourselves. Columbia University Press.
[7]	Shakespeare, W., (1989) Makbeth, Tel Aviv, Shoken Publishers.
[8]	Churchil, C. J. (2015) "Is that all there is?" Time Guilt and Melancholia in Sleep No More and Macbeth. Int. J. Appl. Psychoanal. Stud, 12 (2); 161-174.
[9]	Sarge, C., (2019) Macbeth in a Psychoanalytic Perspective. The Hourglass Literature Blog. Ed. John Russel Brown. London Routledge Press.
[10]	Russel, D., (1982) Hurt Minds, Focus on Macbeth. Ed. John Russel Brown. London Routledge Press.
[11]	Holland, N., (1966) Psychoanalysis and shakespeare, N.Y, Mcgraw Hill Book Company.
[12]	Waith, E., (1977) Manhood and Valor in Macbeth. Ed. Terrence Hakes, Englewood Cliff. N. J.
[13]	Gruzina, R., (2005) Teaching William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Prestwick House Inc.
[14]	Coriat, I., (1920) The Hysteria of Lady Macbeth. N.Y Moffat, Yard and Company.
[15]	Kristova, J., (2017) 'I Have Supp'd Full with Horrors; a Kristevian Psychoanalytic Analysis of the Powers of horror in Macbeth. Published at the Conference Proceedings of the Kristeva 2017, Univ. of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania U.S.A.

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Noga Levine Keini. (2020). Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective. Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(6), 191-199. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14

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Noga Levine Keini. Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2020, 8(6), 191-199. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14

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AMA Style

Noga Levine Keini. Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective. Humanit Soc Sci. 2020;8(6):191-199. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14,
  author = {Noga Levine Keini},
  title = {Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {8},
  number = {6},
  pages = {191-199},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20200806.14},
  abstract = {Macbeth is a very popular play and is the shortest tragedy that Shakespeare wrote. The play was written between the years 1599 – 1606 and was performed worldwide in professional theatres. The play deals with the dangers of passion, power and betrayal among friends and as a morality play it presents the destructive power of evil. This evil is not necessarily particular to the characters but represents universal evil. The play transcends time and place and consequently is currently relevant. Psychoanalytic theory proposed by Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century and subsequently developed by his students and their successors, caused a dramatic change in understanding the drives underlying human behaviour and their effect on the life of the individual and society. In choosing the subject for the present article I have tried to combine two fields that are of particular interest to me: psychoanalytic theory, as developed by Freud and his successors; and classic literature. In the latter case, I opted for Shakespeare's Macbeth, a play that portrays exquisitely the intense struggle between mental forces in man, as well as the impact of these forces on behaviour and on the course pursued by individuals and society. This article does not purport to be a scientific analysis à la Sigmund Freud, but rather a treatment of the play as a metaphor for psychoanalytic structures and for the universal human drama in progress, as did Shakespeare himself, with messages that are relevant for contemporary society.},
 year = {2020}
}

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VL  - 8
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Author Information

Noga Levine Keini

Department of Social Work, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel

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APA Style

Noga Levine Keini. (2020). Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective. Humanities and Social Sciences, 8(6), 191-199. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14

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ACS Style

Noga Levine Keini. Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2020, 8(6), 191-199. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14

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AMA Style

Noga Levine Keini. Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective. Humanit Soc Sci. 2020;8(6):191-199. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14,
  author = {Noga Levine Keini},
  title = {Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {8},
  number = {6},
  pages = {191-199},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20200806.14},
  abstract = {Macbeth is a very popular play and is the shortest tragedy that Shakespeare wrote. The play was written between the years 1599 – 1606 and was performed worldwide in professional theatres. The play deals with the dangers of passion, power and betrayal among friends and as a morality play it presents the destructive power of evil. This evil is not necessarily particular to the characters but represents universal evil. The play transcends time and place and consequently is currently relevant. Psychoanalytic theory proposed by Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century and subsequently developed by his students and their successors, caused a dramatic change in understanding the drives underlying human behaviour and their effect on the life of the individual and society. In choosing the subject for the present article I have tried to combine two fields that are of particular interest to me: psychoanalytic theory, as developed by Freud and his successors; and classic literature. In the latter case, I opted for Shakespeare's Macbeth, a play that portrays exquisitely the intense struggle between mental forces in man, as well as the impact of these forces on behaviour and on the course pursued by individuals and society. This article does not purport to be a scientific analysis à la Sigmund Freud, but rather a treatment of the play as a metaphor for psychoanalytic structures and for the universal human drama in progress, as did Shakespeare himself, with messages that are relevant for contemporary society.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Macbeth – The Danger of Passion, Power and Betrayal: A Psychoanalytic Perspective
AU  - Noga Levine Keini
Y1  - 2020/12/31
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 191
EP  - 199
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20200806.14
AB  - Macbeth is a very popular play and is the shortest tragedy that Shakespeare wrote. The play was written between the years 1599 – 1606 and was performed worldwide in professional theatres. The play deals with the dangers of passion, power and betrayal among friends and as a morality play it presents the destructive power of evil. This evil is not necessarily particular to the characters but represents universal evil. The play transcends time and place and consequently is currently relevant. Psychoanalytic theory proposed by Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century and subsequently developed by his students and their successors, caused a dramatic change in understanding the drives underlying human behaviour and their effect on the life of the individual and society. In choosing the subject for the present article I have tried to combine two fields that are of particular interest to me: psychoanalytic theory, as developed by Freud and his successors; and classic literature. In the latter case, I opted for Shakespeare's Macbeth, a play that portrays exquisitely the intense struggle between mental forces in man, as well as the impact of these forces on behaviour and on the course pursued by individuals and society. This article does not purport to be a scientific analysis à la Sigmund Freud, but rather a treatment of the play as a metaphor for psychoanalytic structures and for the universal human drama in progress, as did Shakespeare himself, with messages that are relevant for contemporary society.
VL  - 8
IS  - 6
ER  -

Copy | Download