How Is Macbeth An Id Ego Superego

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Sigmund Freud understood that behaviors exposed unconscious inner feelings. His theory suggests that there are parts that create individual personality. These parts are used for our behavioral decisions. From my perspective, this paper will explain how the characteristics of Freud’s suggested id, ego, and superego along with the interactions of the id, ego, and superego encompass characters in The Tragedy of Macbeth. Freud suggests that the “id” is our natural biological makeup and appetite. The id’s dispositions and wants lie in our unconscious minds. They are all self-interested, impetuous, and ridiculous. The id goes along with the “pleasure principle.” This means the id can and will attempt to act on any pleasurable involvement it imagines.…show more content…
He realized that to reign as king, many people would have to die, and that he might have to be the one to commit these murders. Freud said, “The sense of guilt is the most important problem in the development of civilization…. the price that we pay for our advance in civilization is a loss of happiness through the heightening of a sense of guilt.” In these dark times that he would say, "Stars hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” Macbeth is asking for darkness to conceal his evil endeavors that he plans on obliging and to conceal his feelings that he knew were dishonorable. Macbeth is more than concerned about hiding his feelings because he has mixed feelings. In these prayers and thoughts we you get a clear picture of Macbeth’s ego. He knows that what he is thinking and feeling is not right and his ego and superego are working during these thoughts and feelings. He is trying to make a plan, ego; however, his superego keeps getting in the way. It was not that Macbeth was opposed to murder, as he had just gotten back from a war; it was that murdering Duncan would be blasphemous that kept the community together. This is why Macbeth requests to hide his feelings because he is in ethical conflict and is not truly certain or…show more content…
He pleaded again asking for darkness, but this time, it is the light of a candle that he want to be out. He said, "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.” Macbeth is starting to understand that what is done is done and there is not much more that can be done about it. Guilt may be described as “the fear of the super-ego” Freud. He recognizes that the life he so wanted is worthless and he does not have much reason left to live – he is miserable. Now we have Lady Macbeth, who has been in his ear the entire time playing as his id, and King Duncan, signifying his superego, dead. Macbeths feels that it is impossible to live without his id or his superego because it is necessary to have a helpful balance of all three. With no id, there are no normal impulses to survive and without the superego there is really nothing there to talk you out of all of the overwhelming immoral thoughts. To that end, Macbeth becomes less of a human. To me it appears as if he has come to recognize this and is saying farewell. Throughout the play I noticed that his reasons for murdering became very psychosomatic and not so much political. Macbeth slowly dehumanizes himself simultaneously while losing his King Duncan his superego and Lady Macbeth his id, to him
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