Professional paper
‘Full of scorpions is my mind’: Trauma in Macbeth
Barbara Bočkaj
orcid.org/0000-0002-9575-9751
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
One of Shakespeare’s ‘great four’, Macbeth deals intensely with
the notion of sovereignty. The titular character, a soldier turned tyrant,
is most often discussed in terms of his bloodthirst and dependency on
the supernatural. Looking to predictions and apparitions for stability, he
gradually divests himself of agency. However, not all of the apparitions are the result of supernatural forces, but could rather be viewed as a direct consequence of his role as a soldier. The paper first establishes Macbeth as a PTSD sufferer and looks at the effects combat trauma has on him. It then moves on to recast that experience using the Lacanian notion of trauma, by looking at combat trauma as the intrusion of the pre-symbolic real, continuing with an exploration of the fantasy employed to bridge the gap between the real and the symbolic. Finally, by referring to instances of ambiguity, the paper turns to post-symbolic trauma, pointing to the different ways in which the stability of the social structure is compromised. By using combat trauma in conjunction with Lacanian trauma theory, this paper aims to present a basis for reading Macbeth as a trauma narrative, and ultimately (to) pose questions about further research into the perception of veterans and PTSD in Elizabethan drama.
Keywords
combat trauma; PTSD; pre-symbolic real; post-symbolic real
Hrčak ID:
244509
URI
Publication date:
9.7.2020.
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