GCSE English Literature: Macbeth’s mind full of Scorpions ( Analysis Bolton English Tuition)

Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!

What is revealed about Macbeth’s mental state here? Here are a few suggested responses to support your own ideas. See which one you think best and why?

1. Macbeth seems agitated when he confesses that his mind is ‘full of scorpions.’ This is because scorpions are dangerous creatures who poison everything they come into contact with. This reminds the audience about the contaminating effects of the witches. The fact that Macbeth is confessing his agitation to his ‘dear wife’ underlines their intimacy, his need for catharsis and the fact they are doomed to fall together into the poison released by the witches, resulting in the death of the King.
2. Macbeth is clearly upset when he cries out to his beloved, ‘dear wife’ that his mind is ‘full of scorpions.’ In a strange way, the audience might even feel sorry for Macbeth as his choice of metaphor reveals his mental anguish and the irony that his murder of the King has condemned him to a nightmarish hell, despite his ascendancy to the monarchy. ‘Scorpions’ are seen as malign creatures associated with treachery and poison, and if Macbeth believes they are in his head, this gives representation to his mentally unsettled state, or even approaching madness.
3. Macbeth is going mad here. He is confessing his feeling of near insanity through the use of a metaphor that links his ‘mind’ to one of the most feared, poisonous creatures in the world. Macbeth’s choice of metaphor gives representation to the toxic effects of the witches’ intervention in his life and also foreshadows the eventual downfall of both Macbeth and his wife through their murderous greed. The use of the exclamative underlines Macbeth’s anguish and fear. It is as if his mind has been hijacked by the witches. He has irrevocably lost his mental equilibrium.
4. Macbeth is not happy when he confesses about the ‘scorpions’ in the play. He feels his head is exploding with poison and he has only himself to blame as he has killed Duncan and has killed Banquo too, though his wife does not know this. Scorpions are nasty creatures and the metaphor shows how evil Macbeth has become. The metaphor perfectly communicates the misery of Macbeth at this point of the play and underlines the sense of futility he is experiencing despite attaining the crown.
5. Macbeth’s revelation to his ‘dear wife’ underlines his mental agitation after he has murdered Duncan. His choice of metaphor brilliantly communicates how tormented his ‘mind’ has become after he has destroyed his noble self through his degenerate greed and ambition.’ Scorpions’ are malign, dangerous creatures who destroy life through their poison and thus this choice of metaphor gives representation to the horrible images haunting Macbeth’s fallen mind. It is as if the witches with their morally undermining mantra, ‘fair is foul’ have violated the sanctuary of Macbeth’s head and are now taunting his sanity with nightmarish images and guilt. The fact that Macbeth’s mind is ‘full’ of such images heightens the sense of retribution and horror. The affectionate ‘dear wife’ shows the intimate, desperate connection between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and foreshadows their doomed fate, as their actions have colluded with the witches’ moral degradation and brought ruin to Scotland and themselves.  The ‘scorpions’ will poison Lady Macbeth too, so that by Act V of the play, she is a tormented, isolated and diminished figure who ‘sees’ her guilt as a permanent bloodstain on her hands.