Disturbed Characters - Macbeth and Jekyll and Hyde

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The turmoil within Jekyll that led him to create his alternate ego is reflected in the scenery, in particular in regards to the house he lies in. The front door which Jekyll walks in is 'richly dressed' (you'll have to look up the quote, it's about half way through the book) and the back door is only used by Hyde (described closer to the front of the book) therefore showing his inner turmoil and struggles in a visual and symbolic way.

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Think about linking the above point to the ambience that the weather gives us in Macbeth at his most troubling times, such as the storm on the night of Duncan's murder. (This links due to the visual imagery, but is a contrast due it being hyperbolic, rather than the more subtle, and mundane, imagery of Stevenson). This then breaks you into Macbeth easily.

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Staying with Macbeth and go on to say how his pain is shown through his soliloquies, something which is a prime authorial device used by Shakespeare. 'Is this a dagger I see before me?' Is one that shows his inner conflict and utter disturbance with himself as to the regicide he is about to commit. Note in this dialogue the dagger is in Macbeth's mind. Macbeth's imagination is very powerful and that's something which torments him throughout the play, a key reason why he is so disturbed.

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Lady Macbeth is a massive point to make in terms of Macbeth. She is, arguably, the most disturbed character in Macbeth. Analyse the sleep walking scene, it shows her true mental illness. Think about her obsession with washing her hands and ow she is so troubled with guilt an the actions that she forced her husband to commit, the atrocities haunt her.

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The 'duality' (to quote Stevenson) within a man is something that Lady Macbeth shows, the greed for power and then the disturbance it causes her. Jekyll also speaks of this: 'It was on the moral side, and in my own person, that I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both; and from an early date . . . I had learned to dwell with pleasure, as a beloved daydream, on the thought of the separation of these elements.' Think about how this links with Macbeth. The two natures contending are like Macbeth and his morals, Macbeth isn't naturally a killer and so this conflict is created within him.

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Talk about metaphor and symbolism as much as you can. Note that Shakespeare often used apostrophe, which would be a nice device to mention if you can find it. He also writes in iambic pentameter, with rhyming couplets to emphasise various points (the last two lines of the soliloquy I mentioned earlier)