I decided to analyze Act II, Scene II of MacBeth using psychoanalysis. I've previously examined the passage using Marxism and queer theory, so I thought it might be beneficial to examine the scene from another perspective. However, I will also discuss other scenes, in order to fully, but briefly, demonstrate MacBeth's two opposing psychological constructs. Psychoanalytic theory itself has, what appears to be, two contradictory halves: Freudian psychoanalysis and Lacanian psychoanalysis. The first half focuses solely on the perpetrator and the unconscious; the second considers the unconscious, but prefers to concentrate on external influences by deconstructing the text itself. According to Freud, interpretation is achieved by examining conflicts and symbols, such as Freudian slips and dream images. These outlets help determine whether an individual's external behavior coincides (or conflicts) with their internal emotion. Freud focused on sexuality and the Oedipus complex, which is the idea of ​​repressed sexual feelings toward a parent of the opposite sex. He also defined three levels of the subconscious: the ego, the superego and the id. Barry explains that the stages align with “awareness, consciousness, and the unconscious” respectively (93). In contrast, Lacan, a disciple of Freud, focused on the relationship between an author and his work. He claimed that the two were inexorably linked and that objectivity was non-existent. In essence: an author's personality is used to interpret the text and, conversely, the text is used to better understand the author. Regardless of emphasis, psychoanalytic criticism engages an individual in literature by asking them to view each other as dominant. However, since MacBeth decides to kill Duncan, it seems that the id ultimately triumphs. This analysis went much better than I initially thought. As I read the first act, I discovered so many references to psychoanalytic theory that it was unbelievable. Granted, that could be the case because I'm an English/Psychology double major. But what about this connection which is only an illusory correlation? I also discovered that the line between queer theory and psychoanalysis is thin. This seems to suggest that homosexuality is the result of a brain process. Works Cited Barry, Peter. “Psychoanalytic criticism.” Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 3rd ed. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2009. 92-115. Print.Shakespeare, William and Robert S. Miola. Macbeth. New York: WW Norton, 2004. Print.