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Context of guilt in macbeth
Importance of guilt in macbeth
Importance of guilt in macbeth
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Guilt is defined as “having committed a specified or implied offense or crime.” In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, the theme of guilt is very prevalent because it is incorporated within many characters. The main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, are two people that show the heaviest amount of guilt throughout their quest to become king and queen of Scotland. Their power hungry personalities eventually drive them to a killing spree when they lose control of their decision-making abilities and cause them to exacerbate their wrongdoings. In the play, guilt drives the characters insane emotionally, physically and psychologically, which results in the inability to control themselves and their actions. The first sign of guilt
The play Macbeth and the movie The Social Network each explore ideas around guilt and remorse. Both these works are from two different timelines and explore two completely different themes and ideas, but are both relatively similar in scope. Macbeth and The Social Network explore ideas around guilt and remorse, but at opposing angles. Both works depict the main character as someone who is easily influenced and who is driven by ambition, both capable and not capable of feeling guilt and remorse. Their ambitions cause those close to them to break ties, and their relationships deteriorate as they betray those closest to them while trying to attain what others have by any means possible.
Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare explain how guilt impacts Lady Macbeth:
What is guilt and what major impact does it have in the play Macbeth by William
Everyone deals with guilt at least one time throughout their life, and several authors use guilt to help build up suspense in their story. Guilt in Macbeth not only affects his mental state of mind, but it also destroys him physically, along with a few other characters such as Lady Macbeth. The characters are affected by guilt so much, that it actually leads to their death essentially, just because they were not able to handle the consequences for the events that occurred. Despite being destroyed by guilt, they were still forced to carry on with their lives and they did have to try to hide it, even though Macbeth was not doing so well with that. His hallucinations were giving him up and eventually everyone knew the he had murdered Duncan so he could become the next king.
Through the quest of being king to the thought out murders, Macbeth did his deeds that led him to the place he wanted to be, but was it an accomplish or a plead for being guilty? Lady Macbeth led her husband Macbeth to take action in making a plot for murder to anguish the being of himself and his wife’s rise above to king and queen. Macbeths uncertainty and questioning towards his quest of the murders left him in shame and guilt, Although Macbeths wife set her husband on the quest for them to become royalty Macbeth went further into the plan and lady Macbeth slowly stepped away. Throughout the whole play, Macbeth held the most power to influence the actions of others. Macbeth held the action to murder the king to take his place and when all failed, the people suspected Macbeth to the murder and Macbeth killed his very close friend that was full of suspicion hoping it would all go away.
First, guilt plays a role in Macbeth from the actions of Duncan’s murder. Due to his vaulting ambition, Macbeth murders Duncan despite knowing that it is not the right thing to do. After the murder occurs, Macbeth finds Lady Macbeth it seems as though
“Some people create their own storms, then get upset when it rains” (Lookup Quotes). In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is Macbeth’s wife who prepares to kill Duncan, but after she commits the deed, she gradually changes into a character who cannot handle the guilt of the crime. Lady Macbeth initially appears to be an ambitious, manipulative, and bold character; however, as the play progresses, her guilty conscience gradually makes her insane, weak, and mad which ultimately leads to her tragic death.
Guilt plays a strong role in motivating Macbeth, and causes Lady Macbeth to be driven over the edge of sanity - to her death. Throughout the story, there are many different types of guilty feelings that play a role in Macbeth’s fatal decisions and bring Lady Macbeth to commit suicide. Although there are many instances that show the power guilt has played on the main characters, there are three examples that show this the best. One is, just after the murder of the great King, Duncan. Guilt overcomes Macbeth where he can no longer think straight. A second example is soon after that, where all the guilt Macbeth feels at first, changes into hate after he decides that Banquo must be killed as well. The last example is just about at the end of the play, when we see Lady Macbeth sleepwalking, and then later committing suicide; this all because of the burden of her guilt. All of these examples build the proof that in this play, guilt plays a very large role in the characters’ lives.
Have you ever felt so terrible for something you did, or even felt awful before you even do that dangerous act? A part of the human nature is the very complex brain which gives humans the thought that they have done something wrong or are about to do something wrong. This is called your conscience and if you do not listen to it, very bad things can occur as a direct consequence. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth comes across as a hero and then turned into an absolute monster due to the inhumane acts that he takes to become the most powerful leader and hold that position. Art Markman from phychology.com defines the use of guilt. He says, “Guilt is a valuable emotion, because it helps to maintain your ties to the people in your community.”(Psychology.com)
From the beginning of time, mankind has discovered a way to successfully or unsuccessfully reach his goals. In the play, Macbeth, Shakespeare demonstrates the struggles of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth as they try to achieve their goals through creating ambition and committing sin that neither of them were ready for. In the end, the true argument is whether or not they both thought out the plan to achieve their desires or if Lady Macbeth and Macbeth had just followed their instincts as unable rulers did. Throughout the play, the central theme shown is guilt because guilt is the result from both vaulting ambition and a continuing thirst for power.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, he chronicled the story of Macbeth’s rise to power and all he encountered during that journey. One theme that is present throughout the entirety of the play is guilt. As the story progressed, it can be seen that guilt affects each character differently depending on their role in the play. However, every person deals with the guilt in their own way. Everyone is influenced by a feeling of regret at some point in their lives, and the way they deal with it will affect them in the long run. It can be seen taking a drastic toll, particularly on the characters of Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth. Ultimately, the presence of guilt in someone is determined by how easily they let it affect them.
Guilt is an inevitable and cognitive emotion. In biblical context, people initially felt guilty since the first humans had committed wrongdoings. Since then, guilt has become the prevailing emotion when one realizes the severity of one’s actions [Merriam Webster][1]. Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, conveys the impact that guilt plays on people’s lives. The characters in Macbeth were no strangers to spiritual conviction and guilt since the influence of Christianity was evident in the play. Subsequent to the regicide of King Duncan, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s guilt haunted them throughout the play. As the plot progresses, their guilt changes and they both respond differently to it. In Macbeth, both the principal character and his wife reject the idea of biblical guilt, but it differs in the fact that Macbeth allowed his guilt to transform his reality, while Lady Macbeth allowed her guilt to turn her insane.
By embracing evil, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have committed unnatural actions that disturb them. Their guilt does not leave them in peace, and slowly degrades their health. Macbeth's guilt causes him to act strangely in front of his guests, and it disturbs him deeply. Macbeth's guilt is deeply mutilated, and it only affects him when he hallucinates "Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves / Shall never tremble" (III.iv.124-125), and as soon as his visions disappear he feels better "Why so, being gone, / I am a man again.- Pray you sit still" (iii.iV.130-131), not something normal considering the actions he has committed. His guilt paralyzes him when he does feel it, but most of the time he is guiltless, and that encourages him to commit more murder. Although his guilt does not ultimately destroy him, it is a factor that brings his own men against him, since through his guilt he reveals the actions he has committed.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title character Macbeth and his wife are both exceptionally ambitious, often taking rather radical measures to accomplish their goals. While this ruthless drive to power is seemingly prosperous at first, it quickly crumbles to naught as guilt infects their minds with grim consequences to follow. Macbeth transforms from a noble general to a guilt-ridden and despaired murderer, while Lady Macbeth’s usually stoic and masculine persona deteriorates into a pitiful and anxious shell of her former self. The feeling of remorse quickly plagues the two characters and overpowers ambition through manifesting itself through nightmares, ghosts, and paranoia, and ultimately leads to their demise.
Guilt has a large part in manipulating how Macbeth and his wife act after they have committed their crimes. It is their guilt that drives them both mad. Before they have even killed Duncan, Macbeth feels guilty and considers backing out of the murder, but Lady Macbeth won't let him. Once again Macbeth sees that what he is doing is morally wrong, but he doesn't let that stop him. He kills the king despite his reservations.