Macbeth's Guilt Analysis

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Macbeth begins as a courageous army general. At first, he cannot bring himself to terms with killing King Duncan. Therefore, Lady Macbeth volunteers and sells her soul to evil spirits so that she may complete the act without hesitation. As fate would have it however, irony occurs when Macbeth kills King Duncan himself and Lady Macbeth turns out to be conscience-stricken. It appears that the guilt itself drives her insane, ultimately leading to her demise. When Macbeth finds out about her death, he pessimistically summarizes life as being nothing more than the significance of a candle. Macbeth concludes, “And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!”(5.5. 22-23). Macbeth is now King of Scotland;

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