Guilt In Macbeth

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, different characters deal with the guilt they feel in different ways. Lady Macbeth’s guilt pushes her into madness, and while Macbeth’s guilt does the same, it also pushes him to commit further atrocities. However, Macduff uses his guilt over his family’s death to avenge them. The difference in the way in which they deal with their guilt catalyze many deaths, including those of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Guilt and accountability therefore are key elements of Macbeth.
Immediately after he kills Duncan, Macbeth feels guilt, and this guilt directly pushes him into madness and further atrocities. He states that the knocking should “wake Duncan . . .- I would thou couldst,” and thus wishes that he had

not killed Duncan (Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Penguin Books, 2000. Print. II.iii.77-78). Because Macbeth allows his guilt to consume him, he descends into madness. He also regrets his actions when he realizes that “for Banquo’s issue [he] has filed [his] mind; for them the gracious Duncan [he] has murdered; put rancors in the vessel of [his] peace only for them” (III.i.64-68). His statement that he “has filed [his] mind” reveals that he is already starting to go mad (III.i.65). In an attempt to lessen his guilt, Macbeth attempts to ensure that only he will reap all of the benefits of his actions by ordering the murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth’s madness convinces him that Banquo and Macduff are working against him or will work against him. Macbeth further shows his madness in his statement that he is “in blood stepped in so far that, should [he] wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er” (III.v.137-139). In saying this, Macbeth reveals that he thinks that he must kill more people because he has already killed so many. He also orders the slaughter of Lady Macduff and her children because “Macduff denies his person at [Macbeth’s] great bidding” (III.iv.129-130). Banquo, Fleance, Lady Macduff, and her children have done nothing against Macbeth. They are innocent victims, and the fact that Macbeth thinks that killing them will help him stay king and lessen his guilt shows his lunacy.
Similarly, Lady Macbeth’s guilt pushes her into madness; however, her madness differs in that she commits suicide as a result.

After she helps Macbeth kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth’s guilt manifests in sleeplessness and a fear of darkness. She begins to sleepwalk and insists that she “has light by her continually,” as if the light will cast away the darkness around her metaphorically as well as literally (V.i.22-23). Every death in Macbeth occurs at night or in the shadows; Lady Macbeth’s fear of darkness reveals that she fears that her sins will catch up to her and that someone will attempt to kill her as well. Like her husband, Lady Macbeth’s paranoia manifests as a result of her guilt. In addition, sleeplessness is a classic manifestation of guilt. Lady Macbeth is also continuously washing her hands in an attempt to wash away her guilt. In a final manifestation of her guilt, Lady Macbeth “by self and violent hands took her life” because she ultimately is unable to cope with her sins (V.viii.69-71). Although Lady Macbeth’s guilt does not result in nearly as many deaths as that of her husband, it does lead to her own death and reveals key characteristics of guilt, particularly

sleeplessness.
In contrast to Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s guilt, Macduff turns his guilt to his advantage.

Macduff’s guilt stems from the murder of his wife and children, whom he thinks “not for their own demerits but for [his own] fell slaughter on their souls” (IV.iii.226-227). However, rather than allowing his grief and guilt to drive him mad, Macduff uses them as “the whetstone of [his] sword. Let grief convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it” (IV.iii.228-229). With Malcom’s encouragement, Macduff turns his guilt into a determination to kill “this fiend of Scotland” (IV.iii.233). His guilt therefore pushes Macduff to avenge his family’s deaths by killing Macbeth, which in turn benefits Scotland as a

whole.
Shakespeare uses guilt to display the ways in which people cope with it. Some, like Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, allow it to consume them; Others, such as Macduff, use it to help them. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are changed by their guilt, and it is detrimental to them and to Scotland. On the other hand, Macduff changes his guilt, and this change is advantageous for him and for Scotland. Although Lady Macbeth’s guilt stems from the same act as her husband’s, the two react in different ways. Shakespeare also uses their guilt to show that those who commit atrocities will be held accountable. Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan, and the resulting madness leads her to commit suicide. However, Macbeth is more accountable for Duncan’s death, so his murder drives Macbeth further into insanity than it does Lady Macbeth. Because Macbeth’s guilt leads him to kill Macduff’s family, and their deaths push Macduff to kill Macbeth, Macbeth’s madness inadvertently leads to his own death. Consequently, Macbeth reveals that guilt changes people and that those who commit mortal sins will be held accountable in death.