Theme Of Guilt In Macbeth

860 Words2 Pages

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.
Towards the beginning of the play, Macbeth was told by three witches of his future as the Thane of Cawdor and as King of Scotland. Together, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth devised an evil plan to brutally murder King Duncan. In doing this, Macbeth was one step closer to his prophecy of being King coming true. Macbeth expressed guilt and second thoughts before he even did the deed, but after the murder is done is when his guilt really started to show. Immediately after, Macbeth heard voices saying “Macbeth shall sleep no more” (II.ii.22-43). The guilt would keep him awake forever and would continually eat away at him. He was so disgusted with himself that he couldn’t even put the daggers back at the scene of the crime (II.ii.51-53). Lady Macbeth, guilt free at the time, stepped in and did this for him. Guilt often causes people to lie, which is why Macbeth quickly reacted and killed the guards. Lady Macbeth attempted to cover for him and fainted as a distraction (II.iii.106). He couldn’t keep his thoughts straight and it ended ...

... middle of paper ...

...t caused her to take her own life (V.V.17-19). She reached a point where even coming clean and admitting to what she had been a part of, wasn’t going to be enough to clear her conscience.
Whether lying about a homework assignment, talking bad about a friend, or killing someone, guilt will almost always be present in a situation. As Macbeth exhibited, people can do things they know are wrong and remain guilt free. Was he really completely guilt free though, even at the end? Physical and psychological symptoms of guilt grow as the guilt itself does. Lady Macbeth, although originally came off as unaffected, eventually was crushed by the weight she was carrying on her shoulders. Almost all of the main characters in Macbeth by Shakespeare fall victims to guilt at some point. The difference is how they chose to deal with it and their willingness to take responsibility.

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Guilt In Macbeth And The Social Network

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Guilt is a Potent Emotion in Shakespeare's MacBeth

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    Guilt is a very potent emotion that an individual always feels in relation to others and has its genesis in the wrong done by some person to others. The two prominent works of literature that are Macbeth and The Kite Runner, though contrived centuries apart, revolve around an unremitting feeling of guilt felt by the central characters that are Macbeth and Amir, and the ordeal they had to go through owing to the psychological and practical consequences of that guilt. In the Shakespearian tragedy Macbeth, though, manages to murder the Scottish king Duncan to actualize the prophecy of the three witches, yet the guilt emanating from such nefarious acts and intentions continues to foreshadow Macbeth’s life throughout the plot. The very moment Macbeth approaches Lady Macbeth with hands dipped in the blood of Duncan, his deep seated guilt oozes forth as he says, “Methought I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more;/Macbeth does murder sleep (2.2.45-46)”. Thereby, from this moment onwards, Macbeth is shown to be strongly stung by an unrelenting and continually nagging sense of guilt that makes him engage in strange and suspicion generating acts and manners.

    Read More

  • Free Macbeth Essays: The Importance of Guilt

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    Guilt encircles Macbeth the night he killed King Duncan. He came back to his wife with a horrified expression on his face. "This is a sorry sight"(Act2 scene2 line 20), he told her. . "A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight", Lady Macbeth was thunderstruck to his remark. She had no sense of guilt right then. He couldn’t believe what he had done, what he got himself into. The sons of the king, Malcolm and Donalbain, were in the next room. "There’s one did laugh in ‘s sleep, and one cried, "Murder!" That they did wake each other". I stood and heard them. But they did say their prayers, and addressed them Again to sleep. But wherefore could not I pronounce "Amen"? I had most need of blessing, and "Amen" Stuck in my throat." Macbeth had heard them say their prayers He was in fear. He was stunned and in shock that he had killed someone like King Duncan.

    Read More

  • Quotes Of Guilt And Regret In Macbeth

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Macbeth, there are a lot of guilt and regrets felt by Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth. For example, Macbeth regrets killing King Duncan because now he is worried that if the people find out it was him, he would be executed. Also Macbeth starts to feel guilty about the people who he killed, but he likes to do it because he wants to be king. Lady Macbeth is starting to become worried about the people trying to come after for what she is encouraging Macbeth to do. Macbeth, a man driven by ambition, could not escape from guilt which haunted him.

    Read More

  • Impact of Guilt on MacBeth

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is guilt and what major impact does it have in the play Macbeth by William

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Isolation in Macbeth

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have both shown guilt, but at different stages in the play. Isolating guilty feelings only begins to isolate them from the world around them. Macbeth is the first to feel guilt at the begging of the play, but towards the end he has nothing but isolation. Lady Macbeth has both isolation and guilt. In act III , scene two , lines 6 to 9, Lady Macbeth says, " Noughts had all's spent, where our desire is got without content. Tis safer to be that which we destroy". She is describing how the murder of Duncan has made them lose everything but has made them gain nothing. Her guilt has gotten the best of her by act IV, when all she has on her mind is guilt. When Lady Macbeth says in act V. scene two, line 43 to 44, "Heres the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand". She knows the murder is irrevocable, and nothing can be done to erase the deed from her mind.

    Read More

  • Guilt in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Guilt Quotes In Macbeth

    386 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth hears a prophecy which makes him believe murdering the king is the only way to fulfil said prophecy, shortly after another prophecy causes him to think he is invincible, this inevitably leads to many bad choices that lead to his death. Shakespeare uses symbols such as a dagger, blood, and hallucinations to show that guilt can haunt a person forever when one abandons their morals.(TH) Shakespeare first shows this with the use of a dagger. Before actually going through with the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth sees, “...A dagger of the mind, a false creation...” (Shakespeare 2.1.38), because he already feels guilty for abandoning his morals and plotting to murder Duncan, who he used to be loyal to.(TS) Although Macbeth has killed many people in battle, this would be the first time he murders someone that is innocent, which is why he feels such overwhelming guilt.

    Read More

  • Macbeth: Shakespeares Comparisons And Contrasts

    425 Words  | 1 Pages

    Furthermore, Macbeth cannot escape punishment if he fails. We see Lady Macbeth's persuasiveness producing a new courage in her husband, and that courage is manly enough to perform murder. Therefore, Macbeth has no reason for murdering Duncan except for his "vaulting ambition," his lust for power. Throughout the play we see Lady Macbeth's and Macbeth's conscience, or lack of, change places. Macbeth transformed from having a guilt-ridden conscience to having no conscience what so ever.

    Read More

  • Free Macbeth Essays: The Role of Guilt

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    It all began really in Act II, Scene II after the murder of Duncan, when Macbeth returns to his room to join his wife. As any person would be, Macbeth is very shaken by his wrong act. Killing a man, not to mention a beloved king is a sin and Macbeth knows it very well! He truly believes he has murdered all innocence, and only worse things will follow. Throughout the scene there are several quotes that show this; " Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more," and " Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red." This shows the amount of guilt he felt. He describes this by saying that if he tried to wash his hands in the river, it would turn into the colour of the blood itself. Lady Macbeth attempts to make him stronger, " A little water clears us of this deed: How easy it is then!" But the guilt he feels just does not go away…At least for the time being.

    Read More

  • The Emotions of Ambition, Remorse, and Fear in 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare

    387 Words  | 1 Pages

    Macbeth feels a great deal of remorse after he has killed the king. He understands that he has committed a sin and will be punished. He is so terrified that he hears voices telling him:“ Macbeth does murder sleep, … , Macbeth shall sleep no more”(Act 2, Sc.2 p. 57). Macbeth is very upset with himself and wishes that he never killed Duncan. “To know my deed it were best not know myself.” When he hears strange knocking at the gate he wishes that it wakes up Duncan, “wake Duncan with thy knocking”, however it is too late (Act 2, Sc.3 p. 61).

    Read More

  • Comparing Macbeth Relevant To Today's Society

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    A part from the play in which the Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both get guilt feelings is on the death of King Duncan. Even before the death of King Duncan Lady Macbeth was rejected to kill Duncan by herself as she gave reasons that when King Duncan is Sleeping he looks a bit like her father and she doesn’t want to kill him. Macbeth seems deeply shocked that he could not utter the name of God when as a fallen man, a vile killer, he had 'most need of blessing'. His tormented conscience unveils itself in the form of delirious ravings. The sort of guilt behaviour could be compared to our today’s society as humans in today’s society do have guilt feelings after the cruel. The behaviour touches the person who has been cruel and has guilt feelings about it. The feeling of the guilt behaviour makes them feel sad and try very hard to change the situation back to normal so they don’t have that guilty feeling about the cruel things that they have done. The guilt behaviour in today’s society can happen in our day-to-day life with our family. One of the quote for the book related to guilt behaviour is “O, Full of scorpions is my mind” Act3 scene 2 Line 30. This quote shows the horror of Macbeth’s mental

    Read More

  • Guilt and Conscience in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    Macbeth feels guilty that he is thinking about killing the King because he’s basing his entire thought upon belief in the ‘evil creatures’. We see this when Macbeth has a soliloquy in which he says, “Cannot be ill, cannot be good” and also asks himself why the thought of becoming King makes his “seated heart” knock against his ribs. Macbeth ‘sees’ a bloody dagger in front of him even before he kills the King. This shows that he feels guilty even before the evil deed. He tries to convince himself and his wife that he should not kill Duncan, and at one stage he orders her not to go any further with the deed....

    Read More

  • The Power of Evil in Macbeth

    1936 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Guilt Between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the novel, Macbeth receives the news that if Duncan, the current king, passed away he would be the next one to the throne. So, Lady Macbeth induces Macbeth into killing Duncan by filling his mind with ambition and planting cruel seeds into his head. After accomplishing his deed of killing the king, he brings out the daggers that were used during the murder, and says, “I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; look, don’t again, I dare not.” This is his first crime and Macbeth is already filled with guilt and regret.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Guilt In Macbeth

Open Document