Who Is So Guilty In Macbeth

Have you ever felt so guilty that you thought that anything bad that happened was a consequence for you? In Macbeth Shakespeare uses the death of people close to Macbeth as part of the theme of consequences and also guilt.

Macbeth

“But wherefore could not I pronounce

“Amen”?

I had most need of blessing, and “Amen”

Stuck in my throat”. (2.2.31-33)

This shows that Macbeth feels so guilty about his first murder that he cannot even pray. As the story goes on the theme transitions away from guilt and more to consequences as Macbeth rule comes to an end. At first Macbeth was scared to kill Duncan felt guilty even before he kills him.

Macbeth

“I go, and it is done. The bell invites me.

Hear it not, Duncan, For it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell”. (2.1.63-65) This is one of the last things Macbeth says before killing Duncan then he says,

Macbeth

(2.2.20) after he has killed Duncan. This shows the guilt that Macbeth is already feeling. Macbeth is not the only one who suffers from guilt though, Lady Macbeth is becoming more and more guilty as time goes on. She becomes so guilty that she begins walking and talking in her sleep,

Gentlewoman-

“Since his majesty went into the field, I have seen her

Rise from her bed, throw her nightgown upon her,

Unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon

‘T read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed;

Yet all this while in a most fast sleep”. (5.1.251-255)

Lady Macbeth feels guilty about making her husband kill Duncan and because of that she ends up ending her own life,

Seyton-

“The queen, my lord, is dead”. (5.5.17)

This is a consequence for both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth because Macbeth has lost his wife and Lady Macbeth has lost her life. Macbeth also loses his son when the men he hired to kill Banquo come back to talk to Macbeth and they get in an argument with Macbeth's son,