Examples Of Guilt In Macbeth

Can guilt be a good emotion? The them of guilt reocccurs in Macbeth. Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a play about a Scottish general named Macbeth who receives a prophecy from witches that he will become king. He then becomes consumed with ambition and commits a string a murders to fulfill the prophecy, but his actions lead to his downfall. Guilt can be a positive force, pressuring people into maintaining their morals as seen in Macbeth when guilt drives Lady Macbeth to insanity, leads Macbeth to paranoia, and it's absence makes the witches partially responsible for some deaths. Lady Macbeth’s guilt conscience pushing her to insanity shows that her morals were in the right place. Here, the sleep walking Lady Macbeth screams, “Out damned Spot!” (Shakespeare 5.1.39). The spot she is referring to is blood which symbolizes guilt as does her sleeping issues. Together, these symbols show her guilt-driven insanity. Additionally, this insanity proves she secretly feels murder is morally wrong, revealing her morals are in the right place. Scondly, after a series of shrieks, Macbeth is informed by Seyton, “The queen, my

During the banquet, Macbeth hllucinates Banquo’s ghost and questions, “Which of you have done this?” (Shakespeare 3.4.48). Macbeth’s hallucinations are likely because of his guilt-inudced sleeping issues. Further, his hallucinations indicate his paranoia. The fact that Macbeth is so paranoid over Duncan’s murder, he is hallucinating proves his moral opposition to murder. Secondly, Macbeth sees Banquo as a threat stating, “But to be safely thus: our fears in Banquo” (Shakespeare 3.1.53). Macbeth suggesting Banquo as a threat foreshadows his plan to murder Banquo. Additionally, it proves his paranoia since he is willing to commit another murder to conceal his first. Since, Macbeth did not want anyone to discover his murder, he knows how murder is viewed proving his opposition to