Examples Of Guilt In Macbeth

“Conscience betrays guilt” is a Latin Proverb that relates well with the story Macbeth by William Shakespeare. With its meaning being that your very conscience will never let you get over your guilt, it connects to the main character Macbeth, and his wife Lady Macbeth; who in their triumph for power never seem to get over their initial guilt, which results in them both going insane. Shakespeare’s intention in writing this play was to show how the natural order of things should be followed, and that if they were to be disturbed, it could very well destroy everything. In Macbeth, insanity is the result of a guilty conscience can be proved when Macbeth orders the killing of his friend Banquo and son Fleance, when Macbeth orders the killing of Macduff’s entire family, and when Lady Macbeth commits suicide.

In Macbeth, Macbeth demonstrates that insanity is a result of a guilty conscience by ordering the murder of Banquo and his son Fleance. “Both of you….Know Banquo was your enemy.” (3.1.124-125). Macbeth not long ago considered Banquo his greatest ally and friend; however, this did not stop him from ordering the murder of him and his son. Ordering the murder of not just your best friend, but his son as well takes an immense amount of guilt, as well as

"Here's the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand" (5.1.50-51). Lady Macbeth went on a delirious rant while sleepwalking during the final act; during which she exclaimed how guilty she felt and she won’t be able to escape her past mistakes. Her delirious state would eventually end with her demise, as most iterations of the play have her committing suicide off stage. To conclude, Lady Macbeth in the end fell to her demons, as her guilt led to a declining mental state which would end up in her