Macbeth Conscience Essay

Following murdering Duncan, Macbeth exclaims “this is a sorry sight.” Contrastingly to the battlefield, Macbeth is not proud of his murder. Formerly taking pride in his killings, away from the battlefield the effect on him away from battle is drastic. Macbeths conscience displays feelings of regret and remorse here, conveyed by the adjective “sorry.” Shakespeare develops the motif of disturbed sleep further emphasizing his guilt by illustrating that Macbeth has murdered sleep both literally and figuratively. On one hand Macbeth murdered Duncan in his sleep and on the other Macbeth destroys his ability to sleep as a result of the overwhelming feelings of remorse. The profound nature of Macbeths guilt is cemented when Macbeth asks, “what hands

To begin, Macbeth uses a banquet as vice to gain control on his life, as a result Macbeth is portrayed as confident and in control here. Macbeth is keen to establish himself as a worthy and fair king, so he and Lady Macbeth portray themselves as such by using a “false public face” to deceive the guests and hide their deceit. The banquet is a metaphor for order and stability, essential for a successful kingdom. However, here Macbeth is unable to stay and sit with his guests, similar to in his society. The descent of Macbeths mind into pure insanity is conveyed in this scene. Following his reoccurring fears, he uses a triad of verbs to express his thoughts. The alliteration “cabined, cribbed, confined,” uses harsh constantans to portray the horrific state he’s in. The verbs especially “confined” illustrate the feeling of constraint and control fear has on him, by using the semantic field of imprisonment. Macbeth also reveals his growing suspicion, imagination and guilt asking, “which of you have done this”. Macbeths anxiousness and his familiarity with deceit and manipulation is portrayed here as he believes his guests are deceiving him here, depicting his fear of being defeated. In the final speech, Macbeth concludes that he’d “Stepp'd in so far,” referring to the world of murder, that he should “wade” no more. Macbeth shakes off his fear and anxiousness and makes a clear decision, which sees the potential end to his conscience. Macbeth exclaims “I am in blood,” suggesting he’s already been involved in murder, and uses imagery of blood to acknowledge the level of brutality and volume of blood he has spilled. Macbeth states he should “wade” no more, depicting his complete commitment to sustaining himself as king. The verb “wade” implies moving carefully and with caution, usually through a liquid in this case blood, which symbolizes murder. The fact that he will “wade no more”