Role Of Guilt In Macbeth

Guilt

In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, guilt consumed Macbeth up to where his emotions take over him. However, it is his own fault for ending the lives of innocent people. Guilt is the responsibility for a crime or for doing something virulent or wrong. Anyone, who is an anyone in this world knows what guilt is and the effect of it is consuming. Some characters express it better than others, for example, Macbeth. Guilt impacts Macbeth in his mental health, his relationship with Lady Macbeth, and his future decisions.
First of all, guilt impacts Macbeth in his mental health. Lucius Seneca said in his quote, “Every guilty person is his own hangman.” Macbeth digs his own grave when he murders King Duncan. Macbeth first shows how guilt affects his life when he sees the dagger before him. “Is this a dagger I see before me,.../ Are thou not, fatal vision, sensible/ To feelings as to sight? Or art thou but/ A dagger of the mind, a false creation,/ Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”(2.1.34-40) There Macbeth starts having hallucinations and it is the beginning of him going insane. Hallucinations

Macbeth did not make the most exceptional decisions in his life. He has the chance to avoid all of that by letting things be, but his thirst for power is stronger. When Macbeth murdered King Duncan, he did everything he could to prevent someone from finding out his secret. “Thou hast it now-- King, Cawdor, Glamis, all/ As the weird women promised, and I fear/ Thou played’st most foully for’t.” (3.1.1-3). Many people suspect of Macbeth, especially Banquo. The witches Banquo’s future sons would become king. On the other hand, Macbeth has no one to take his place after he dies and it makes him envious of Banquo. Banquo knows about the witches predictions, but he never did realize that their predictions would have a say in his