In Act 2 Scene 2, Shakespeare explores what happens when the chain of being is disrupted and develops both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's characters' regression through the motif of bloody imagery. After Macbeth has killed Duncan, he comes back to his room and is already starting to go mad. In line 62, Macbeth says “they pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood.” This shows that Macbeth is already feeling very guilty and regrets committing regicide.
Here, Macbeth is saying to himself “ This is a sorry sight’ (2.2.18), as he looks at his bloody hands with a pale face. Lady Macbeth thinks this is foolish to say and when she notices he took the daggers, she thinks he is even more foolish. She tells him to take these daggers and put them next to the king and smear the blood on the grooms. Macbeth, however, is so shaken up that all he can do is stand and stare. Leaving no choice, Lady Macbeth is forced to do the job she asked her husband to do.
Moreover, Macbeth was one of the first characters to feel a great deal of guilt in the play. An instance in which Macbeth's guilt showed through was when he said, “A dagger of the mind, a false creation,... I see thee still, and on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood”(II,I) Macbeth makes this statement to his wife after killing Duncan, because he still feels remorse for his actions. To continue, he has the impression that there are daggers covered in blood haunting him constantly reminding him of his actions.
He feels that murder dooming and a hideous act. Aftter slaying duncan, Macbeth says “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand” Macbeth is looking at his hands that are covered with blood as he is washing them. Macbeth feels that this apalling deed he had done cannot be washed away. The blood is there permanently. This is because this vision of the murder will haunt him throughout his life.
Yet this doesn’t last for long because once Macbeth returns with the news that he has killed Duncan she berates him once more for fearing that they may be caught by saying, “You do unbend your noble strength to think/ So brainsickly of things” (2.2.45-46). It is after this that Lady Macbeth takes the daggers from Macbeth and goes to clean them off, which in turn leaves her hand coated in Duncan’s blood. She again makes a jab at Macbeth’s courage “My hands are of your color, but I shame/
I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on ’t again I dare not” (2.2.65-67). This shows that even right after killing Duncan, Macbeth feels regret and remorse for his actions. He refuses to go back and be forced to see the dead and bloody
At first, rather than putting all the blame on Macbeth she is proud of her involvement in the murder stating: “My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white.” Initially this villainizes her as she is in control rather than being an obedient wife going against Jacobean stereotypes
Out, I say...... Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (Shakespeare 5.1.29-30). The repeated insistence to purify her blood-soaked hands accentuates the profound remorse that now governs Lady Macbeth’s life. She is so consumed by guilt that she yearns to undo her previous misdeeds, tirelessly scrubbing her sin-stained hands and calling out into the night.
Macbeth acknowledges that he has committed too many crimes and sins that he cannot stop, yet it is also as hard to continue on his path of violence. The use of imagery in his character being covered in blood showcases the depth of his guilt and the cruel and disgusting nature of his person and actions. Paired with his hallucinations and insomnia, Macbeth’s relentless guilt ultimately consumes him, illustrating the destructive power of unchecked guilt and moral corruption Initially, Lady Macbeth dismisses her guilt which contrasts sharply with her later overwhelming sense of guilt, highlighting her mental decline. Earlier in the story, she reassures Macbeth after Duncan’s death saying “"A little water clears us of this deed. /
As she sleepwalks, she realizes she cannot shake the guilt of killing Duncan off of her hands. She feels she's responsible for Macbeth’s actions and shameful for what she’s encouraged. Lady Macbeth announces “What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with this starting” (Shakespeare 5:1). Lady Macbeth’s belief that washing her hands will cleanse her of her guilt demonstrates her flawed understanding of the predetermined fate and the witches prophecy. Her support for her husband's actions makes her liable for his murders and she begins to understand the wrongness of his actions.
Lady Macbeth questions her husband’s maleness throughout the play in hopes of driving his actions. Her decision to exert this pressure on her husband helps set into motion the tragic events. She devises a plan for Macbeth and even plants the knife on the sleeping guards. Ultimately however, Lady Macbeth’s treachery leads to immeasurable guilt. She is seen washing her hands over and over again trying to clean herself of the evil deeds she has committed.
While Macbeth may be a haunted play, it is a respected one. Shakespeare’s brilliant use of soliloquy reveals the innermost thoughts of the characters, which helps drive the story. Macbeth’s soliloquies reveal the deterioration of his morals and humanity as the story goes on in a way that could not be seen from dialogue alone. In the first act, we learn that Macbeth, a man once considered noble, is considering murder, which is the first glimpse of Macbeth turning towards evil.
In Act 2, scene 2, 18-19, it states, “(looking at his bloody hands) This is a sorry sight. That’s a stupid thing to say...” says Lady Macbeth. We can infer that Macbeth feels remorse and sorrow after seeing the sight of his hands covered with the blood of King Duncan, whom he has just murdered. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth finds it foolish to get all emotional about such a manly deed of courage.
After killing Duncan, he exclaims that he wishes for “all” the water in the “ocean” to “wash” “blood clean from [his] hand” (2.2.60-62). Shortly after, Lady Macbeth replies by saying that a small amount of water can wash away the blood that he sees. However, Lady Macbeth’s opinion changes after Duncan kills Lord of Fife’s innocent family, she starts going psychologically insane. In her sleep, Lady Macbeth constantly washed her hands, trying to get “out” the “spot” of invisible blood on her hand after being reminded of her guilt. Now, she sees the blood just like her husband did earlier and becomes swallowed by guilt from encouraging her husband to partake in these crimes.
The Meaning Inside the Head (A Discussion on the themes of Macbeth's Soliloquy of Act, Scene 5.) The final act of Macbeth is an intense act that involves many different big events. First Lady Macbeth has gone completely crazy, and ends up killing herself from her mental illness. Macbeth finds this out, and also was informed about Malcolm and Macduff, with thousands of English military men were coming to end his life and take the throne back.
