In the two texts, Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the struggle between ambition and conscience is a significant theme that underlies the plot of the story. In both pieces, you can see this transformation within the characters who make choices based on their conscience first, but then slowly shift to their ambition. Although conscience has moments where it is much more influential, ambition comes out on top and causes the characters to make rash decisions in the end. This is demonstrated in Macbeth, through Macbeth’s actions as he devises a plan to become king. At first, he is skeptical and hesitant to go through with this plan, but later his ambition takes over and he starts progressing with his strategy.
Finally, Macbeth’s surrender to his uncontrolled passion for power led to his own tragic death and to his total transformation from being one of moral character to a heartless murderer. Although Macbeth’s decline evokes pity and compassion from the reader which makes him a tragic hero, passion without reason cannot be tolerated , because every man has a specific gift: the freedom of choice. Indeed, the prophecies of the three witches, Lady Macbeth’s wicked inspiration and encouragement, and Macbeth’s lustful passion to keep the throne altogether provided the perfect elements for the development and the end of the Shakespearean tragic play,
Guilt’s Manipulation of Identity A famous Roman playwright, Plautus, stated, “Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt.” Shakespeare proves this philosophy by showing the terrible effects guilt had on Macbeth and how he was changed through that guilt. In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, a man named Macbeth, who is a lord under King Duncan, helps the king win a war. Soon after, he is approached by witches who tell him prophecies of him becoming king.
Both Macbeth from the tragedy Macbeth and Maxim DeWinter from the novel Rebecca possess guilt after committing murder against their peers who threatened their power and sense of authority. After debating whether or not there is an option to obtain the role of king that would be harmless to all his peers, Macbeth, from the tragedy Macbeth, murders King Duncan and other family lineages in line to claim the role as king. Immediately after he kills King Duncan, he begins to hear voices echoing in his mind, accusing him of his murder, exclaiming, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep!” (Shakespeare 2.2.35-36) which he tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, in fear.
Classics remain many years later since emotions such as conscience and guilt are universally and continually part of many cultures; they are a means to control human behavior. Conscience is defined as an inner feeling or voice which acts as a guide to rightness or wrongness of one's behavior; for the play, the main characters knew what was right and wrong. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth chose to behave badly, then suffer consequences leading to their deaths. The guilt described in Macbeth is extreme. It could have prevented Macbeth and Lady Macbeth from doing evil deeds in the beginning.
Macbeth's hamartia, ambition, is his fatal flaw in Shakespeare’s 1606 play. His conscience and mental fortitude become undone, with powerful female characters urging his downfall. During the renaissance period, in England, it was a time of political instability. Threats like the gunpowder plot, planned on the usurpation of the ruler at the time, King James. Shakespeare sends a warning through the dramatization of Macbeth's conscience to not disturb the 'great chain of being'.
Guilt will always haunt you as long as it lives in your conscience. In Macbeth guilt is a very strong theme of the play and it is displayed in various ways it also ended up being the demise of some people. In the play Macbeth was pushed by his wife Lady Macbeth to kill the king so he can take over the throne, Macbeth was a little hesitant at first, but his wife manipulated him into doing so. Macbeth showed his remorse immediately after killing King Duncan he expressed to his wife “I can’t go back. I’m afraid even to think about what I’ve done.
Humans will do anything to ease their guilty conscience. It's in our nature to ensure that we feel good about our choices, no matter the infraction that inspired guilt in the first place. This idea is apparent in Shakespeare’s Macbeth as the lead character, Macbeth, battles with his morals and sense of self after committing atrocities that were supposedly due to being influenced by supernatural beings. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is faced with three witches and their premonitions of a future yet to come; taking their words as confirmation that his unspoken desires are meant to be fulfilled, he acts rashly, laying waste to Scotland and those who stood in his way in the pursuit of power.
Humans are known for being insightful and looking into their soul, asking questions and exploring philosophy. One of the greater philosophical questions is how to be a moral person. These questions prompt many stories. One such story is Macbeth, a Shakespearean play about a corrupt Scottish king who becomes a murderer to achieve power. Macbeth teaches us that to be a moral person, one must not let their desires control them.
Crime and Punishment In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, guilt can punish people even if they are not caught, which is illustrated by the downfall of the Macbeths. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both from Scotland kill in order to become king and queen. Lady Macbeth helps Macbeth kill Duncan. After the murder, Macbeth feels guilty immediately after the murder; however, Lady Macbeth does not feel guilty until later on.
Demise of an Ambitious Follower Is Macbeth a beacon for violence and sin in his time? Macbeth is jealous and destructive, he was terrible to the people around him and easily manipulated by negative influences. He follows the horrid guide of sin toward his grand demise. Throughout the story, Macbeth displays many emotions and violent mannerisms, which crushes him, for it is not who he could be.
Guilt has the potential to crumble even the most powerful of mortals. The Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth reveals the consequence of immoral action: guilt. William Shakespeare portrays the idea that the downfall of one may transpire as a result of this regret. Throughout the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are negatively affected as they are overwhelmed by the realization that they have violated their moral standards; this causes their guilt. The two attempt to conceal the remorse they experience, but despite this, their misdeeds take their toll.
Macbeth, more than most, is a play about morals. Those of which, macbeth did not have. In the beginning of the play, there was some morals there but after he encountered the 3 witches and soon after, told his wife of what he was told, he began to lose his morals. The king respected him and him the king, but the thought of possible power can easily corrupt the human mind. “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir.”
As human beings, there are occasions where we choose between right or wrong. Certainly, It can materialize into effect on how other people judge you based on their glimpse of moral senses. In the play Macbeth, William Shakespeare displayed a dark and erroneous side of humankind. The three preeminent characters accordingly demonstrate identical attributes of greediness. For instance, Banquo who appears to be noble fails to resist his desires, and in relation to Lady Macbeth, she overrules herself with greed to a fate of anguish, and thus, Macbeth becomes engulfed with greed that leads to horrendous deeds.
Without moral discipline, anarchy would arise- boundary, order, and control would cease to exist. Every day, humankind is in a constant battle between right and wrong, good and evil. Even a once noble person will turn to greed, betrayal, and guilt when deprived of their morals. The deprivation of morality and its effects reflect itself within the story The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were once noble people, but when exposed to the possibility of power and control, they turn corrupt, allowing their sinister thoughts to consume them.
