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Effects Of Guilt In Macbeth

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How does a sense of guilt affect a person? The sense of guilt tends to motivate an individual to make positive changes in their life and behaviour, yet it is more likely to cause negative effects. William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, explores the theme of guilt and its destructive effects. The play tells the story of Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman who commits a series of murders to attain the crown. As he spirals deeper into a web of misdeed and violation, Macbeth’s guilt consumes him to suffer from an unrelenting sense of remorse, desensitizing him to his irrevocable deeds. The sense of guilt affects Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth as well, possessing her sanity and eventually bringing her to her despairing decease. This essay will explore the …show more content…

At the beginning of the play, a respected Scottish general, Macbeth, receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become king. Driven by his own ambition and the encouragement of his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth murders King Duncan to secure the throne. However, after the murder, Macbeth expresses a sense of relief that the deed is done as he acknowledges the weight and consequences of his irrevocable action, “I have done the deed” (2.2.14). Macbeth also experiences hallucinations after the murder of Duncan, hearing a voice saying, “sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” (2.1.47-48). This hallucination is a clear indication of Macbeth’s disturbed and tormented mental state after committing the murder. Furthermore, Macbeth expresses the feeling of remorse that the guilt and shame of his action will never be washed away. He says, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand” (2.2.57-58) as he recognizes the severity of his crime, and regrets of his wrongful act, “o, yet I do represent me of my fury / That I did kill them” (2.3.113-114). William Shakespeare portrays the theme of guilt through Macbeth’s murder of Duncan as it marks the initiation of his eventual descent into …show more content…

Directly after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth expresses a great sense of guilt and regret as he says, “I am afraid to think what I have done” (2.2.61). However, Macbeth begins to justify his evil deeds, convincing himself that it would be as difficult to stop as it would be to continue, “ stepped in so far that, should I wade no more / Returning were as tedious as go over” (3.4.163-4). Macbeth acknowledges that he has committed numerous violent acts that he cannot turn back and undo what he has done. Despite his guilt and remorse, he continues to commit more violence and crimes to maintain his

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Late in the play, the guilt starts taking its toll on Lady Macbeth: “Out, damned spot! out, I say!... Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him” (5.1.39-44). It shows Lady Macbeth’s guilt and how she is constantly tries to wash her hands of the guilt—represented by blood. The power of guilt is shown as it has extreme mental effects on Lady Macbeth, eventually driving her to suicide.

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After killing Duncan, Macbeth’s mental state changes completely. The difference between the moment before the murder and the moment after is that Macbeth’s lack of determination. He feels personally responsible for the murder and wishes it never happened. Thus, he is afraid to look at the dead body and face what he has done (2.2.54-56). His regret of the murder shows the transformation of Macbeth’s attitude: he lets his remorse overpower him to the point of madness.

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1160 Words | 5 Pages

The killing of Duncan created great disorder in Scotland, as killing a king in any scenario would cause a huge disturbance. As Macbeth carries out his actions, he realizes what he has done and understands that there is no way that he can ever leave the guilt. Macbeth states “I’ll go no more: I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on, I don’t dare not” (2.2. 62-64) At this point in the play, Macbeth is speaking to Lady Macbeth after the killing of Duncan. Macbeth goes on to say how he knows what he did was terrible and how he will go through great consequences and come across problems after what he did.

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He is not only burdened by the physical act of murder but also by the moral and emotional weight of his actions. In the immediate aftermath, he expresses remorse, wishing he could undo his actions and wake Duncan from eternal slumber, declaring “Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!” (Act 2, Scene 2, p 83); however, Macbeth's guilt drives him to commit further atrocities, desperate to conceal his past crimes, thrusting him deeper into a descent of madness. The interplay between his overwhelming remorse and his internal struggle with guilt serves as a driving force, propelling him along a path of

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Guilt is defined as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for an offense, crime, or wrongdoing. Society faces guilt due to not following their morals and acting impulsively. Humanity is easily consumed with cruelty and violence due to guilt. In the Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, he warns of the emotional changes through experiencing guilt. Even though Macbeth has felt guilt since the beginnings of his behavior, Shakespeare blood as a symbol to demonstrate how the more blood spilt, the more different the reaction of the guilt will be.

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Guilt is the feeling of having committed wrong or failed in an obligation. It is a significant theme in the play as it allows the reader to see a very different side of the characters involved, which will contribute to their demise. In this essay, I will be analysing the motif of blood, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies, and the imagery of hallucination. Firstly, Shakespeare explores guilt through the motif of blood in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

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Shakespeare outlines Macbeth’s strange behaviors as a result of his extensive thought about the murder subject. It is evident that Macbeth exemplifies the guilt and consequences that accompany sinful choices throughout the hallucination as the placement of the handle is specifically towards his hand. Subsequently, the hallucination exclusively affects the mind, “a dagger of the mind, a false creation” and the mind controls everything else (2.1,37). In this soliloquy, Shakespeare magnifies the parasitic nature of guilt as even when identified, it can still have a tremendous impact on one’s mind. Here, Macbeth demonstrates this effect on the mind as he understands his hallucinations are not real, yet he can still not diminish them.

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William Shakespeare’s play entitled ‘Macbeth’, is a tragedy written in 1623 following a Thane and his wife. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is described as brave and heroic but by the end, he is quite the opposite. His wife, Lady Macbeth, is a catalyst in the story and is viewed as manipulative and powerful. Shakespeare demonstrates how guilt is indiscriminate, guilt can affect anyone, no matter how powerful, ambitious, or manipulative a person can be. A human’s guilt can drive them to paranoia and regret.

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In the 1606 eponymous play, Shakespeare symbolises guilt as an incurable disease, where Macbeth becomes infected by his unchecked ambition. It becomes the catalyst in Macbeth’s self-destruction; his guilt following the regicide of King Duncan leads to Macbeth’s extreme paranoia and several other murders following this in order to defend his regal power. ‘Macbeth is Shakespeare’s greatest psychological portrait of self-destruction and the human capacity for evil, seen from inside with an intimacy that horrifies because of our forced identification with Macbeth.’ - critic Nasrullah Mambrol. Guilt is just one of the consequences that follow if the natural order of the world is disrupted. This belief was highly prevalent in Jacobean society, such

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A Guilty Conscience: How Guilt Drives the Powerful to Insanity Guilt is the cause of the destruction of many, particularly in Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth. As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth continue to murder for the sake of power, they embark on opposite journeys but their guilt ultimately drives them both to insanity. Macbeth goes from being driven mad with guilt, to his instability causing him to murder recklessly. His wife goes from expressing no compassion or guilt to her guilt overcoming her and driving her to madness.

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In Macbeth, Shakespeare explores the idea that guilt eventually leads to madness throughout the play as seen by the characters Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and their effect on others. Macbeth is a prime example of how guilt and madness correspond with each other. Being the protagonist, we can track this from the very first scene. This starts

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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.

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Although introduced as a thoroughly hardened, ambitious woman, Lady Macbeth’s seemingly unbreakable character shatters when she is consumed by the demon of guilt. The guilt of Lady Macbeth seems nonexistent when she persuades Macbeth to kill King Duncan, but the heinous acts she and her husband commit throughout the play strain her slowly. Eventually, the guilt Lady Macbeth harbors emerges from her subconscious and crumbles her. The downfall of Lady Macbeth reveals that even the toughest, strongest, and most powerful people can succumb to guilt. At the commencement of William Shakespeare’s

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Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to kill Duncan, being more heartless than Macbeth. Macbeth kills Duncan to become king and is consumed with guilt. Shortly after the killing, he claims that he heard a voice tell him to "sleep no more” and that he "[murders]" "innocent sleep" (2.2.47-48). Macbeth is having internal struggles, not being able to sleep because of the guilty voices that engulf his mind. The innocence that he once had is gone, making him unable to sleep.

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The Tragedy of Macbeth is about Macbeth killing Duncan, who is the king, and what happens after Duncan died. Macbeth faces internal struggles throughout the play so much so that it is as if it is his consequence for what he did. “Methought I heard a voice cry, sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep- the innocent sleep, Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath, Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, Chief nourisher in the life’s feast” (Act II, Scene II, Lines 33-38). After he killed Duncan, he heard voices talking about what he did and told Lady Macbeth.

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