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Guilt In Macbeth

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“ Is this an English speech I see before me, and a camera pointed toward me? Come, let me read thee. ”
As a am sure you are aware, that was a quote, or be it slightly modified quote from the Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. This Shakespearean tragedy follows the rise and fall of Macbeth, as he is tempted and destroyed by his own ambition, during which he becomes engulfed with guilt. You see, Shakespeare used the story of Macbeth to position audiences to recognise that immoral acts will lead to crippling guilt. The story of Macbeth is about how guilt comes to the surface when someone has intentionally done something wrong. For example, Macbeth with the support of his wife carries out a regicide; the murder of King Duncan. In …show more content…

Before all that, we must gain some context; Macbeth murdered King Duncan long ago, and to protect himself and his reign he has arranged for the murder of Banquo and his son Fleance. He made this decision, based on the three witches prophesies; that Banquo’s children would one day become king. After envisioning the ghost of Banquo seated at his table amongst his Thanes and Lords, Macbeth reflects upon the consequences of the murder.
“ It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood. ”

This is all well and good, but what is he actually saying? Quite literally, he is talking about how the dead who were wrongfully murdered will seek and get their revenge.
“ Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak. ”

Macbeth is now talking about how inanimate objects will come alive, in order to bring the guilty to justice. This obviously is not Macbeth talking literally, rather in a figurative and symbolic manner. However, Macbeth is also talking about the nature of the apparition that he saw, to him ghosts are not real, and stones should not be able to move, or trees to speak. Yet, he has seen ghost, now he is questioning what is natural and unnatural, what is real and what is fake. When Macbeth is talking about the stones, he is referring to the gravestones, which covered the bodies; henceforth, moving the stones will bring about the unearthing of the bodies, which is the first step to determining the identity of the

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