Guilt In Macbeth

Successful storytellers such as William Shakespeare create powerful and memorable narratives that provide insight into the nature of humanity. They also show this by displaying how characters respond to situations and events. Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare explores themes of guilt, ambition, and the supernatural, it follows Macbeth, a brave Scottish warrior who receives a prophecy that he will become king. Driven by his ambition and encouraged by Lady Macbeth, He murders King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. However, his guilt and the supernatural forces at play eventually lead to his downfall. Macbeth was written as a tribute to King James I, and a warning against the abuse of power and the consequences of unchecked ambition.

This is seen in the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and has everlasting consequences that eventually lead to their downfall. The act of murdering the king was known as regicide and it was the ultimate sin because you were disturbing the divine right of kings. In Act 2, Scene 2, we can see the immediate impact of guilt on Macbeth's mind. Right after he murders King Duncan he says to Lady Macbeth: “Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No this my hand would rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine”. Shakespeare's language here emphasizes the inescapable guilt that Macbeth has gotten himself into. A hyperbole is created when Macbeth says: “the multitudinous seas incarnadine”. He is saying his hand would stain the entire ocean red before it will be cleansed of the blood. “Wash this blood clean from my hand” is a metaphor for Macbeth's desire to be cleared of guilt. Imagery is also created of Macbeth's bloody actions which shows how deep his guilt is. Guilt can easily

The phrase “dagger of the mind” compares Macbeth's thoughts to a dagger, this metaphor emphasizes the dangerous nature of Macbeth's thoughts and suggests that they are capable of causing harm, not just to other people but also to himself. This is foreshadowing of what Macbeth is about to do. To the Shakespearean audience, it would have been obvious that Macbeth's mind had been influenced by the witches who are trying to coerce him to kill King Duncan. For a Shakespearean audience to see supernatural events in the play it would've been quite exciting because witches were believed to be real in those times. The supernatural theme is the most controlling theme in Macbeth, without the witches and their influence on the characters, the play would not have had the same sense of foreboding and impending doom. The supernatural theme adds to the play’s drama and helps to create a memorable and haunting