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Guilty Pleasures In Macbeth

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‘Guilty Pleasures’ in William Shakespeare’s
Macbeth

There are many different kinds of guilt. The various kinds of guilty feelings that can be perceived as either when someone steals a chocolate bar, when someone commits a crime that was not meant to happen, or even by “accidentally” letting go of a piece of gum wrapper on the ground. Guilt varies with the individual who is experiencing it. The opposite of guilt is innocence, and provides a feeling which is very noticeable; unlike guilt. Innocence is the opposite of what most characters in William Shakespeare's Macbeth feel. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and Macduff all demonstrated a different, and very distinct kind of guilt; each of them having their own consequences. …show more content…

Unlike Lady Macbeth, Macbeth felt guilty before he murdered King Duncan. Macbeth begins to have second thoughts about whether he wants to go on and murder King Duncan. On his way to murder King Duncan, Macbeth has the vision of the bloody dagger leading the way. While he realizes what he is about to do, he says “Is this a dagger which i see before me, the handle toward my hand”(II, I, 40-41). Macbeth realized that he had to kill King Duncan, but when he sees the dagger, he is imagining what it would feel to actually carry out the plan. Macbeth is frightened by this sight, however it did bring him back to reality, and the reality he wanted was to fulfill his plan. In comparison to Lady Macbeth, Macbeth felt guilty after killing Duncan. He said “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red” ( II, II, 77-80 ). What he means by this is that there is not enough water in all the sea to clean his hands from the blood of Duncan, but it would turn the water red. In the end, Macbeth stopped showing how he felt, and ignored it. He believed that everything he did was the right thing, and was not going to let anyone stop him from doing what he

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Despite committing a number of abhorrent crimes, Macbeth’s morality is definitively ambiguous, or “grey,” “because he is so acutely aware of the horror of his crimes” (Charney). Even before his transgressions take place, Macbeth is aware of the “physiological and psychological” consequences the murder will have on him, “forsee[ing] the effects” of his wrongdoings with rightfully placed apprehension (Charney). This sorrowful character is not the one first introduced to the audience, as Macbeth is depicted as an exalted hero in Duncan’s army; however, though his visage morphs into one of a tyrant. During his metamorphosis into seemingly amoral ruler, Macbeth does not take pleasure in the carnage he inspires, contributing to the adversity faced through his remorse. Conversely, Macduff, who may be considered the protagonist by some, is not presented as wholly virtuous.

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The voices he hears that threaten: “Macbeth shall sleep no more” indicate a relationship between guilt and madness. Therefore, the manifestation of the dagger suggests that he feels guilty because of his attempt to murder Duncan. There are three major transitions of thought. First, he contemplates about the dagger’s existence; the second is the invocations of dark images; finally, there is the bell that cuts off Macbeth’s contemplations. The transitions between topics indicate that while Macbeth feels guilty for the murder, his determination makes him ignore

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One example of Macbeth’s ignorance towards his inner conscience is when he feels that

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Macbeth would envision a dagger before him asking himself “is (that) a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand”(act.2 scene.i). The dagger was a metaphor for his ambitions and motivation to make himself king with the help of his wife, Lady Macbeth. After King Duncan was killed, Macbeth felt he was evil at that point where he “belief(ed) he (was) to evil to blessed by god”(act.2 scene.ii). The guilt he felt would drive him to the point of madness and brought into question if he was human after that or something that could not be redeemed.

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5-7). In this instance, Macbeth shows that he can feel guilt, and he exhibits this by demonstrating that he does not desire to end the life of a man whose family was already victimized at his hands. Guilt is the one thing throughout the entire play that stops Macbeth dead in his tracks and causes him to take a moment to consider his present and future courses of action. Although Macbeth was lead to commit murder by the witches’ manipulative predictions of the future, he is the one who ultimately makes the choices that prove that he is in control of his actions, even when his actions cause him to be filled with

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No this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red. ”(II.ii.79-81) He sees water, which was once pure like his conscience, now forever polluted by the blood resulting from his evil deed. This image acknowledges that Macbeth knows with killing Duncan there is no coming back from what he has done. This guilt and panic causes him to disconnect with reality and hallucinate infinite amounts of blood.

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Macbeths guilty conscience makes him unable to play the ‘true’ role of a villain of the play. Macbeth begins to see ‘false creations’ before murdering Duncan; the image of a floating dagger taunts Macbeth’s senses. Macbeth is devoured in his anxiety he starts to hallucinate the crime before going through with it. Macbeth is unable to dispose thoughts of his guilt and doubt, which prevents him from being stuck at the point where it is too late to turn back, yet the fear of his nature prevents him from turning completely into a ruthless coldblooded

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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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This contrast immediately gives the reader an insight into the torment that guilt and regret can cause. There is a clear definition between Lady Macbeth before and after the murder of King Duncan. This character change emphasizes greatly the theme of the impacts upon a person due to the unnatural acts they have performed. In Lady Macbeth’s case the impact was guilt and regret both of which tormented her to point of serious mental illness, insomnia and ultimately a self induced demise. The author 's intention in bringing a once strong and evil character to the mercy of their own morality is to educate readers upon the impacts that guilt could have upon their own life if they were to perform the unnatural just as Lady Macbeth did.

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The witches, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and other characters seem to act one way, whether it be good or evil, but their intentions are usually impure and meant to harm others in order to benefit themselves. Macbeth’s guilt is caused by the foul play the witches involve themselves in. If not for their prophecy, Macbeth would have never known of his fate and would have gained the kingship without involving murder, leading to his guilty conscious. The use of Supernatural elements is added to the plot of the play in order to show readers what led to Macbeth’s downfall, and what contributed to his guilt. His guilt arose from the

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At the beginning of the play, blood can often be seen to symbolise strength, heroism and stereotypical masculinity. The Captain describes Macbeth’s efforts on the battlefield with imagery such as “ smoked with bloody execution” to display blood as a war trophy and badge of bravery. Shakespeare’s use of descriptive language such as “smoked” conveys a tone of achievement and grandeur: which in turn implies that the act of murdering men on the battle field is heroic and praiseworthy, as it is displayed in such an impressive manner. However, Shakespeare shows the audience a very different side to Macbeth after the murder of Duncan. Shakespeare displays Macbeth’s overwhelming guilt and remorse in the words “my hand will rather/ the multitudinous seas incarnadine making the green one red” in which Macbeth states that all the oceans of the world could not wash away the blood from his hands and therefore implies that there is nothing on

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In the drama “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” William Shakespeare reflects on guilt . More specifically, Shakespeare implies guilt and how repercussions of guilt can be detrimental towards an individual because it creates emotional instability and distorted judgement. Guilt is displayed many times throughout the play, but mostly through internal conflicts of Macbeth. For instance, Macbeth feels internal guilt when he murdered King Duncan. Macbeth says, “ I’ll go no more/

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He can not only rely on the fact that a man acts properly, he needs to do more. This explains why Macbeth is a fierce warrior; he acts respectably to fill the hole of unaccepted insecurity. This is specifically seen when Shakespeare introduces the audience to Macbeth through the Captain recounting Macbeth's battle story to Duncan: “Like valor’s minion carved out his passage Till he faced the slave;(1.2.19-20)”. Macbeth uses extreme forms of killing such as stabbing from the navel to the jaw. Although this result of insecurity can provide positive things, such as battle victories, this coping method of acting valiantly can not fill his void of inner

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Finally, the vision of a bloody dagger that emerged right before the murder emboldened Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Prior to murdering Duncan, Macbeth was hesitant about following through with his wife 's merciless task. He doubted that he was able to murder one of his most loyal friends, until he saw the vision. On page 43, Act II, scene I, Macbeth sees the apparition: "Is this a dagger that I see before me with its handle turned to my hand?" Macbeth contemplates whether it is a figure of his imagination prompted on by his already guilty conscience, or a supernatural encounter that is compelling him to do the deed.

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In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, guilt can punish people even if they are not caught, which is illustrated with the downfall of the Macbeths. Shortly after killing Banquo, Macbeth starts to hallucinate and says “Hence, horrible shadow! Unreal mockery, hence”(3.4.128-129). This quote shows that Macbeth feels guilt while he is imagining Banquo’s ghost.

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