How Is Guilt Used In Macbeth

Macbeth, by Shakespeare, is a story of a great warrior named Macbeth who was told by three witches that he would become king. This prediction makes him think it is justified to kill the current king and once he is king he believes that he is invincible. In Macbeth, many symbols are used such as a dagger that isn’t there, hallucinations of blood, and ghosts to show the overwhelming guilt that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have over the murders to highlight the theme that guilt can drive people to insanity when kept in secret. First of all, Macbeth is alone and has decided that he is going to kill King Duncan. All of a sudden he sees a dagger but can’t feel it and says, “I have thee not, and yet I see thee still” (Shakespeare 2.1.35). Macbeth’s guilt over just thinking about killing Duncan is being symbolized by seeing a

Secondly, later on after Lady Macbeth and Macbeth pull off the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking and begins to aggressively rub her hands, saying she is trying to get a spot of blood off. She then proceeds to talk in her sleep saying, “Who would have / thought the old man to have had so much blood” (Shakespeare 5.1.33-34). Lady Macbeth’s guilt is being symbolized by the hallucinations of blood on her hands during her sleep. She is so overwhelmed with guilt, that she has to keep secret, that her subconscious is causing her to go crazy and talk about it in her sleep. Lastly, after the murderer, that Macbeth sent, tells Macbeth that he finished off Banquo, Macbeth must entertain guests for a dinner party. He sees the ghost of Banquo sitting in his seat and begins to get angry when no one else can see this apparition, then proceeds to yell at this ghost, that only he sees, in front of everyone saying, “Avaunt, and quit my sight!”(Shakespeare 3.4.93). Again Shakespeare is symbolizing guilt with a hallucination, in this case of a