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 …show more content…
With Tarquin’s ravishing strides toward his design. In Act 2, Macbeth begins to emulate the ways of Tarquin, a tyrannical and ruthless leader. By alluding to him, Macbeth is presented as ambitious to become a feared ruler. This is compounded by ‘ravishing’, which creates an image of enchantment; he is enchanted and deluded by his ambition of becoming a tyrannical ruler. Contextually, Tarquin was infamous for cruelly taking advantage of Lucretia, as detailed in Shakespeare’s narrative poem ‘Rape of Lucrece (Lucretia)’. This reference applies to Macbeth, as it clarifies and accentuates Macbeth’s similar depraved and wicked deeds. Like Tarquin, Macbeth plots his iniquity; in his soliloquy, he acknowledges his understanding of the horror of his impending actions. He is, however, so driven by his lust for power that nothing can stop him from seeing the regicide through to its pernicious end, just as Tarquin’s desire for Lucretia directed him. Macbeth also yearns to ruin the purity of Scotland, just as Tarquin did to Lawrence, ultimately leading to an accursed country in need of Macduff’s extermination of tyranny. Shakespeare uses exposed ambition in order to reveal to Jacobean audiences that heinous acts to obtain and usurp power will be undoubtedly punished. Ignorance of moral or social conscience can never be sustained; it will quickly