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Macbeth Guilt Essay

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Guilt will always haunt you as long as it lives in your conscience. In Macbeth guilt is a very strong theme of the play and it is displayed in various ways it also ended up being the demise of some people. In the play Macbeth was pushed by his wife Lady Macbeth to kill the king so he can take over the throne, Macbeth was a little hesitant at first, but his wife manipulated him into doing so. Macbeth showed his remorse immediately after killing King Duncan he expressed to his wife “I can’t go back. I’m afraid even to think about what I’ve done. I can’t stand to look at it again.” Meanwhile Lady Macbeth represses her guilt and showed no remorse. Macbeth is soon tormented by his conscious.
Macbeth is aware that his is morally wrong he realizes
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Lady Macbeth is a loving wife and full of ambition in the play. When Macbeth learns about the three prophecies, he tells Lady Macbeth about them, demonstrating how she fully supports him. Lady Macbeth slowly emerges from her dark ambition as the play progresses. Lady Macbeth begins to become desperate, and she persuades Macbeth to kill the King to fulfill the third prophecy, which calls for Macbeth to take the throne. However, Lady Macbeth further persuades Macbeth by saying, "What cannot you

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The theme of guilt, in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, shows how guilt affects a person’s actions, through the characters Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff. This guilt only leads to more internal and external problems that can eventually lead to more conflicts and death. The main character, Macbeth, goes through plenty of guilt throughout the play, mainly because of the people that he killed and the war that he created. On the whole, Macbeth ended up being killed by Macduff in the war. Similarly, Lady Macbeth also felt guilty because of Macbeth’s murders, even though she wasn’t directly involved in any of them.

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Lady Macbeth and Macbeth react differently to the death of King Duncan in Act 2 Scene 2. While Macbeth goes through a turmoil of emotions, starting with guilt and remorse; to then horror as he is stricken with his conscience; to dread after he is unable to say ‘Amen.’ Lady Macbeth, however, doesn’t feel guilty for her or her husband’s actions at all, and takes the initiative after Macbeth fails to do so. Macbeth’s first reaction to the murder of King Duncan is remorse, which he expresses by saying “This is a sorry sight.”

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I’m afraid to think about what I’ve done. I can’t stand to look at it again”. Macbeth gained a sense of reason after his first act of murder and was feeling guilty after killing King Duncan and would not complete the job even after Lady Mabeth told him to. Guilt is a natural human response to an event or action, but can be the result of all-consuming feelings like Macbeth had; when having guilt, use it to aid you in determining the difference between right and

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Macbeth is afraid that nothing will wash his hand of the blood. This guilt sticks with him, making him more and more paranoid as time goes on. Lady Macbeth was all in on murdering King Duncan, in fact she pushed hard for Macbeth to do it. All of a sudden, a switch flipped in her brain. The guilt she felt was like a shadow that kept getting darker.

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In Macbeth, Shakespeare’s tragic play, we are constantly reminded of the consequences of one’s actions. At the beginning of the play, we are first introduced to three witches. In one of their many prophecies, they tell the fearless and noble Scottish general Macbeth that he will be King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth kills the king and seizes the throne. During his brief reign, paranoia and ambition lead Macbeth to engineer a vicious killing spree that relegates him to the title of tyrant.

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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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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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Shattered by guilt, with a burden so heavy, it overcame her, Lady Macbeth naively believed she could simply wash the shame off her hands. Her devastating words state, “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?”, as her mind is overflowing with the guilt that consumes her. The powerful Shakespearean play “Macbeth”, exhibits how immoral behavior can lead to a negative outcome. The two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, go through a rollercoaster of a relationship after the sudden event of King Duncan’s murder. This is the start of their contrasting personalities and ambitions beginning to clash.

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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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As a result of her inability to escape the nightmare of immense guilt in sleeping or in wakefulness, Lady Macbeth crosses into the state of eternal sleep, death. In conclusion, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth demonstrates that a guilty conscience is a mind-probing enemy that can strike quietly and become a deadly, overpowering force that can subdue anyone with remorse. Through Lady Macbeth’s character transformation, the effects of a guilty conscience can thoroughly be seen. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is an ambitious character that can repress her guilt to perform evil to a high extent.

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