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Macbeth Guilt Essay

703 Words3 Pages

Lathan Hagen
Mr. Mathews
Senior English
01 March 2023
Macbeth
“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do” (Voltaire). William Shakespeare, in his play Macbeth, develops a theme of guilt, by revealing the characters thoughts and emotions. His theme emerges through asides, soliloquy, and symbols. Shakepeare uses asides to develop his theme of guilt because the audience is able to talk to themselves. An example of this is when Macbeth says "If chance will have me king,/why, chance may crown me/Without my stir”(1:3:144). What Shakespeare meant by including this is that Macbeth does not think that he needs to take action to become king and that fate will handle it. Earlier in the play Macbeth says “I am thane of Cawdor./If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair/And make my seated/heart knock at my ribs,/Against the use of nature? Present fears/Are less than horrible imaginings” (1:3:133-138). Macbeth starts to think about murdering the king and has an internal conflict on why he would think of such a thing. All in all, this helps support the overall theme of guilt because the …show more content…

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