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Macbeth Guilt Essay

411 Words2 Pages

The stage play Macbeth shows us a stunning portrayal of how guilt wrecks and drives negative mental well-being. Macbeth constantly fights his beliefs and morals while planning and orchestrating Duncan’s murder. In Act II, when Macbeth sees the knife in front of him, his soliloquy shows that he doesn’t believe that it is natural for Duncan to die. “Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse the curtain’d sleep”(Shakespeare 2-1-59.-60). The guilt from even thinking of killing the king is causing him to hallucinate, an indication that his mental state may not be the best currently. Nature seems to wither from the coming events, and nightmares are unnatural in their own sense. These portray a form of guilt by one, having Macbeth hallucinate, and …show more content…

He carries it twofold- first as a physical weapon, then as guilt. Macbeth appears guilty and panicked after committing the crime, which may explain why he has not returned the daggers to their rightful owners. However, Shakespeare may have emphasized this point to illustrate how guilt manifests in his character. Therefore, Macbeth may have made the deliberate/subconscious choice not to return the daggers because he knows he is guilty. Both his subconscious and his declining mental state prevent him from returning the daggers. Moreover, Banquo’s dreams show the witches prophecy and bring out a side of Banquo that also could be associated with guilt. Similar to Macbeth’s guilt, Banquo feels guilty for possibly thinking or dreaming about killing Duncan in the future. “And yet I would not sleep: merciful powers, Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature gives way to in repose!”(Shakespeare 2-1-6-8). He says “cursed thoughts” which may indicate that these are thoughts of violence against the king. Killing/harming the king would be against the Divine Order, and would most likely be considered blasphemy. The significance of Banquo’s guilt is that it has the chance to make him more

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