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Virtue And The Power Of Guilt In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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Narratives reflect the world and its people. Shakespeare was an english playwright who commonly wrote about the downfall of humanity, he explored the world and its people through an untainted perspective revealing the tragedy of life. Shakespeare's ‘Macbeth’ is a story of a Scottish general, he and his ‘noble partner’ - Banquo meet 3 witches who give them prophecies prompting their ambitions, the pair were then faced with the choice of destroying their moral compass for their dreams. Shakespeare uses Macbeth to represent freedom of choice and the power of guilt.
The choice to choose one’s path is conveyed through the comparison of Banquo and Macbeth. When they are greeted by the 3 Witches, ‘Brave’ Macbeth is told that he will be ‘Thane of …show more content…

After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth says “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep”, Shakespeare uses this metaphor to emphasise the immediate regret he has. The use of an exclamation mark after ‘sleep no more’ foreshadows the lack of peace he will soon experience, by ‘murdering sleep’ Macbeth has destroyed his morality. The vocalization of this puts into focus his awareness of what he has done, sending him into a spiral of torment, this quote is said in the third person establishing a distance he has put from himself. This feeling of guilt does not only affect Macbeth but Lady Macbeth too, ‘come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.’ This quote said by Lady Macbeth deepens our understanding of the weight guilt has. In this quote the use of repetition allows the reader to perceive a sense of panic and loss of sanity. Lady Macbeth continues to express ‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?’ Shakespeare uses soliloquy to express her guilt-ridden self, exaggerating that even with an ocean of water her hands will never be clean of blood - representing the remorse she

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