Macbeths guilt is seen throughout the play, especially after murders he has committed. Although there are many scenes that illustrate the power of guilt, three examples depict this the best. The first time that Macbeth feels guilt is after the witches prophecies. Macbeth is told that he will one day be king. If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me, without my stir.
With these words Macbeth is saying, if I become by chance then good if I dont it doesnt matter. Without my stir means without effort just like all of the other titles he has obtained. Macbeth next shows guilt in the play when he finds out that Duncans son, Malcolm will become the next king. Macbeth thinks this is unfair, because he feels has done so much more for the kingdom than Malcolm. Also the prophecies indicated that he would be the next king.
When he returns home his wife, Lady Macbeth conveys him that he must kill Duncan if to be king, and it must done be that same night. Macbeth is forced to believe he must kill Duncan in order to become king. This causes him to feel guilty and disloyal toward, Duncan. His wife Lady Macbeth tells him that he must murder Duncan to get the power he rightfully deserves.
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The dagger scene follows which shows Macbeths agony and doubt in the decision he is about to act on. He is torn between whether to kill or not to kill the great king, Duncan. Throughout the scene he sees a dagger in front of him taunting him to kill. To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat oppressed brain? Macbeth is confused and hallucinating throughout this scene. A bell rings and this is Macbeths signal to kill.
After much turmoil he finally decides that he must carry out the deed to make the witches prophecies come true. Macbeth enters into the kings bedroom and stabs the king, Duncan until he is dead. He begins to hear voices after he commits the shameful deed. He first hears someone say murder he thinks Donalbain may have said murder and knows that Macbeth has just killed the king ” Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more; Macbeth shall sleep no more! Macbeth is frightened by the voices and believes someone knows he has killed the king. After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth returns to his room to join his wife.
Macbeth is very shaken and upset by his wrong act of killing a man, especially a king. He truly believes he has murdered all innocence, and only worse things will follow. Throughout the scene there are several quotes that portray this idea. Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No. This my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red”. This quote demonstrates the enormous amount of guilt he feels. Macbeth further exposes his guilt by saying that if he tried to wash his hands in the ocean, the entire sea would turn the color of the blood too. Lady Macbeth attempts to make him stronger, by saying “A little water clears us of this deed: How easy it is then!” The guilt however that Macbeth feels cannot disappear. He feels that nothing can pardon or forgive what he has done.
Macbeth has now been crowned king and he decides to have a dinner in honor of Banquo. Macbeth has already been conspiring about his friends death. Guilt seems to play a motivating role when he says, “Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill” What Macbeth is referring to is his guilt. Things bad stands for the wrong actions he has taken throughout the play. He feels if he does something bad once, it will bother him. If you do it again, it will him less. If you keep doing it, it will eventually stop bothering him completely (Macbeth 4). This quote displays for the fact that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have not been able to sleep since Duncans murder.
He also admits in the scene, that after killing Duncan, his morals and guilt were poisoned and used to motivate him to commit more crimes. After word that Banquo has been killed Macbeth begins to hallucinate and sees Banquos ghost, who he tries to challenge. Avaunt! And quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! The guests are frightened and alarmed by this outburst and Lady Macbeth must once again help Macbeth out of a troubling scene. She states that the king is ill and that is the reason he has acted so strangely. I pray you speak not. He grows worse and worse. The hallucination shows that Macbeth once again feels guilty for his actions and the murder of Banquo.
Lady Macbeth, unlike Macbeth, has a lack of guilt at the beginning of the play. She seems to be unaffected by the death of Duncan. The only reason she couldnt kill Duncan was because he looked too much like her father when he was asleep. Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had donet. This quote solicits Lady Macbeth as a heartless and uncaring woman. She seems to acquire more guilt as the play progresses. One of the most important scenes exhibiting guilt in Lady Macbeth is the sleepwalking scene.
Lady Macbeth has now begun to sleepwalk almost every night. She starts to rub her arms, in a washing motion and says, “Out damned spot! Out, I say!” The word spot, in this quote is referring to blood and is really a symbol for the enormous amount of guilt she feels. She is also displays guilt for her action. Lady Macbeth tries to get rid of the guilt by “washing” and rubbing it away. The following deals with the murder of Duncan.”Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” In this quote, the “old man” represents, King Duncan. Lady Macbeth is saying who would have known that killing the king carried so much guilt? Her sleepwalking continues as she speaks about the death of Lady Macduff.
“The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands neer be clean?”. She realizes that nothing could ever get rid of the smell of the blood and the guilt caused by all the murders committed by Macbeth. It also clearly reveals that she feels fully responsible for every person killed by her husband. Just several scenes later, Lady Macbeth commits suicide. Whats the reason? The reason for this is the great amount of the guilt she has within her. This guilt plays a strong role in motivating Macbeth, and causes Lady Macbeth to be driven over the edge, until her death.
In the end Lady Macbeth is unable to handle the coping with the power of guilt. She winds up losing her sanity and committing suicide. Lady Macbeth is destroyed by the power of guilt. She is consumed by guilt like other characters in the play, a feeling of distress and uncontrollable emotions. Lady Macbeth learned that instead of murder becoming easier to handle it actually got worse for her. As seen through the character of Lady Macbeth guilt can be overwhelming even to a tough and heartless person like herself.
Unlike Lady Macbeth, Macduff has a different type of guilt. Macduffs guilt stems from leaving his family behind unprotected for Macbeth to kill. I cannot but remember such things were that were most precious to me. Did heaven look on and would not take their part? Sinful Macduff, they were all struck for thee! This quote indicates that Macduff feels guilty for what he hasnt done for his family. He left them behind almost certain they would not be alive when he came back. The guilt he felt will now turn into additional anger toward Macbeth and the need for revenge against him.
Lady Macbeth and Macduff played a big role as the motivation for Macbeth. In William Shakespeares play The Tragedy of Macbeth; the power of guilt is seen in Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macduff. Guilty feelings were brought out through the characters actions and responses, until the very fatal end. The play shows that many things can cause guilt and corruption in life. Guilt itself is a very strong and all encompassing feeling. It can result, in positive acts, or just as easily however, into negative deeds. In the case of Macbeth these negative deeds turned into guilt. This is what happened throughout the play and this is also why the play has been called, The Tragedy of Macbeth.
