Shakespeare strongly associates guilt with destructive forces such as murder and suicide in Macbeth. But in reality, guilt is essential to humans because we need to feel responsibility for our actions. However, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both for the most part ignore this responsibility to make reparations.
The growing guilt then, becomes a driving force behind the plot of the play because of negative psychological effects it has on the characters. Only with guilt is Macbeth able to rise to his tyrannical status, and only with it does his downfall inevitably arrive. Ultimately, Shakespeare teaches us how to avoid the self-destructive motives of Macbeth and his wife; he stresses that the way in which we cope with guilt will determine the course of our lives.
Guilt also makes a distinct appearance in the climax of the play, when Macbeth encounters the ghost of Banquo. Firstly, it highlights the important difference between Duncan and Macbeth. Duncan was a happy king; during his rule the people of Scotland fought for him out of love. Macbeth, on the other hand, possesses the same power and role as Duncan did, but suffers from guilt and fear as he rules.
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His deep remorse prevents him from enjoying his power as king; instead it causes him to abuse it because of constant frustration, especially when Banquo’s ghost appears at his banquet. The ghost is not real, but it is a figment of Macbeth’s imagination. The “gory locks” of the ghost is blood that once again represents his guilt, reminding him of all his murders. Macbeth’s hallucination of Banquo is a clear indication of guilt as his fatal flaw. The arrival of the ghost signals to the audience that
Macbeth’s guilt has not lessened, and instead it has grown and overpowered him. Macbeth begs the ghost to “take any shape but that, and my firm nerves / Shall never tremble,” signifying that he is at the mercy of his own guilt. He wants the ghost to change forms because nothing terrifies him more than a reminder of his guilt for the murder of his previous best allies and friends: Duncan and Banquo. This foreshadows Macbeth’s fall as a king because his power is inevitably destroyed by his remorse. This turning point of the play cruises into falling action; from this moment forward Macbeth’s reign as king declines.
Following the downhill action, guilt concludes the tragic ending, reminding the audience that it is reprehensible for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s actions. In the beginning of Act V, Lady Macbeth is changed from the stern, ambitious person she was into a madwoman driven into insanity. She asks persistently, “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?”
Her hands allude to the same guilt which Macbeth experiences after his murder of Duncan, except greater in severity. The seed of guilt inside her finally blossoms, demanding justice for her role as mastermind behind Duncan’s murder. However, she is unable to explain why she persistently tries to wash her hands.
Although she had successfully persuaded Macbeth to take on the direct guilt, she is still unable to escape guilt in the end. It is the fatal human flaw which leads both Macbeth and his wife to their downfalls. Macbeth’s fear and irrational decisions causes his whole kingdom to turn against him, while Lady Macbeth commits suicide, unable to handle the dreadfully annoying presence of guilt inside her hear. In contrast, however, guilt is also plays a different role as a sympathizer for the audience. When Macbeth acknowledges his guilt for killing MacDuff’s family, he says “my soul is too much charged / With blood of [MacDuff’s] already”.
His confession as well as Lady Macbeth’s suicide remind the audience that while they seem to be inhuman and murderous, they are still humans capable of falling prey to guilt. This reverses the emotions the audience feels during their respective deaths. Instead of the joy accompanied with the death of a tyrant and an evil mastermind, the audience feels pity and sympathy for the loss of two human lives. Guilt balances the otherwise would-be tragic ending by making the outcome bittersweet.
