Examples Of Lady Macbeth's Guilt

Guilt is a major theme throughout the story of Macbeth and the play portrays Macbeth’s guilt in forms of hallucinations, paranoia, and more. Throughout the play, Shakespeare discusses two different points of view on guilt. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go through immense guilt throughout the play in completely different ways. In Macbeth, the character Macbeth experiences his guilt in ways that were severe at the time and it is explained within three different scenes throughout the play.

Guilt is a prevalent theme in William Shakespeare's tragic play, Macbeth. Through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare masterfully portrays the profound and devastating effects of guilt on the human psyche. As the play progresses, guilt gnaws at their souls, leading them down a path of destruction, madness, and ultimately, death. Macbeth, a nobleman, and a respected warrior at the beginning of the play, becomes consumed by guilt after he murders King Duncan to fulfill the witches' prophecy of becoming king. Initially, Macbeth is plagued by his conscience, experiencing guilt-ridden hallucinations and vivid nightmares.

Bloodshed in William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth, causes strong guilt, mental instability, and eventually his downfall as shown by Beebe Stroud’s article, “Guilt: Definitions, Types, & Differences Versus Shame”. In the play, Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to murder the king to make himself king. Later, to maintain his position, he kills Banquo and Macduff’s family. Although he should be happy that his position is somewhat secure, the guilt as well as the feeling of blood on his hands creates paranoia and other mental issues that prevent him from keeping his position and lead him to his downfall.

One. Two./... The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is/she now?-What, will these hands ne'er be clean?"(5.1.37-47) Lady Macbeth views the blood "spot" on her hands as a source of guilt and remorse; her hands will "ne'er be clean."

After being involved in a distressing situation, we always attempt to convince ourselves that we are not deserving of the consequences. However, feelings of discomfort always seem to accompany us, also known as guilt. In Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Guilt is a major theme portrayed throughout. Lady Macbeth is driven by this guilt due to committing regicide and is propelled to suicide. I believe that Lady Macbeth is extremely deserving of this guilty conscience.

Guilt plays a strong role in motivating Macbeth, and causes Lady Macbeth to be driven over the edge of her being insane leading to her death. Throughout the story, there are many different types of guilty feelings that play a role in Macbeth’s fatal decisions and bring Lady Macbeth to commit suicide. Although there are many instances that show the power guilt has played on the main characters, there are three examples

Unfortunately, this is not the case for Lady Macbeth. She acts very irrationally after the murders occur which leads her to believe she has blood permanently stained on her hands. She speaks very absurdly as she exclaims “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!...

Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh!” (Act 5, Scene 1) Though she continuously rubs her hands to get rid of the blood, Lady Macbeth can not washed away the guilt that stains her hands.

Shakespeare uses the recurring symbol of blood to emphasize the effect of death and violence on the human psyche. The connotation that Macbeth associates with blood switches from a primary motivator to a guilty reminder. Prior to Duncan’s murder, Macbeth witnessed a floating dagger covered with blood (II.i.33). Macbeth had experienced violence and Blood is also used as a reminder of the guilt and trauma from the murder of King Duncan, the guards and Banquo. Macbeth refers to his hallucination of the ghost of Banquo: “It will have blood, they say.

From the beginning of the play, Shakespeare emphasizes the importance of sleep as a natural healer of the mind. Through his portrayal of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they both have to face the weight of their own guilt, he underscores that their lack of sleep is a direct result of their guilty actions. Ultimately, Shakespeare’s depiction of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s mental deterioration as a result of their guilt alludes to the idea that only pure actions can allow one to prosper and be free from guilt. In contemporary society, where it is easy to give into wicked immoral temptations, it is essential for readers to understand that in order to live a healthy and peaceful life, it is necessary to refrain from giving into evil desires. Otherwise, suffering the same fate as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth could be a dangerous reality for many

Macbeth feels so guilty after killing the King that several references to the blood and his bloody hands were made. The first reference made was when he stated, he had “hangman’s hands.” This shows that he believed that his hands were bloody as if it was some sin. This is also important as it is the first time that the symbols of blood and hands are used together. He exaggerates his bloody hands, even more, when he states, “Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood/Clean from my hand?”

From Macbeth feeling “drowned in blood”, to Lady Macbeth not being able to wash her hands, shows how guilt will always come from making bad decisions. One wrong choice can ruin a person's life

One way we see the motif of hands used to develop the theme of guilt, being displayed when Macbeth states,

In the drama “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” William Shakespeare reflects on guilt . More specifically, Shakespeare implies guilt and how repercussions of guilt can be detrimental towards an individual because it creates emotional instability and distorted judgement. Guilt is displayed many times throughout the play, but mostly through internal conflicts of Macbeth. For instance, Macbeth feels internal guilt when he murdered King Duncan. Macbeth says, “ I’ll go no more/

At first Lady Macbeth did not feel any guilt until things begin to get carried away. Sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth is heard saying, “Here's the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. ”(5:1:53-55) and“ Out damned spot, out, I say”(5.1.37). Lady Macbeth is saying these things because she is visualizing that there is blood still on her hands representing her extreme guilt because she knows what she did not was wrong.