Effects Of Guilt In Macbeth

The night that Duncan is killed, a magnificent change in his mentality was evoked, making it easier for him to conduct ill actions. Macbeth grasps the sudden ulterior power to become the king, and his emotions overthrows his conscience. In Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 2, he begins to hallucinate, “is this dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?” (14). Despite Duncan not being dead, he gets ahead of himself and begins to panic, elucidating the focal point of the play.

After murdering Duncan, the blood that is figuratively left with Macbeth causes him to trap himself in guilt. After he commits the crime, to Lady Macbeth he says, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand?” (II.ii. 57-58) This quote illustrates that blood has figuratively stained Macbeth’s hands, as he believes that even the oceans don’t contain enough water to wash off the blood spilled from his crime. This shows that he is aware that what he did was wrong, and therefore the blood he has on his hands symbolize his guilt and remorse.

Duncan announces to Macbeth that he will be staying at Inverness castle. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth plan Duncan’s murder, but before killing Duncan, Macbeth has a vision of a bloody dagger and a conversation with himself where he says, “ I see thee still, on thy blade gouts of blood, Which was not so before… It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes” (Shakespeare 2.1.57-61). The idea of the bloody dagger is to point out that there is a temptation and a perfect opportunity to kill Duncan. The dagger is a “false creation” that Macbeth creates in his mind and he sees it covered in blood which gives him the confidence to kill Duncan.

We see this through the usage of the motif of blood in the play and how it represents different things as the play progresses- originally it is used as a symbol of chivalrous behaviour. We see this when Macbeth is described to have ‘’unseamed him from the nave to th’ chaps’’; demonstrating Macbeth’s heroic nature. However, it eventually changes to become a symbol of violence and guilt, completely changing from its former symbolic

In Macbeth, Macbeth’s murder of the king quickly becomes a double-edged sword for him, as he becomes paranoid of being caught. After ordering the murder of his former friend Banquo, he wearily laments that “I am in blood / stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er” (3.4.136-138). This clever analogy to blood shows Macbeth’s realization that his murders and violence trapped him in a violent path, making it extremely difficult to go back to living a peaceful life. His initial utopian vision of being a king and living in blissful peace is becoming harder to envision as he psychologically drowns in the blood that he created.

In Macbeth, the symbol of blood is used to convey the idea of immense guilt and suffering as consequence for his actions. He and Lady Macbeth struggle to wash the blood from their hands, and metaphorically, the remorse from their consciences. Macbeth is immensely powerful, yet mentally and emotionally vulnerable. He suffers until his own end, with the perspective of the story perpetually following him, or those with a similar amount of power, largely avoiding description of the damage he’s done to those around him. His character is thoroughly explored, while the victims of his selfish behavior are left flat.

Despite these nagging feelings, Macbeth overrides his emotions, primarily because of his wife, and the fear he felt before haunts him after the crime, closely followed by rising guilt. Shaken and frantic, the killers gaze dreadfully at their blood-covered hands shortly after murdering King Duncan. In lines 43-44 of Act 2 scene 2, Lady Macbeth offers a solution to the sinful mess: “Go get some water, and wash this filthy

While Macbeth stands and stares, he asks himself, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (2.2.57). This is referring to his feeling of guilt and him wondering if all the water in the world can “cleanse” him of this guilt. In contrast, Lady Macbeth thinks her husbands fear of blood is cowardly. Though she dips her hand in Duncan’s blood, when Lady Macbeth leads her husband to a sink to wash their hands, she seems sure that “A little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.64).

The motifs of blood and hand work together to introduce the theme of guilt and remorse. Macbeth is paranoid after killing Duncan. He tells himself that all the oceans in the world can't clean his bloody hands, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood, clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas in incarnadine, making the green one red.” (2.2.72-74).

Macbeth has not only betrayed his country but his friend, his ambition has gotten the best of him and is now utterly consumed by it, to the point that one would question the beating of his heart. After having gravely concerned all his lords by claiming to have seen a ghost Macbeth calmly whispers,"It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood." Macbeth believes that he will pay for the blood he spilled with his life and in that exact moment, he reached a brief time of

Macbeth is haunted by guilt and experiences an internal struggle to reconcile his actions with his former self:"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?" (2.2.78-79). Macbeth's anguished question highlights his remorse and the impossibility of washing away the guilt of his heinous act. It reveals the stark contrast between his public appearance as a loyal subject and the reality of his monstrous deeds. This internal conflict marks the beginning of his gradual loss of identity as he is consumed by guilt and the weight of his actions.

Macbeth’s murders of his two friends plague him. The motif of blood appears at the end of the scene when Macbeth says “I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er.” (Act III, Scene IV, lines 136-138).

When washing his hands, he even wonders if Neptune’s oceans will clear Duncan’s blood off of his hands as he realizes the murder will stick with him forever. Moreover, Lady Macbeth has a similar realization of what an impact Duncan's

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

Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” explores a man’s fall from morality through committing the act of regicide, as well as ideas of guilt, greed and corruption. A motif of blood is used throughout the play to aid Shakespeare’s character development of Macbeth and it also facilitates further exploration of the figurative moral compass and culpability. Blood is used as a symbol and physical manifestation of guilt within characters throughout the play. Firstly, Shakespeare uses the motif of blood to emphasise the moral deterioration of Macbeth 's character.