Conscience is a major contributing factor to all decisions we make in life whether people decide to listen to it or not, Oxford dictionary defines it as a person’s sense of what is right or wrong, or a feeling of remorse. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, conscience governs the characters’ actions throughout the play, and for those who disobey their conscience are haunted to the core by guilt and remorse. Conscience is not always ignored in the play, conscience also leads characters to do great and glorious things for instance Macduff. When people believe they know better than their conscience is when everything falls apart, for example Lady Macbeth who put an end to her life because of the guilt she had on her shoulders from disobeying her conscience. Macbeth was on the verge of insanity because of the guilt and remorse that had built up from ignoring his conscience. Therefore conscience governs the actions of the characters in Macbeth.
Macduff may not have a guilty conscience such as Lady Macbeth or Macbeth, but instead Macduff listens to his conscience and does what is right when he knows something is wrong. When Macduff finds out Macbeth was to become king, Macduff knows something is wrong. Macduff does not attend the ceremony for Macbeth when he is proclaimed king; instead he goes home to Fife because he knows it is not right. Afterward, Macduff goes seeking Malcolm, who had fled to England when his father was murdered. Macduff puts his family and home at risk by searching for Malcolm because he knows it is the right thing to do