What is guilt and is it shown in the play Macbeth? Who demonstrates this guilt, and why is it being displayed? Guilt is a feeling that haunts the conscience for a while. Usually this feeling comes when one has committed an offence, crime, violation or wrong act. It is the feeling of responsibility for this poor action that has been committed. In this play,
there are many themes, but guilt is one of the most significant one. It teaches crucial lessons to the readers, with everlasting morals. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the theme of guilt is established through Lady Macbeth, blood imagery and Macbeth’s internal conflict.
Lady Macbeth is a strong-willed character who will do anything to have her way. Her desire for Macbeth to become King is even greater than that of Macbeth. Throughout the play, Macbeth is forced to commit unforgivable sins to achieve the position of King. Lady Macbeth shows her guilt towards the deaths of Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her family. Lady Macbeth’s guilty conscience is displayed near the end of the story when she is sleepwalking. She discusses her feelings, but mainly she reiterates her guilt. “The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean? No more o’that, my lord, no more o’that. You mar all with this starting.”(V. i. 38-40). This demonstrates how Lady Macbeth is feeling guilty about Lady Macduff’s murder and how Macbeth has ruined everything with his nervousness. Lady Macbeth also shows another form of guilt when she says “Wash your hands put on your nightgown. Look not so pale. I tell you yet again, Banquo’s buried; he cannot come out on’s grave.”(V. i. 54-56). This confirms how Lady Macbeth is constantly thinking about the deaths that she was part of, and how the feeling of guilt is taking over her life. Lady Macbeth shows her guilt throughout this whole scene. She writes a letter, but the reader does not know what the letter says. It is possible she is writing about her guilty...