Trust And Guilt In Macbeth

   Shakespeare's "Macbeth" holds many hidden themes within its already exuberant plot.  The first of these surrounds the murder of Duncan and the role that both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself played.  However, the true guilt of the murder can fall on either character.  Although Macbeth physically committed the crime, it was Lady Macbeth that pushed him to his limits of rational thought and essentially made fun of him to lower his esteem.  With Macbeth's defenses down, it was an easy task for Lady Macbeth to influence Duncan's murder and make up an excuse as to why she could not do it herself.  The guilt of Duncan's murder can be placed firmly on the head on Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth is confused as he is arguing with himself on what he should do. He states reasons not to kill Duncan, because Macbeth is his noble kinsmen and the act would bring dishonor. However, he also states reason why he should kill him, because Macbeth will then become king and fulfill the witches ' fortune. Lady Macbeth, who appears in the beginning as the driving force for the murder of King Duncan, also develops internal conflict. At first, Lady Macbeth seems to be a woman of extreme confidence and will. But, as situations become more and more unstable in the play, guilt develops inside her. For instance, she exclaims; "Wash your hands. Put on your nightgown. / Look not so pale. I tell you again, Banquo 's / Burried; he cannot come out on 's grave" (Shakespeare V, ii, 65-67). Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and frets about her evil wrongdoings because she is extremely guilty of her influence on Macbeth to commit the murder. Lady Macbeth reacts emotionally and dwells on her actions as guilt eats at her soul.

Macbeth, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare and edited by Maynard Mack and Robert Boynton, displays the many ways in which guilt manifests itself and the effects it has on its victims. Throughout the play, characters including Lady Macbeth are deeply affected by guilt in ways they had never expected. Macbeth takes its audience on a journey through the process in which guilty gradually eats away at Lady Macbeth and forces her to do what she thinks is best. Though Lady Macbeth may have initially seemed unaffected by the murders she had been involved in, her desires eventually faded and were replaced with an invincible feeling of guilt which eventually took her life.

Macbeth murders many to gain power. He causes the suffering of families and murders former friends. The violence starts with the murder of the king, Duncan, who’d trusted and honored Macbeth; Macbeth kills him to gain the position of king. Duncan’s death is the catalyst; Macbeth subsequently begins to use violence as a regular way to attain power. He murders his former friend, Banquo, refusing to accept that Banquo’s sons will be kings as prophesized by the witches. He says in regard to the prophecy, “Rather than so, come fate into the list, / And champion me to th' utterance.” Instead of accepting fate, he challenges the prophecy and orders Banquo’s death. His final homicide is the massacre of Lord Macduff’s family. When Macduff hears of the brutal slaughter, he cries, “That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on, / And would not take their

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the title character Macbeth and his wife are both exceptionally ambitious, often taking rather radical measures to accomplish their goals. While this ruthless drive to power is seemingly prosperous at first, it quickly crumbles to naught as guilt infects their minds with grim consequences to follow. Macbeth transforms from a noble general to a guilt-ridden and despaired murderer, while Lady Macbeth’s usually stoic and masculine persona deteriorates into a pitiful and anxious shell of her former self. The feeling of remorse quickly plagues the two characters and overpowers ambition through manifesting itself through nightmares, ghosts, and paranoia, and ultimately leads to their demise.

As ambition starts to take over Macbeth, Lady Macbeth begins to lose power and is not included in the plans to kill Banquo. “Be innocent of knowledge dearest chuck” (III. ii. 47). Lady Macbeth begins to lose her control of Macbeth; she has no more power nor say in what should be done. This lack of power opens a spot for vulnerability by taking away the one thing that makes her feel useful. Macbeth then begins to share a little of his plan of Banquo’s murder without telling her exactly what he’s doing.“Thou marvel’st at my words: but hold thee still./ Things bad begun make strong themselves ill” (III.ii. 56-57). Lady Macbeth is shocked at the words of her husband, as he elusively shows her a glimpse of his plan.

Guilt in William Shakespeare's Macbeth Guilt is the fact of having committed a specified or implied offense or crime. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, guilt is presented through the characters of Macbeth, Macduff and Lady Macbeth. The role of guilt, in the lives of these characters, is shown when one has killed too many innocents, a conscience is loaded with regrets and faults and when a man is cheated out of a life with his family because he is devoted to commit a good deed. Lady Macbeth had ordered Macbeth to put the daggers he has brought back from Duncan’s murder sight “I’ll go no more: I am afraid to think what I have done; look on’t again I dare not” (II.ii.81).

Have you ever done something you regret in life? Just something that you’ve felt unbelievably guilty about and can’t get it out of your head. Well, you and Macbeth have something in common! A major theme in Macbeth is guilt. We have all felt the atrocious feeling of guilt.

Macbeth is feeling paranoid after the witches tell a prophecy that Banquo’s son will inherit the throne, after he has passed away. Macbeth wants his descendants to inherit the throne not Banquo’s. So, Macbeth then hires three murderers to kill Banquo. At his dinner, after he is crowned the king, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost because of his guilty conscience. Macbeth starts to yell at the ghost saying he can not prove it is him who did it, “Thou canst not say I did it./ Never shake/ Thy gory locks at me” (3.4.61-62) When Macbeth freaks out and has a panic attack at the table, Lady Macbeth covers for him and tells the guests that he acts like this at times. Even though Macbeth hires men to kill Banquo, the blood is still on his hands. It is his idea to kill Banquo, and now he can feel even guiltier about what he has done. Macbeth is going insane feeling all this guilt and it is making him see ghosts. Macbeth is thinking that Banquo would become suspicious of Duncan’s murder. He did not want Banquo getting in his

Through these words, it is evident that Macbeth has a soft side for Banquo, and might have been questioning his motives to kill him, initially. Due to the prophecies he must fulfill, Macbeth still has evil spirits circulating around his body and his

Killing of Duncan, loss of Banquo and the death of his beloved wife are the primary reasons to fear and guilt as it hits Macbeth almost immediately after his negative sequels of the killing of Duncan occurred. Has guilt been a pathway to the rise in the motivation of Macbeth? " Things bad begun make

After Macbeth has committed all the murders though, readers can infer Lady Macbeth regrets her decision of tempting him because she is overwhelmed with guilt and takes her own life. Macbeth’s dear friend and partner in crime, Banquo, is also a victim of Macbeth’s wicked hunger for power. Macbeth becomes so self-consumed with the prophecy as if “ it is only him who exists in his world, and he hears and sees only himself” that he forgets about those around who love him (Vince). What Macbeth thought was a positive fire in his belly, actually transformed him into a greedy king who contributed to the death of the people closest to

In planning Banquo’s murder, Macbeth has become the more manipulative, cold-hearted killer that Lady Macbeth was in the beginning. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth becomes the quivering, more feminine character that Macbeth was in the beginning from losing herself in her guilt. Lady Macbeth begins to lose her edge, and no longer has to persuade her husband to murder; he does so on his own. Macbeth instantly develops plans for assassinations whenever somebody steps in his way. They both are so wrapped up in the greedy world that they failed to consider the consequences of their actions.

The moment that Macbeth finally decided to kill Banquo, was the moment that showed the audience that Macbeth is willing to do anything to stay in power. It was when Macbeth believe that Banquo was on to him that he said to the murders “I’ll call upon you straight. Abide within./ It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul’s flight,/ If it find heaven, must find it out tonight.” (3.2.160-163). With this action, it symbolizes Macbeth’s deeper descent into fully only caring about the throne. Macbeth killed his closest friend because he saw him as a threat to his rulership in Scotland. Without Macbeth’s ambition taking control in this situation, Banquo will still be alive and Macbeth would of most likely been healed or out of power. Another example of Macbeth’s ambition taking control and his loss of empathy in relationships, was when his wife committed suicide. At this point in the story Macbeth is noticing the forest moving towards his castle, and is more concern with the possible death of himself than the worries of his wife. Lady Macbeth is riddled with guilt with what she's done, she decides to kill herself to feel no more pain. And when she does Macbeth doesn’t care

They are the ones who physically slather Banquo, despite the fact that Macbeth is the one who orders them; this event turns Macbeth into a monster who feels impulsions to create more assassinations. Before this incident, Macbeth feels like he is given the “fruitless crown” (III, i, 62), and “a barren sceptre” (III, i, 63). However, as the bloody murder happens, the deterioration of Macbeth’s mentality begins; this is one of the major problems in the play. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth is also affected by the murderers; she starts off as a barbaric character who leads Macbeth to kill Duncan, but after the murderers assassinate Banquo, even her tough personality cannot take more guilt.