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Guilt (Lady Macbeth (She is shown to be a character who ultimately really…
Guilt
Lady Macbeth
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At the beginning, she is desperate to be rid of any remorse in order for her to achieve her ambition
This is shown to perhaps have a temporary effect, as she does not seem to feel the guilt after Duncan's death, and ridicules the fact that Macbeth does; (a little water clears us of this deed)
Also, dramatic irony shown: These deeds must not be thought / after these ways; so it will make us mad - she does eventually go mad
However, she is shown to ultimately feel guilt stronger than even Macbeth, and this makes sense; just as she felt ambition more strongly, so should she feel the guilt more strongly - her guilt makes her go mad as she realises What, / will these hands ne'er be clean? - contrast with her a little water clears us of this deed
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As such, LM is shown to be a highly conflicted character who struggles greatly with her guilty conscience
Shakespeare also uses her to show that even those who think they won't feel guilt, definitely will - it is a part of human nature
Also, Shakespeare perhaps shows that the compunctious visitings of nature are actually too strong to be completely ridded
Blood
Duncan's blood comes to symbolise the Macbeths' guilt, as there are repeated mentions to them not being able to wash the blood off their hands
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Slightly noteworthy, that as a soldier, Macbeth should be used to the sight of blood - therefore it is significant that Duncan's blood should have such a profound effect on him
Inevitable
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Even though Lady Macbeth wants not to feel guilt (stop up the access and passage to remorse) this does not actually stop her feeling guilt (the Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now?) (What, / will these hands ne'er be clean? - showing how her guilt is having a lasting effect on her and her mental state)
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Eventually, their guilt stops them enjoying their unfairly gained position, and so Shakespeare shows that those who gain their position unfairly will be so plagued by guilt that they will not be able to enjoy it
Macbeth v Lady Macbeth
Macbeth's guilt is shown to be more conscious, whereas Lady Macbeth's is more subconscious
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Macbeth experiences guilt quite obviously, as he laments will all great Neptune's ocean / wash this blood clean from my hand?
Lady Macbeth's guilt is shown when she sleepwalks - a subconscious action, and this perhaps shows her guilt to be more deeply rooted than Macbeth's as it manifests herself in her most vulnerable state - when she is asleep
Audience
Guilt has a purpose in the play, especially in the character of Macbeth
Macbeth's guilt seems to soften his character to the audience and enables them to sympathise with him, as such cementing his tragic hero status - a fundamentally good person with one tragic flaw that the audience is able to sympathise with
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Banquo's ghost
Macbeth says: times have been / that, when the brains were out, the man would die / and there an end, but now they rise again
This shows his view that if you kill someone, they will never truly die, but will always live on in your mind - ie. your past actions will come back to haunt you
Macbeth
Macbeth's guilt is primarily shown through his deteriorating mental state - his guilt is shown to cause it
His guilt manifests itself in various visions, including the dagger and Banquo's ghost, and hallucinations of Methought I heard a voice cry: Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep