Guilt Flashcards
‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood from my hand?’
Language = hyperbolic imagery
It emphasises the magnitude of his crime; even the God of the sea can’t wash the blood away.
Deeper meaning = the blood can be washed from his hands, but it will stain his conscience for eternity.
‘Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would thou coulds’t’
Language = structural
It is significant that the murder scene ends with Macbeth’s words of regret – it shows that Macbeth feels deep guilt and remorse for killing a morally innocent king. The tragedy is that he cannot resurrect him or undo his actions.
Context = he’s committed an act against God by killing a God-appointed king (DRK)
‘they rise again… and push us from our stools’
Language = the stools symbolise the throne – Macbeth ordered Banquo’s murder to protect his throne but Banquo still threatens it from beyond the grave.
Banquo’s ghost is a projection of Macbeth’s guilty conscience that increases his paranoia.
‘give to the edge of the sword his wife, his babes…’
Language = emotive language of ‘babes’ shows that Macbeth no longer feels guilt at ordering murders; he is now killing even innocent infants.
Reader response = the audience despises Macbeth as infants cannot defend themselves; he is no longer noble.
‘I am in blood stepped in so far, returning were as tedious as go o’er’
Language = imagery
The river of blood emphasises that Macbeth feels it is pointless to feel guilt; he has been responsible for so many murders - they cannot be undone so it is pointless to feel guilty; he may as well continue to murder anyone who threatens him.
Reader response = audience feel pity for him as he cannot redeem himself
‘will these hands ne’er be clean?’
Language = rhetorical question is an ironic contrast to Lady Macbeth’s claim ‘a little water clears us of this deed’ after Duncan’s murder.
Context = sleepwalking believed in Jacobean era to be sign of possession by evil spirits; modern audience knows it is her guilty conscience playing on her mind & giving her not rest.
Umbrella sentence
Whilst Macbeth wrestles with guilt to become a cold-blooded murderer, Lady Macbeth succumbs to a guilty conscience later in the play
Topic sentence 1 about Duncan’s murder
Macbeth feels guilt at the murder of Duncan as he knows he is a morally good king and the murder is unjustified.
Topic sentence 2 about Banquo’s murder
After Banquo’s murder, Macbeth’s guilt manifests itself in the form of Banquo’s ghost.
Topic sentence 3 about cold-bloodedness
As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes more cold-blooded and no longer wrestles with his guilty conscience before committing murders.
Topic sentence 4 about Lady Macbeth
Although Lady Macbeth appears ruthless before Duncan’s murder, we see her guilty conscience when she begins sleepwalking; her guilt is so great it eventually leads her to commit suicide.
