Guilt Flashcards
What can be inferred from the following quote:
‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood from my hand?’
The use hyperbolic imagery emphasizes the magnitude of his crime; even the God of the sea can’t wash the blood away.
the blood can be washed from his hands, but it will stain his conscience for eternity.
What can be inferred from the following quote :
‘Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would thou coulds’t’
structurally 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.
. he’s committed an act against God by killing a God-appointed king (DRK)
What can be inferred from the following quote:
‘they rise again… and push us from our stools’
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 is his paranoia.
What can be inferred from the following quote:
‘give to the edge of the sword his wife, his babes…’
The emotive language of ‘babes’ shows that Macbeth no longer feels guilt at ordering murders; he is now killing even innocent infants.
This makes the audience despise Macbeth as infants cannot defend themselves; he is no longer noble.
What can be inferred from the following quote :
‘will these hands ne’er be clean?
The rhetorical question is an ironic contrast to Lady Macbeth’s claim ‘a little water clears us of this deed’ after Duncan’s murder.
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.
