Guilt Flashcards
‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood from my hand?’
CRILD:
L = hyperbolic imagery emphasizes the magnitude of his crime; even the God of the sea can’t wash the blood away.
D = 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’
CRILD: L= 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.
C = he’s committed an act against God by killing a God-appointed king (DRK)
‘they rise again… and push us from our stools’
CRILD:
L = 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…’
CRILD: L = emotive language of ‘babes’ shows that Macbeth no longer feels guilt at ordering murders; he is now killing even innocent infants.
R = 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’
CRILD: L = the imagery of the river of blood emphasizes 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.
R = audience feel pity for him as he cannot redeem himself.
‘will these hands ne’er be clean?
CRILD: L = rhetorical question is an ironic contrast to Lady Macbeth’s claim ‘a little water clears us of this deed’ after Duncan’s murder.
C = 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.
Topic sentence 1
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
After Banquo’s murder, Macbeth’s guilt manifests itself in the form of Banquo’s ghost.
Topic sentence 3
As the play progresses, Macbeth becomes more cold-blooded and no longer wrestles with his guilty conscience before committing murders.
Topic sentence 4
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.
