GUILT Flashcards
Key ideas of Guilt In Macbeth
We witness how succumbing to ambition, a temptation that defies divine order, unleashes a relentless amount of guilt that consumes characters
•play exemplifies brutal war between ambition and divinely-sent guilt.
Remorse, a gift from God, offers a chance for reflection and redemption.
Ambition is a toxic fuel however, propelling characters towards heinous
•In Macbeth, stain of guilt is eternal. Macbeths bravery crumbles, as it crumbles into a ghastly descent of madness.
Shakespeares intentions of guilt in Macbeth
•Shakespeare paints a cautionary tale. Those who disrupt the cosmic order, defying the will of heaven, face brutal consequences.
•Play suggests an ever-watchful eye,a divine force that punishes those who overstep in Great Chain of Being.
•LM+M desire for power becomes consuming fiend,blinding their morality.
•As ambition takes over, guilt consumes them, tightening its grip as their descent from grace unfolds.
•King James 1 was a patron to his plays, so Shakespeare uses the play as a veiled allegory. He intertwines regicide with guilt, reminding the audience of the brutal consequences of disrupting the great chain of being.
•the audience is left with a chilling message: toppling a king chosen by God, leads to a tragic downfall
BONUS:DJ ENRIGHT
Critic D.J Enright argues Macbeth is ‘long distance runner of evil’ compared to LM role as ‘sprinter’. Unlike his wife, who succumbs to mental burden of their crimes, Macbeth endures a gradual descent into madness
•Not a single,overwhelming episode,but rather a persistent guilt through his reign
MACBETH:”I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more!’ ‘Macbeth does murder sleep’
•MOTIF OF SLEEP: makes sleep synonymous to innocence.Macbeth,by troubled guilt, experiences a disturbed sleep pattern, symbolising his departure from innocence
•loss of innocence is direct consequence of his deceitful actions in seizing the throne and committing regicide
•M’s Descent to madness is evident-no longer uses imperative commands like ‘stars hide your fires’. Instead, he reflects on the mental anguish and ‘cries’ that torment him
••Exclamative sentence: emphasises enduring and irreversible nature of M’s loss of Sleep and Innocence
•Disrputojbof natural order through wickedness, and moral piety, has condemned his mind to relentless guilt.
MACEBTH:GUILT:I am in blood/stepped so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious’
•Motif of blood: Previously, blood was on his hands only, yet now it has enrobed his entire body, and his entire sense of being
•M’s response to fear and guilt has transitioned from being horrified to indulging further in heinous acts, murder is now his means to live
•’wade’ has biblical allusions- M’s metaphorical wading in blood exemplifies how he acknowledges his conscience is permanently stained with guilt
•similar to Cain In book of genesis, his irreversible act of murder of his brother Abel results in Punishment By God
How guilt links to key theme: Appearance vs Reality
Macbeths spiralling guilt is tied to his shattered innocence. His ambition led to him twisting natural order and try to maintain being a valiant soldier yet in reality he was a selfish tyrant
How guilt links to key themes:Ambition
Macbeths conscience, tormented by guilt, is a direct consequence of his insatiable ambition. His hubris, an overwhelming desire for power, becomes the reason for physical and psychological downfall
How guilt links to key themes:Supernatural
Macbeths conscience becomes burdened by guilt as he succumbs to the self-fulfilling supernatural prophecies, transforming him into a tyrant. His ruthless and bloodthirsty rule reduces him into a weak semblance of his former self
Lady Macbeth,guilt:BONUS ANALYSIS
Moreover, D.J Enright brands LM as ‘sprinter of evil’ as her descent to madness is as rapid as her climb to tyranny-barbaric woman to a carcass of insanity
LM:Guilt: ‘a little water clears us of this deed’
Litotes: LM’s omnipotent ambitions blind her to the profound mental turmoil Macbeth is experiencing.
•Her callousness, becomes apparent as she employs Litotes such as ‘a little’ not only to trivialise the act of murder but to emasculate M, encouraging him further along his murderous path
•Euphemism: employs euphemism to characterise regicide as a mere ‘deed’
•Highlights a paradoxical aspect of her character- despite her ambitions to shed feminine traits, she struggles to articulate the gravity of the heinous act
•Ironic and foreshadows Act 5, ‘All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’
Lady Macbeth:Guilt:
‘Enters with a taper’
Symbolism of Taper: as taper and provides light, this is emblematic of how LM seeks light, solace in her eternal mental darkness
•Christian symbolism, light offers guidance. LM is desperate for comfort and is a subconscious plea for Gods redemption from sins that torment her
•Character Development:Her need for light is the antithesis to Act 1 where she calls upon darkness to aid her malevolent plans:’come thick night’
•MOTIF of darkness+light: LM want for dark and violence causes her desperation to see the light and seek redemption
How LM guilt links to Key theme:Gender
Transgression of her prescribed femininity.Her ambitions defy the rigid gender roles of her time, and become intertwined with the guilt that consumes her. Her breach of cosmic order, adds another layer to her torment
LM how links to key other themes with guilt: Supernatural
LM, a dark echo of witches, beckons spirit to fuel her ruthless ambition.supernatural ambition and insanity become one in her big fall
BANQUO: How to link BANQUO to guilt
You need to compare the guilt her feels thinking about the supernatural and not God, contrast it with guilt. Any quotes about Banquos nature reinforces this, as he is constrained by humility and not led by ambition
BANQUO GUILT: ‘I dreamed of the three weird sisters last night (act 2 BANQUO)
I think not of them-Macbeth (Act 2)
•Abstract noun ‘dreamed’:signifies Banquos pain, suggesting that he is haunted in the realm of sleep
•implies the intrusion of superstition into Banquos consciousness, trespassing his unconscious mind
•MOTIF OF SLEEP: motif becomes synonymous with loss of innocence. As Macbeth grapples with guilt, he declares he ‘sleeps no more’ echoing LM’s somnambulant state.
•BANQUO retains capacity to sleep, but acknowledges his ability to ‘dream’
Contrast illuminates Banquos preserved innocence, as he admits to being controlled by supernatural without succumbing to guilt induced Insomnia, like LM and M
FOIL TO MACBETH:Banquos honesty operates as a foil to Macbeths deceit, as Macbeth lies that he does not ‘think of prophecies’
BANQUOS JUXTAPOSITION to Macbeth shows the moral divergence between two characters
