guilt Flashcards
is this a dagger i see before me, the handle towards my hand (macbeth)
the guilt of bloodshed is stained on him
he having hallucinations of th emurder
In Act Two, Lady Macbeth claims that, after killing King Duncan, “a little water clears us of this deed.” contrasts that she is hallucinating, and desperately pleads for the blood to be washed away.
It is ironic that when Macbeth desperately needed to clean his hands Lady Macbeth mocked him, but guilt is now having the same effect upon her behaviour. The fact she describes the blood spot as “damned” has associations with hell - her guilt has caught her, and she fears she is being punished. The religious audience could see this as divine punishment from God.
will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood of clean from my hands
Shakespeare uses blood to symbolise guilt and water to symbolise purity. The metaphor of Neptune’s ocean suggests that no amount of ‘water’ will ever remove the sacrilegious ‘stain’ of regicide.
‘Neptune’s ocean’- hyperbolic language exemplifies the depth of Macbeth’s guilt as he feels not even a god could save him.
‘blood’- motif used throughout the play to symbolise guilt. Macbeth becomes increasingly desensitised to seeing it as he becomes more malevolent.
‘my hand- symbolic of Macbeth being the architect of his own downfall.
link to: ‘Go get some water,/ And wash this filthy witness from your hand.’
all the perfumes of arabia will not sweeten this little hand
“ALL” hyperbole emphasises the desperation he fills
most arabian perfumes are hugely expensive and prestigious
evil id compared to a disease in the play and at he time people thought that disease was spread through smell (miasma. a perfume could hide or cure the disease
“little hand” trying to act innocent like a child who hAS LITTLE HANDS AND MASKING HER WRONGDOINGS.
out damned spot, out I say
complete transformation from a machiavellian king_maker to a guilt ridden wreck fearful of eternal damnation
out back to her old self by bossing her husband around
damnation suggest she is going to hell for the sin of regicide an braking the great chain of being. jacobean era would have instantly recognised the sin she has committed.
spot shows how such a small thing is being magnified into something overwhelming and its all she can think about. this stems from guilts.
subverts early i the play when she said “little water can clear us of this deed ironic
it shows the same thing that was affecting her so lightly before is now stained her mind.
