guilt Flashcards
introduction:
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, guilt is presented most notably through the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, where the Jacobean audience is able to witness how succumbing to their ambition (a temptation that defies divine order) unleashes a relentless amount of guilt that ultimately consumes them.
what are the 3 key ideas for guilt?
- Macbeth’s guilt in the beginning
- Macbeth’s guilt in the end
- LM guilt
what is the topic sentence for paragraph 1 (Macbeth’s guilt)
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth’s guilt is apparent immediately after he committed regicide in Act 2.
quotes to use for paragraph 1 (Macbeth’s guilt):
“Macbeth does murder sleep”
“valiant, worthy gentleman”
“knocking within”
“amen, god, blessing”
analyse “macbeth does murder sleep” and “valiant worthy gentleman”
He returns to Lady Macbeth and, among other incoherent utterances, states that “Macbeth does murder sleep”. Shakespeare uses this recurring motif of sleep to make it synonymous to innocence, peace and order, and so, this frantic exclamation implies that his mind and conscience are so disordered after that heinous act, that perhaps he believes he will never attain eternal peace by reaching Heaven. This symbolises his departure from a state of innocence, especially by referring to himself in third person. He tries to disassociate himself from that “deed”, feeling remorseful as if he could not believe he was capable of something so immoral. After all, he was once a “valiant, worthy gentleman”.
analyse “knocking within”
The guilt he feels also manifests into hallucinations: a ghostly “knocking within”. He is clearly on edge and doesn’t know how to act or what to believe anymore.
analyse “amen, god, blessing”
Furthermore, Macbeth’s continued use of religious diction (“amen”, “God”, “blessing”) suggests that he is attempting to draw on God for repentance. It suggests he implicitly understands the consequences of the “murder”: he has usurped the natural law and hierarchy, and as a result, he is plagued by conscience (the voice of god within us) and thus, is driven mad.
paragraph 1 analysis (Macbeth’s guilt):
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth’s guilt is apparent immediately after he committed regicide in Act 2. He returns to Lady Macbeth and, among other incoherent utterances, states that “Macbeth does murder sleep”. Shakespeare uses this recurring motif of sleep to make it synonymous to innocence, peace and order, and so, this frantic exclamation implies that his mind and conscience are so disordered after that heinous act, that perhaps he believes he will never attain eternal peace by reaching Heaven. This symbolises his departure from a state of innocence, especially by referring to himself in third person. He tries to disassociate himself from that “deed”, feeling remorseful as if he could not believe he was capable of something so immoral. After all, he was once a “valiant, worthy gentleman”. The guilt he feels also manifests into hallucinations: a ghostly “knocking within”. He is clearly on edge and doesn’t know how to act or what to believe anymore. Furthermore, Macbeth’s continued use of religious diction (“amen”, “God”, “blessing”) suggests that he is attempting to draw on God for repentance. It suggests he implicitly understands the consequences of the “murder”: he has usurped the natural law and hierarchy, and as a result, he is plagued by conscience (the voice of god within us) and thus, is driven mad.
topic sentence for paragraph 2 (Macbeth’s guilt later on):
As the play progresses, Macbeth’s response to fear and guilt has transitioned from being horrified to indulging further in heinous acts, as murder now becomes his means of self-preservation.
quotes to use in paragraph 2 (Macbeth’s guilt later on):
“stepped in so far”
“blood”
“wade”
“sound and fury”- “nothing”
analyse “stepped in so far”
As the play progresses, Macbeth’s response to fear and guilt has transitioned from being horrified to indulging further in heinous acts, as murder now becomes his means of self-preservation. He has “stepped in so far” that he is at the point of no return. Previously, the motif of “blood” (the consequence of murder) was merely on his hands, yet now it has enrobed his entire body, and by extension his entire sense of being. The fact that he used the metaphor of “wading” in this “blood” exemplifies how he acknowledges his conscience is permanently stained with guilt as a result of his violence, and there is nothing he can do to change that. The verb “wade” implies imagery of struggling through deep waters, further suggesting that guilt has engulfed him entirely.
analyse the fact its a cyclical narrative (“sound and fury” “nothing”
he play also uses a cyclical narrative, starting and ending with a battle, suggesting that violence and guilt are intertwined and are normalised from the start. This suggests that Macbeth had been so fixated on his hubris that he has missed what really matters, or in a nihilistic interpretation, he never realised that nothing really matters. For all his “sound and fury” (his violence and guilt) he has accomplished nothing everlasting: it signifies “nothing”.
paragraph 2 analysis (Macbeth’s guilt later on):
As the play progresses, Macbeth’s response to fear and guilt has transitioned from being horrified to indulging further in heinous acts, as murder now becomes his means of self-preservation. He has “stepped in so far” that he is at the point of no return. Previously, the motif of “blood” (the consequence of murder) was merely on his hands, yet now it has enrobed his entire body, and by extension his entire sense of being. The fact that he used the metaphor of “wading” in this “blood” exemplifies how he acknowledges his conscience is permanently stained with guilt as a result of his violence, and there is nothing he can do to change that. The verb “wade” implies imagery of struggling through deep waters, further suggesting that guilt has engulfed him entirely. The play also uses a cyclical narrative, starting and ending with a battle, suggesting that violence and guilt are intertwined and are normalised from the start. This suggests that Macbeth had been so fixated on his hubris that he has missed what really matters, or in a nihilistic interpretation, he never realised that nothing really matters. For all his “sound and fury” (his violence and guilt) he has accomplished nothing everlasting: it signifies “nothing”.
topic sentence for paragraph 3 (LM guilt):
Similarly, at the end of the play Lady Macbeth’s guilt and insanity drives her into a state of somnambulism.
quotes to use in paragraph 3 (LM guilt):
“out, damned spot. Out I say!”
“a little water clears us of this deed”
“with a taper”
“come thick night”
“the queen, my lord, is dead”
analyse “out damned spot out i say”
She has conceded to a state of hallucinogenic madness exclaiming ‘out, damned spot! Out I say!’ which directly juxtaposes her litotes in Act 1 (‘a little water clears us of this deed’). This allows the audience to view the turmoil within her mind, with her anxious state completely juxtaposing her past domineering self and thus giving the impression of her being possessed; all as a result of her guilt. This is because the ‘spot’ is emblematic of the scar the regicide has created on her mind.
analyse “with a taper”
The stage directions also mention how she is always seen to be ‘with a taper’, which is emblematic of how she is constantly seeking light, hope and solace in her eternal mental darkness. This is because she understands that her violations of religion, the divine right of king and the great chain of being will mean that she is eternally punished in hell, hence her clinging to the hope of her redemption. Moreover, her need for light is also considered to be the antithesis to her earlier presentation in Act 1 where she calls upon the night and wants darkness: ‘come thick night’. Essentially, as a direct consequence of her guilt, she is now the carcass of insanity.
analyse “the queen my lord is dead”
Finally, Lady Macbeth’s guilt is so overwhelming that she eventually takes her own life, which is only reported to the audience indirectly: “the queen, my lord, is dead”. The detached phrasing could suggest that she has been reduced to nothing, reinforcing the idea that guilt isolates and reduces you into empty shells of your former self.
paragraph 3 analysis (LM guilt):
Similarly, at the end of the play Lady Macbeth’s guilt and insanity drives her into a state of somnambulism. She has conceded to a state of hallucinogenic madness exclaiming ‘out, damned spot! Out I say!’ which directly juxtaposes her litotes in Act 1 (‘a little water clears us of this deed’). This allows the audience to view the turmoil within her mind, with her anxious state completely juxtaposing her past domineering self and thus giving the impression of her being possessed; all as a result of her guilt. This is because the ‘spot’ is emblematic of the scar the regicide has created on her mind. The stage directions also mention how she is always seen to be ‘with a taper’, which is emblematic of how she is constantly seeking light, hope and solace in her eternal mental darkness. This is because she understands that her violations of religion, the divine right of king and the great chain of being will mean that she is eternally punished in hell, hence her clinging to the hope of her redemption. Moreover, her need for light is also considered to be the antithesis to her earlier presentation in Act 1 where she calls upon the night and wants darkness: ‘come thick night’. Essentially, as a direct consequence of her guilt, she is now the carcass of insanity.
Finally, Lady Macbeth’s guilt is so overwhelming that she eventually takes her own life, which is only reported to the audience indirectly: “the queen, my lord, is dead”. The detached phrasing could suggest that she has been reduced to nothing, reinforcing the idea that guilt isolates and reduces you into empty shells of your former self.
conclusion for guilt:
Therefore, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are totally overwhelmed by their guilty consciences, leading to their mental disintegration and proves to ultimately be fatal. Perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that guilt is unescapable and that the guilty (those who commit moral sins like regicide) will suffer dire psychological consequences- both in life and after death for their crimes.
