Guilt Flashcards
Context
Context
Killing a king was a provocative
subject when ‘Macbeth’ was first
being written and performed.
Elizabeth I had died without an heir,
so James VI of Scotland was made
the new king of England. This raised a lot of questions about whether he was the rightful
monarch, and who should be allowed to be king.
This political tension amounted in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, where a group tried to
assassinate James and members of Parliament. As the king was the patron of
Shakespeare’s theatre group, it was important that he pleased him. By illustrating how
violently and deeply guilt destroyed the Macbeths, Shakespeare is clearly condemning
regicide.
Religion
Jacobean Britain was a very religious, Christian country. People believed God was
all-seeing, so would see every sin and crime someone committed. No one was exempt
from His judgement. Shakespeare supports this idea by showing how the Macbeths are put
through a sort of hell, despite their crime not being known by anyone else.
Macbeth
Macbeth’s guilt is focused on the murder, as he expresses his greatest remorse directly
before and after he kills Duncan. After that, his guilt comes in the form of paranoia, and this
sends him on a frenzied murder spree. Shakespeare suggests guilt and conscience are
more powerful than ambition.
Guilt and religion
Shakespeare associates guilt with religion. While wondering if he should really kill Duncan,
Macbeth acknowledges, “We’d jump the life to come,” (1.7). This is a reference to the
afterlife, which Christians believed would be granted to those who honoured God. Macbeth
knows committing murder will sacrifice his life in Heaven, making him fully mortal and
abandoned by God. The threat of this is enough to make Macbeth reconsider his plan,
showing the power religion and belief had over people at the time. Shakespeare suggests
Macbeth should have listened to his conscience and faith rather than to his wife.
Shakespeare shows the moral and religious consequences of being guilty.
Macbeth continues, “But wherefore could not I pronounce ‘Amen’? / I had most need of
blessing and ‘Amen’ / Stuck in my throat,” (2.2). He is deeply distressed and upset by
this experience. It seems Macbeth is scared because he has been denied God’s
forgiveness, so knows he is damned. The phrase “I had most need of blessing” reveals
his regret, for he is desperate to reclaim his innocence. The metaphor “stuck in my
throat” evokes the image of a barrier blocking Macbeth from God.
LM
Unlike her husband, Lady Macbeth is initially free from any feelings of guilt. Her journey in
the play takes her from power and strength to weakness and insanity. Whereas
Macbeth’s guilt makes him more
violent and brutal, Lady Macbeth’s guilt
makes her go into herself. She closes
herself off to everyone else, cannot be
in darkness, and sleep walks as she is
trapped in her own guilty thoughts. The
way her guilt takes over is gradual
but destructive, showing how even
the most callous (insensitive and
cruel) and cold people aren’t immune
to God’s judgement and their own
human conscience.
Rejecting femininity
Guilt and regret are presented as
obstacles to following ambition. These two feelings are linked to femininity and thus Lady
Macbeth tries to rid herself of her conscience when she calls upon “spirits” to “unsex” her.
She demands that they: “Stop up th’access and passage to remorse / That no
compunctious visitings of nature / Shake my fell purpose nor keep peace between /
Th’effect and it,” (1.5). This indicates that she is capable of feeling guilt, but wants to
repress these feelings because she views them as weaknesses. The only way to overcome
guilt is to not feel it, as Shakespeare implies guilt is too powerful to ignore.
Sleep
Shakespeare uses sleep as a
symbol of innocence and peace,
it brings comfort and is an escape
from the troubles of the real world.
Sleep is also used to express and
reveal the subconscious and the
conscience. Thus, sleep is denied
to the Macbeths after they murder
Duncan. Instead, their nights are
plagued by nightmares and
“restless ecstasy” (3.2),
suggesting they relive their crimes
every time they close their eyes.
When the Macbeths murder Duncan, Shakespeare shows they have sacrificed any chance
of serenity and well-being. It is concluded, “Macbeth shall sleep no more,” (2.2). As well
as being the villain, Macbeth realises he has damned himself. He “shall sleep no more”,
so he has brought torment and torture on himself. Shakespeare shows how those who
are guilty of sins are self-destructive. Macbeth sleeping “no more” is a symbol of his
active, haunted conscience. Sleep is “innocent”, a “balm of hurt minds”, so it cannot
be enjoyed by a murderer bathed in blood, as Macbeth is.
Light VS dark
Shakespeare uses imagery of light and darkness to explore guilt and innocence. Light is
a symbol of innocence, enlightenment, and often holiness, whereas darkness is
associated with the evil spirits that call for foul murder. Often, light and darkness indicate
which characters are guilty and which can be trusted.
Darkness used to conceal
Both of the Macbeths call upon darkness to mask their crimes. The darkness could be
reflective of them turning their back on God and goodness and instead siding with temptation
and the devil.
When the idea of murdering Duncan first comes to Macbeth, he says in an aside, “Stars,
hide your fires, / Let not light see my black and deep desires, / The eye wink at the
hand. Yet let that be, / Which the eye fears when it is done to see,” (1.4). Duncan
already established “stars” as “signs of nobleness”, so Macbeth is using the darkness
to protect his innocent reputation.
➔ The phrase “black and deep desires” evokes an images of decay, and suggests
Macbeth is aware of his immorality while he nurtures it. By asking the “stars” to
“hide [their] fires”, it seems Macbeth is more concerned with avoiding judgement
than embracing darkness.
➔ “Let not light see” and “Yet let that be, / Which the eye fears” suggests the
darkness is for his own benefit. He can’t bear to look at what he is going to do,
even though he wants it to happen.
