Guilt quote bank Flashcards
“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” - Macbeth, Act 2 Scene 2
Hyperbolic imagery — emphasises the extent of guilt (suggests a whole ocean is needed). Guilt stained him so profoundly that no natural force can erase it
Motif of blood — symbolises guilt & moral consequences of violence + betrayal. Macbeth’s belief it can’t be washed up = guilt is irreversible
Allusion — Neptune (Roman god of the sea) = overwhelming power. Removing guilt through earthly means = futile as he has committed a cosmic transgression
Juxtaposition — contrast between vast ocean + small stain of blood = guilt is inescapable. Reflects overarching theme = small acts of evil -> eternal consequences
CONTEXT: Jacobean belief in divine justice, sins cannot be erased by human means but must be answered for in the afterlife
“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” - Lady Macbeth, Act 5 Scene 1
Religious imagery — “damned” — Lady Macbeth is aware of the eternal damnation that awaits her. Beholding the epitome of the wrath of the divine. Edenic ideas = Adam & Eve experience wrath of God when disobeying.
Repetition + imperative — emphasises desperation. Command blood = once commanded Macbeth (but now lacks authority + grasp on reality). Speaking to “spot” like real person = emphasises her dislocation from reality (metaphorical sparagmos between logic + current emotional state) Now powerless + useless, reinforced in Act 5 Scene 5, “brief candle”.
Irony — “a little water clears us of this deed” when emasculating Macbeth for his cowardice. Hallucinations contradict earlier claim = reveals its shallow nature. Motif of water — futility of trying to cleanse herself, cannot use water to purify the scar in her conscience. No longer pure.
CONTEXT: Christian notion = guilt cannot be absolved through physical actions, requires true repentance + divine forgiveness
Modern psychoanalytical perspective: guilt is resurfacing as she sleepwalks. Accumulating guilt seeps + penetrates deep into her subconscious. Guilt manifests into desperate + repetitive handwashing
Shakespeare warns women can’t handle physically demanding tasks (regicide). If subverted = leads to demise
“O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” - Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 2
Metaphor — scorpions = tormenting guilt + paranoia. Likens his thoughts to venomous creatures, sting + poison from within. Shakespeare shows guilt ≠ passive, = actively destructive.
Zoomorphism — reflects Macbeth’s dehumanisation. Guilt reduced him to primal + instinct-driven state (fear & violence dominates him). Mirrors moral degeneration as he plots Banquo’s murder.
Juxtaposition — “dear wife” = term of endearment / violent “scorpion” —> internal conflict within Macbeth. Seeks comfort from Lady Macbeth but is consumed by thoughts of murder.
Sibilance — mimics hissing of scorpions —> sinister tone = reflects internal chaos + foreshadows violent actions he is planning
CONTEXT: Shakespeare emphasises how guilt transforms ambition into madness. Moral message = unlawful acts have devastating psychological consequences
“My hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white” - Lady Macbeth, Act 2 Scene 2
Juxtaposition — ““red”” = guilt / ““white”” = cowardice or purity —> tension between guilt + ambition. Lady Macbeth views guilt as an inevitable byproduct of achieving power (Machiavellian principles)
Metaphor — ““white heart”” —> fear + moral weakness, perceived as a liability. Used to criticise Macbeth’s remorse. Foreshadows her later breakdown.
Symbolism — blood = shared guilt of crime, binds the couple in their accountability. Difference in emotional responses towards guilt (Lady Macbeth internalises, Macbeth releases externally through violence) —> cracks in relationship
CONTEXT: Shakespeare subverts gender expectations of Jacobean era, portrays Lady Macbeth as more ruthless, but leads to her inevitable tragic demise
“Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep.’” - Macbeth, Act 2 Scene 2
Personification — sleep = personified as an innocent victim — peace + purity. Murdering sleep = severed himself from, innocence + tranquility. Guilt disrupts natural order.
Auditory hallucination — indicates Macbeth’s psychological breakdown. Guilt invades all senses + consciousness = inescapable
Repetition of “sleep” — permanent loss of peace. Haunting rhythm —> guilt’s constant presence in his mind.
Foreshadowing — Macbeth’s eventual mental deterioration. Inability to rest = psychological unraveling
CONTEXT: Jacobean time: can’t sleep = punishment from God (metaphorical sparagmos from divine grace + natural order). Modern psychoanalytical perspective: due to his accumulating guilt
“Never shake thy gory locks at me” - Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 4
Violent imagery — reveals the extent of Macbeth’s corrupted psyche + extreme amount of bloodshed (he didn’t murder Banquo himself but is aware of how gruesome it must’ve been). ““gory”” = blood has covered his hair, emphasises how the blood reached every corner of his body OR to connote Macbeth’s depravity + his ruthless rise to power in becoming a despotic tyrant.
Anagnorisis — Macbeth becomes aware that he cannot escape the consequences of his guilt + actions. Ghost —> manifestation of guilt = forces him to confront the reality of his crimes. Instead of accepting responsibility —> defensive, he cannot process guilt.
Direct address — Acknowledges guilt, doesn’t accept responsibility. Defensive tone = subconscious recognition of his wrongdoing, attempts to deny it.
Imperative — desperate to regain control. Conveys frustration + fear of being exposed. Juxtaposes his current mental vulnerability.
Juxtaposition with Lady Macbeth — dismissed Macbeth’s guilt ““a little water clears us of this deed””. Macbeth is visibly unraveling, Shakespeare proves guilt is not easily dismissed. Contrast highlights their shifting power dynamic. Macbeth = consumed by fear + hallucination, Lady Macbeth = momentarily composed
CONTEXT: Shakespeare uses Banquo’s ghost —> guilt = inescapable force, not even the most ambitious can escape.
Modern psychoanalytical perspective: Ghost = manifestation of guilt in Macbeth’s subconscious. Jacobean = punishment from God
“The thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?” - Lady Macbeth, Act 5 Scene 1
Fragmented syntax — reflects her fractured mental state. Disjointed language = mental disintegration caused by guilt.
Rhetorical question — unanswered = emphasises her despair + confusion. Subconscious realisation that Macbeth’s crimes have spiralled out of control —> she feels powerless to stop the consequences. Evokes pity from the audience = shows her remorse + vulnerability
Foreshadowing — Lady Macduff’s murder —> Macbeth’s downfall at Macduff’s vengeful hands. Lady Macbeth’s breakdown = disintegration of their power, arrival of justice served by Macduff.
CONTEXT: Jacobean audience: Lady Macbeth’s madness = divine retribution. Reinforces theme of guilt + punishment
