key themes: guilt

Question 1

“I heard a voice cry’Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” (Act 2) - Macbeth

Answer 1

• Motif of sleep: Throughout the play, there is a recurring motif that makes sleep synonymous innocence. Macbeth, troubled by guilt, experiences a disturbed sleep pattern, symbolising his departure from a state of innocence.
• This disintegration of innocence is a direct consequence of his deceitful actions in seizing the throne and committing regicide. Macbeth’s descent into maddens is evident, as he no longer issues imperative commands like “stars hide your fires”. Instead, he reflects on the mental anguish and haunting “cries” that torment his troubled mind.
• Exclamative sentences: The exclamative sentence “sleep no more!” emphasises the enduring and irreversible nature of Macbeths loss of sleep and innocence. His disruption of the natural order through his wickedness, masked by a facade of moral piety, has forever condemned his mind to the relentless torment of guilt.
• Sempiternally, he will battle with moral restlessness, finding no redemption or salvation for the sins he has committed as a murderous tyrant who defied the innate moral order and natural order.

Question 2

“I am in blood/ Stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious” (act 3)- Macbeth

Answer 2

• Motif of blood: Previously the ‘blood’ (which is a motif for the consequences of murder) was merely on his hands, yet now it has enrobed his entire body, and by extension his entire sense of being.
• Macbeth’s response to fear and guilt has transitioned from being horrified to indulging further in heinous acts, murder now becomes a means of self preservation.
• “Wade” has biblical allusions: Macbeth’s metaphorical wading in blood exemplifies how he acknowledges his conscience is permanently stained with guilt as a result of his violence.
• Similar to Cain in the Book of Genesis who commits the first murder in the bible, his irreversible act of murder of his brother Abel results in his punishment by God.

Question 3

“A little water clears us of this deed” (Act 2)- Lady Macbeth

Answer 3

• Litotes (under exaggeration): Lady Macbeth’s omnipotent (all-powerful) ambitions blind her to the profound mental turmoil Macbeth is experiencing.
• Her callousness (cruelness) becomes apparent as she employs litotes, such as the understatement “a little,” not only to trivialise (make it seem less important) the act of murder but also to emasculate Macbeth, encouraging him further along his murderous path.
• Euphemism: She employs euphemism (substituting a phrase or word with something less harsh or blunt) to characterise regicide as a mere “deed,” highlighting a paradoxical (conflicting) aspect of her character. Despite her ambitions to shed feminine traits and embrace tyrannical brutality, she struggles to articulate the gravity (seriousness) of the heinous (evil) act.
• This foreshadows her descent into a melodramatic state of insanity in Act 5, where she grapples with an inability to fully grasp the enormity of the sins committed.

Question 4

[enters with a taper] (Act 5)- Lady Macbeth

Answer 4

• Symbolism of [taper]: As a [taper] provides light, this is emblematic of how Lady Macbeth is seeking light, hope and solace in her eternal mental darkness.
• In Christian symbolism, light often represents hope and divine guidance. Thus her [entering] with it can be seen as a desperate grasping for solace and perhaps even a subconscious plea for God’s redemption from the sins that torment her.
• Character development: Her need for light is the antithesis to her earlier presentation in act1 where she calls upon the night, wanting darkness to help fuel her violent and malevolent plans: “come thick night”.
• The motif of darkness and light reinforces how Lady Macbeth’s depraved and dark wants for violence consequently cause her desperation to see the light and seek redemption.

Question 5

“I dream’d of the three weird sisters last night” (Banquo Act 2)
“I think not of them” (Macbeth Act 2)

Answer 5

• Abstract noun “dream’d”: The abstract noun “dream’d” signifies Banquo’s affliction and guilt, suggesting that he is haunted not only in his waking moments but also in the realm of sleep. This implies the intrusion of superstition into Banquo’s consciousness, trespassing on his unconscious mind.
• Motif of sleep: The motif of sleep in the play becomes synonymous with the loss of innocence. As Macbeth grapples with guilt, he declares he “sleeps no more”, also echoing Lady Macbeth’s somnambulant state.
• Intriguingly, Banquo retains the capacity to sleep but acknowledges his ability to “dream”. This contrast illuminates Banquo’s preservation of innocence, as despite his guilt for being entranced by the supernatural, he truthfully admits to being captivated by the supernatural without succumbing to guilt induced insomnia like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
• Foil to Macbeth: Banquo’s sincerity operates as a foil to Macbeth deceit, as Macbeth falsely asserts that he does not “think” of the prophecies. Banquo’s moral characterisation is strategically employed to heighten the contrast with Macbeth’s dishonest and duplicity. This deliberate juxtaposition serves to accentuate the moral divergence between the two characters.