Macbeth guilt Flashcards
Will all great neptunes ocean wash blood from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine 2.2
Macbeth speaks this line when he encounters his wife right after murdering Duncan. He refers to both the literal blood on his hand but also to his sense of guilt. He uses grand and dramatic language to imply that the blood could stain all the world’s oceans red. His language implies that the consequences of his action will not be easily hidden, even though his wife implies that blood can be simply washed away. He will forever be a changed man as a result of what he has done. Interestingly, later in the play, Lady Macbeth will also hallucinate that she has blood on her hands and is unable to get them clean, symbolizing her sense of guilt.
Come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. 5.1
Lady Macbeth speaks these lines as if she’s gone mad, she in the scene reveals how guilt has crushed her strong and dominant personality. As she now has to be cared for like a child by the maid losing all her independence. She is very dismissive of her actions as she try’s to forget about it but this underlying guilt won’t leave her
Thy blood is cold thou hast no speculation in those eyes 3.4
Macbeth says this when banquos ghost appears at the banquet. Macbeths vision of this ghost shows as his deep guilt of ordering the murder of him. This guilt is so powerful it loses his sense of reality. He says these lines in order to reassure himself that this is all fake and banquo is truly dead
