Guilt and conscience in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, guilt is
an important theme. Throughout the play guilt is linked with the character’s
conscience or lack thereof. The two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth,
go through their guilt in different ways. In Macbeth’s case, he is very aware
of his guilt, however the play shows that Lady Macbeth’s guilt is more
subconscious.
Compared to his
wife’s guilt, Macbeth’s is shown in more obvious ways in the text. From the
very beginning when he hears the witches’ prophecy, he begins to feel guilty
about even imagining murdering the King. He even has physical reactions because
of this, “Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / And make my seated heart
knocks at my ribs / Against the use of nature?”
In Act 2 Scene 1,
as Macbeth is waiting for his chance to kill the King, his guilt manifests in
the form of a hallucination. He sees a floating, bloody dagger in the air in
front of him, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my
hand? Come, let me clutch / thee.” (2.1.44)
His other
hallucinations include hearing voices as he is killing Duncan, “Methought I
heard a voice cry “Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep”” (2.2.47). After
he has sent murderers after Banquo, Macbeth has a vision of Banquo’s ghost
sitting amongst his other guests and accusing Macbeth of his death. “Thou canst
not say I did it. Never shake / Thy gory locks at me.” (3.4.61)
For the main part
of the play, Lady Macbeth’s relationship with guilt is mainly her trying to
help her lord husband get rid of his. Firstly she does this in Act 1 Scene 7,
when Macbeth is listing reasons not to go ahead with the murder. Instead of
allowing him to make his own decisions, especially in such an important matter,
she essentially guilts him into going forth with their plan of killing the King.
She insults him and turns his own
arguments against himself.
This is shown
again in Act 3 Scene 2 when she reprimands Macbeth for not enjoying his new
royal status, “How now, my lord, why do you keep alone, / Of sorriest fancies
your companions making, / Using those thoughts which should indeed have died /
With them they think on? Things without all remedy / Should be without regard.
What’s done is done.” (3.2.10)
In Act 3 Scene 4,
Lady Macbeth once more tries to brush off the guilt Macbeth is feeling. In this
scene Macbeth, sees the ghost of his dear friend Banquo. This is Lady Macbeth’s
response: “O, proper stuff! / This is the very painting of your fear. / This is
the air-drawn dagger which you said / Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and
starts, / Impostors to true fear, would well become / A woman’s story at a
winter’s fire, / Authorized by her grandma. Shame itself! / Why do you make
such faces? When all’s done, / You look but on a stool.” (3.4.73)
It is unclear at
what point in the play Lady Macbeth begins to feel because of her and her
husband’s actions. It could be suggested that when she is told of King Duncan’s
death in Act 2 Scene 3, since she faints at the news: “Help me hence, ho!”
(2.3.138). In the text it is not shown if she genuinely feels guilty for
murdering the King, or if she is just acting for the sake of saving her skin.
Around the end of
the play, Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking. During this she will mime washing
her hands as if trying to get rid of the blood she has spilled. She was also
known to mutter these words to herself, “Out, damned spot, out, I say!”
(5.1.37)
Eventually, her
guilt drives her to an early grave. It is not known whether she only fell to
her death when she was sleepwalking, or if she committed suicide. “The Queen,
my lord, is dead.” (5.5.19)
The reason
Macbeth’s feelings of guilt are shown in the play, is so that the audience and
readers will feel empathy towards him throughout the play. Lady Macbeth’s guilt
is placed thusly to remind us that no one can escape their actions.
-Laura
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