Significance Of Guilt In Macbeth

Guilt is a miserable feeling one endures after committing a dishonest or immoral act. Often one can relive their guilty conscience by trying to fix their wrongdoing. The play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, narrates about a kind and good hero Macbeth who serves the king of Scotland by the name of Duncan. Macbeth became the main character of the story by murdering the king and taking his place. Using the symbols of blood, hallucinations and sleep, Shakespeare illustrates that guilt is a powerful and self-destructive force.
Blood symbolizes the guilt and evil deeds of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s immoral actions. It is demonstrated after Macbeth kills king Duncan in order to become lord of Scotland. After killing Duncan Macbeth arrives bloody and upset, Lady Macbeth sees that Macbeth brought the bloody daggers from the murder scene and asks him to take them back. However, he refuses and says “I am afraid to think what I have done” (2.2. 51). At this point Macbeth feels guilty and therefore Lady Macbeth takes the daggers back to the murder scene. Lady Macbeth thinks that it is simple …show more content…
It is revealed after the three witches predicted to Macbeth that the sons of Banquo would be kings.This frustrated Macbeth and in order to prevent from this happening he demanded murders to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. From killing Banquo, Macbeth's anxiety overcame him and Macbeth started to hallucinate Banquo's ghost. Macbeth mentions things like “Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me” (3.4.49-50). This states that Macbeth's mental state was struggling with overwhelmed of guilt. The quote means that “You cannot say I killed you.Don't shake your bloody head at me”. The meaning and quote certainly shows that Macbeth is feeling very guilty for killing Banquo. This is a big lesson for Macbeth, his guilt was causing some serious harm to