Shakespeare has represented guilt as all-consuming, self-detrimental and leading to self-corruption in Macbeth.
William Shakespeare’s 1606 allegorical play Macbeth is set in 11th century Scotland and was written for the Jacobean audience as a warning about against the Divine right of kings. In 1905, the Gunpowder plot ensued, involving the English people attempting to overthrow King James the 1st. Shakespeare has represented guilt in Macbeth as highly significant, all consuming and self-detrimental serving as a warning to Jacobean audiences’ readers of the harm associated with breaking the great chain of being. Shakespeare has represented the repercussions of guilt in the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, resulting firstly in becoming corrupt, secondly, mentally deteriorating, and thirdly becoming overcome by paranoia.
Shakespeare has represented guilt as all-consuming, self-detrimental and leading to self-corruption through his construction of Macbeth who develops from a protagonist and “brave and valiant soldier” to a tragic hero and antagonist of which is a repercussion of his guilt. Macbeth’s valiant character is established through the wounded soldier before Macbeth is first seen. The wounded soldier tells King Duncan that Macbeth is “brave”, a bloodthirsty warrior and very loyal to the King. Readers are positioned to view Macbeth in a positive light and a hero as these qualities were stereotypical for high-status Jacobean men and Thanes. Macbeth is constructed to have many masculine qualities and is considered “brave and valiant” by other men whilst his wife Lady Macbeth views him as possessing more feminine qualities than Masculine ones. Lady Macbeth refers to her husband as having a “heart so white” and being too full of the “milk of human kindness”. On both these accounts Lady Macbeth is emasculating her husband, questioning his masculinity. This Macbeth is constructed as being associated with light and the colour white due to the “white” of his heart and of the “milk”. White is symbolic of innocence and purity, something Macbeth is destined to lose by the end of the play as he is a tragic hero. Macbeth’s downfall is consequence of his guilt which has consumed him; which has led his character to lose his identity and social standing. After committing regicide and ordering the assassination of Banquo and his son many people who are constructed to have close relationships with Macbeth become wary of him. His guilt results in Macbeth acting as he normally wouldn’t and developing into a character similar to the traitorous MacDonwald who contradicts everything the Macbeth at the beginning of the play represents. Readers are positioned to see the effect guilt has upon Macbeth as all-consuming, self-detrimental and leading to self-corruption as well as a highly significant factor in his development from a protagonist and “brave and valiant soldier” to a tragic hero and antagonist.
Shakespeare has represented guilt as all-consuming, self-detrimental and leading to severe mental deterioration. Once guilt started to take control of Macbeth he sees physical manifestations. First of which appears before Macbeth commits regicide and is a manifestation of his pre-emptive guilt in the form of a bloody dagger. Blood is a reoccurring motif of guilt in both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth says in his soliloquy, “is this a dagger I see before me?”. At this point, Macbeth has not fully mentally deteriorated as he has not yet killed King Duncan and can still question his sanity. The bloody dagger is a supernatural apparition of which Jacobean people would have perceived as an evil influence guiding him; the supernatural motif also representing Macbeth’s mental deterioration. Jacobean beliefs did not condone aligning oneself with spirits, especially not the king. As Macbeth’s mental state deteriorates, the more it comes across to others. When Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost at a banquet with the thanes, he believes that the apparition is real, Macbeth’s acceptance of the supernatural further illustrates his deteriorating mental state and evokes a critical reader response to the supernatural at play. Macbeth has no care for others perceptions of him as he cries at Banquo’s ghost to leave their banquet. This illustrates the all-consuming and self-detrimental nature of guilt as Macbeths position as king is questioned as his mental state deteriorates due to his guilt over Banquo and Duncan’s murders. Lady Macbeth also feels remorse for her actions. As Lady Macbeth devised the murders and coaxed her husband into committing regicide, she is just as guilty as Macbeth for Duncan’s murder. Lady Macbeth washing her hands whilst sleeping saying “a little water will clear us of this deed” and “out damned spot” shows her exponential mental deterioration due to her guilt. She wishes to be pure like the water from the blood, the reoccurring motif, which is a figment of her imagination, to be off her hands. Her guilt manifests in the form of re-living her guilt-ridden experiences whilst ‘sleeping’ of which signifies mental deterioration. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have difficulty sleeping. Sleeping is a natural state and being unable too breaks the natural order; Jacobean audiences would be disturbed by the Macbeth’s inability to sleep. Shakespeare has constructed the Macbeths as mentally deteriorating throughout Macbeth as a result of their guilt of which is all-consuming and self-detrimental.
Shakespeare has constructed guilt in Macbeth as self-detrimental, all-consuming and resulting in Macbeth becoming paranoid for his own wellbeing and safety. Macbeth is constructed through his “vaulting ambition” to want more and more power as an attempt to feel secure and safe. Macbeth is constructed to believe that due to his actions, of which disrupt the natural order, he will have to face repercussions of which he will be unsafe in and thus he acts due to paranoia for safety. Macbeth’s guilt builds up as he acts in ways resulting in self-detriment due to his guilt. Macbeth explicitly displays his paranoia when he says “to the thus is nothing but to be safely thus”. As Macbeth had titles “Thane of Cawdor”, “Thane of Glamis”, and “King” he should have felt secure in his abilities and fortified castle. He does not feel secure and is unable to pray after he killed King Duncan, something which breaks the natural order and prompts a critical reader response. Shakespeare could have constructed Macbeth to be content once he committed regicide and solidified his position as King but instead characterised him as paranoid, displaying the negative repercussions of guilt through Macbeth’s character. Shakespeare displays guilt as all-consuming and self-detrimental and leading to Macbeth feeling unsafe.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare highlights the negative repercussions of guilt and its significant impact on an individual firstly including becoming corrupt and losing one’s identity, secondly, mentally deteriorating and loosing a sense of what is normal and abnormal and thirdly, becoming paranoid and unable to feel content with one’s safety and resorting to acting immoral and adding guilt on oneself to only feel worse. Guilt is represented as all-consuming and self-detrimental.
